FIU baseball drops to Miami

Brian Olmo | Sports Director

FIU baseball falls short to Miami, 7-3, on Wednesday, March 15 at the FIU Baseball Stadium. The loss snaps the Panthers’ eight-game win streak.

With their bats still sizzling hot, the Panthers took an early 2-0 lead in the first. Sophomore Marcus O’Malley hit a single and junior Dante Girardi a double to set up junior Ryne Guida, who would smash a single to the right field and score them both.

After the Canes tied the game with a two-run home run, FIU regained the advantage in the fourth off a powerful hit by redshirt senior Mike Rosario to score.

But that’s where the fun ended for the Panthers.

Miami would shut down FIU for the last five innings, ending the game with a double and another home run to give the Canes the win, 7-3. Miami improves to an 11-6 overall record as FIU falls to 11-7.

The story for the Canes was junior Jack Scanlon, who after going hitless in his first 13 at-bats, came alive like Frankenstein’s monster and put on a show against the Panthers. Scanlon hit his first homer of the year in the third to tie the game up before scoring yet again in the fifth.

Freshman Chris Scinta, senior Carlos Lequerica and redshirt sophomore Alejandro Torres combined to pitch four scoreless innings for Miami.

Guida was stellar for the Panthers in this one, finishing 2-4 with two RBI. He is currently on a five-game hit streak, recording 11 RBI during the stretch.

Looking ahead, FIU now gears up for a road trip to face Dallas Baptist, the newest member of Conference USA. The series runs from March 17 – 19. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

Follow Brian Olmo on Twitter at @Brian_Olmo11