Fabio Lopez / Staff Writer
The FIU Baseball team split their four-game conference series at home against the Marshall Thundering Herd on April 16th-18th.
The Panthers won 8-2 on Friday before splitting Saturday’s doubleheader 1-6 and 5-0 respectively. The series concluded on Sunday with Marshall winning 8-10.
FIU holds a 14-21 overall record accompanied by a 6-10 conference record. They remain in fifth place out of the six teams in the Eastern Division of Conference USA. Since their first meeting in 2014, FIU’s head-to-head record against Marshall is now 13-11, with the Panthers losing two out of three against the Herd in 2019.
Game one began as a stalemate on the scoreboard as both sides finished the top of 3rd inning with a 1-1 tie. FIU earned their run off a successful hit by outfielder Justin Farmer. In the bottom of the fourth, outfielder Seth Cannady scored a home run before Marshall responded to keep things level at 2-2.
The Panther’s offense came to life in the top of 6th to score a total of six runs batted in. Catcher Ben Rozenblum scored a three-run homer which brought in Cannady and catcher Luis Chavez to give FIU a 5-2 lead.
Afterwards, shortstop Steven Ondina, outfielder Mario Zabala, and second baseman Derek Cartaya scored three additional RBIs in the top of the 6th as the Panthers blitzed passed the Herd to finish the game with an 8-2.
Game two resulted in a weaker offensive outing for FIU. But much like game one, it took a while for either team to get going on the scoresheet. The Panthers answered first in the top of 3rd with Cartaya doubling to left center, resulting in Ondina scoring their solitary point.
FIU’s lead was short lived as Marshall took a three-run advantage in the bottom of 3rd following a home run and four RBIs to take the 4-1 advantage. The Herd scored two runs in the bottom of 5th and 6th to end the game 1-6 and hand the Panthers their first loss of the series.
Game three gave FIU a chance at redemption. Much like the first two games of the series, it took a while for either team to produce anything. The bottom of 5th was the only inning that produced runs, as the Panthers scored five runs to finish the game as 5-0 winners.
Outfielder RJ Ibanez scored the first run before Cannady knocked his second home run of the series as Rozenblum, Farmer, and first baseman Adrian Figueroa all scored to hand FIU the win and a 2-1 advantage in the series.
The fourth game in the series started well for the Panthers as they went up 2-0 by the top of 5th thanks to runs by Figueroa and shortstop Dante Girardi. Marshall responded in the bottom of 5th with four runs to flip the game in their favor. The Herd extended their lead to 7-2 in the bottom of 6th to keep FIU at arms length.
The Panthers fought back in the top of the 7th as Girardi, Ibanex, and Cartaya all scored to shorten Marshall’s lead to 5-7. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for FIU as the Herd scored one more run in the bottom of the 7th to end the game in a 5-8 loss for Marshall.
Following a quick game against the Stetson Hatters on April 21st, FIU will head to Boca Raton for a four-game series against the Florida Atlantic Owls. Game one will be on Friday, April 23rd at 7pm, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday. The series will finish on Sunday, April 25th at noon.
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