William Duval | Staff Writer
FIU baseball took on the FAU Owls and got swept in a three-game series, reaching its conclusion on Sunday, April 30, 2023, at FAU Baseball Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Panthers are coming off a 6-1 victory against the 22nd-ranked UTSA Roadrunners, holding a 16-24 record coming into the series.
In their previous face-off, the Panthers took a monstrous 16-2 victory at the Owls’ expense.
Game 1 of the series began with offensive fireworks for FAU, scoring five runs in the first inning alone.
With no signs of life coming from FIU’s offense, the Owls had an easy time building a lead, claiming an 11-0 advantage by the end of the third inning.
The Owls’ lead was too large for the Panthers to overcome, despite home runs from both redshirt senior Alec Sanchez and junior Ryne Guida respectively.
Losing the first game 13-3, FIU made game 2 the most competitive of the series.
Neither team scored until the second inning, where the Panthers made sure to take advantage of FAU’s errors.
After two FIU players were hit by the pitch, redshirt junior Henry Wallen reached on a fielder’s choice, resulting in a score.
Due to the Owls’ compounding mistakes, the Panthers took a 2-0 lead to end the second inning.
FAU responded quickly, with junior Nolan Schanuel hitting a double followed up by junior Spencer Rich hitting a single, allowing Schanuel to score.
Ending the second inning, the Owls cut FIU’s lead down to 2-1 and managed to hold them scoreless in the third inning.
Junior Dylan Goldstein reached on an error while the bases were loaded, allowing two Owls to score and claim a 3-2 lead at the bottom of the third inning.
Even though the Panthers didn’t immediately respond on offense, their next score came in the fifth inning.
Following two outs from FIU, Guida hit a solo home run and tied the game at 3-3. That was the last play of the game before a roughly one-hour weather delay.
When play resumed, neither team scored until the sixth inning, where junior Christian Adams hit a two-run home run for the Owls to give them a 5-3 lead.
Unable to score again until the ninth inning, the Panthers’ efforts were not enough, taking an 8-4 loss and dropping the second of three games.
In the third and final game of the series, FAU was ready to put FIU away, coming out of the gates with red-hot hitting once again.
Due to a wild pitch and a single, Schanuel hit a single that resulted in the first of the Owls’ two first-inning scores.
FAU, holding an early 2-0 lead, shut down FIU’s offense, holding them scoreless for multiple innings.
Senior Mitchell Hartigan extended the Owls’ lead with a three-run home run in the fifth inning, giving them a 5-0 advantage.
FIU couldn’t get anything going on offense until the sixth inning when junior Ruben Carpio hit a single for the Panthers’ first score of the game.
Cutting the deficit down to 6-1, the Panthers’ only run was just window-dressing for the final score.
Unable to match the Owls’ offense, FIU took a 10-1 loss to end the series, getting swept.
The Panthers, now holding a 16-27 record, look to gain some momentum in their next matchup against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at Jackie Robinson Park in Daytona Beach, Florida.
First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
Follow William Duval on Twitter at @WillDuval40
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