LAS CRUCES, N.M. – FIU's baseball program mashed its way to a 17-12 victory over New Mexico State Thursday night to open the final regular season series of the 2026 season at Presley Askew Field.
Marc Hersh and
Mario Trivella powered the highest-scoring game of the season, each launching a pair of home runs to lead FIU (18-34, 9-19) to a Conference USA (CUSA) win. The Panthers' 17 runs matched their season high, equaling the mark set in a 17-run outburst against Holy Cross on Feb. 22.
New Mexico State struck first with two runs in the opening inning, but FIU responded immediately in the second. After loading the bases,
Cole Cleveland drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly, followed by an RBI hit-by-pitch from
Hector Candelas and another sacrifice fly from
Samuel Fischer to put FIU ahead 3-2. Trivella then delivered the big blow, launching a three-run home run, his 14th of the season, to extend the lead to 6-2.
In the third inning, with Cleveland on second after a double, Hersh crushed his second home run of the season deep to center field to make it 8-2. New Mexico State responded with a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 8-4.
FIU added four runs in the sixth inning, as Fischer scored on a wild pitch, followed by an RBI walk from
Aidan Cohall, a hit-by-pitch RBI for
Caden Sammler, and Cleveland's second sacrifice fly of the night to extend the lead to 12-4. New Mexico State added a run in the bottom half on an RBI single to make it 12-5 after six innings.
The Aggies added a run in the seventh on a stolen base play, but FIU blew the game open in the eighth. After Sammler and Cleveland reached base, Hersh delivered again with a three-run homer, his second of the game, to push the lead to 15-6.
New Mexico State scored six runs in the eighth to pull within striking distance, but Trivella provided insurance in the ninth with a two-run home run, sealing his multi-homer performance and securing FIU's first road CUSA win of the season.
On the mound,
Preston Prince made his 11th start, allowing four earned runs over 4.1 innings.
Tracen Camerons earned the win after allowing two runs over 2.2 innings.
Jeremy Urena allowed six runs in 0.1 inning, while
Jordan Vargas added 0.2 scoreless innings.
Tyrus Riley closed the door with a scoreless ninth to secure the victory.
FIU finished with 11 hits, with every batter reaching base. Trivella led the offense with three hits, including two home runs, five RBIs, and a double, marking his second multi-homer game of the season (last: March 21 vs. Sam Houston). The junior now leads the team in homers (15) and RBI (48). Hersh extended his hitting streak to eight games while recording his first career multi-homer game, finishing with five RBIs and reaching base three times.
Cleveland contributed two hits, including a double and a single, along with two sacrifice flies and a hit-by-pitch. Fischer reached base four times with a single, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch, adding an RBI.
Cooper Rasmussen added a double, while
Andrew Ildefonso contributed a single and a hit-by-pitch. Sammler added a single, and Cohall finished with an RBI, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.
UP NEXT
FIU faces off with New Mexico State on Friday, May 15 at 8 PM from Presley Askew Field. It is streamed live on ESPN+.
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BAPTIST HEALTH
The 2026 FIU baseball season is presented by Baptist Health, The Official Sports Medicine Provider of FIU Athletics
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