MIAMI – FIU's baseball program dropped the middle game of its Conference USA (CUSA) series to Dallas Baptist, 14-10, Saturday afternoon at FIU Baseball Stadium.
 
In a back-and-forth contest featuring five lead changes, FIU (13-29, 5-15 CUSA) held a 10-8 advantage entering the eighth inning before Dallas Baptist erupted for six runs, highlighted by a pair of home runs, to secure the series victory.
 
The Patriots struck first in the second inning with a pair of RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead. FIU answered in the third when Enrique Alvarez Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Mario Trivella to cut the deficit in half.
 
After DBU added a solo homer in the third to extend its lead to 3-1, the Panthers responded with power. Aidan Cohall launched a three-run homer to deep left-center, his first of the season, to give FIU a 4-3 lead.
 
FIU kept the momentum in the fourth, as Cooper Rasmussen blasted a three-run homer to right field, his team-leading 10th of the season, to push the lead to 7-3.
 
Dallas Baptist surged back in the fifth, plating five runs on a solo homer, an RBI single, a two-run homer, and a go-ahead home run to take an 8-7 lead.
 
The Panthers quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. Alvarez Jr. drove in a run on a groundout before a passed ball allowed Caden Sammler to score, giving FIU a 9-8 edge.
 
FIU extended its lead in the seventh on another RBI groundout from Alvarez Jr., scoring Trivella to make it 10-8. However, the Patriots answered in the eighth with a six-run inning to reclaim control and ultimately seal the win.
 
On the mound, Julian Mlodzinski made his team-leading 10th start, allowing five runs over four innings with three strikeouts. George Adams followed with two innings of relief, surrendering three earned runs. Enrique Sierra was charged with the loss after allowing six earned runs in 1.2 innings, while Matthew DelVecchio added 1.1 scoreless innings with a strikeout.
 
Offensively, FIU totaled 12 hits. Cohall led the way with his second three-hit game of the season, while Trivella reached base four times with two singles. Luca Reyes added two hits, including a double, for his seventh multi-hit performance of the year. Alvarez Jr. drove in a season-high three RBI in the contest.

UP NEXT
FIU closes out the series on Sunday, April 26 at noon. It will be streamed live on ESPN+ from FIU Baseball Stadium.

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