FIU Baseball Wins In Extra Innings To Salvage Series Against Jax State

You know it’s a good sign when a series loss against a conference opponent is a rare sign for this FIU team, but that was the case this time.

The Gamecocks spared no mercy in Game 1 of the series on the scoreboard, then walked off the Panthers in Game 2 to secure the series, and looked for the sweep today for a statement weekend series.

However, this was an offensive overload by both the Panthers and Gamecocks that couldn’t be decided in nine innings. FIU managed to respond in the top of the 11th and the defense did just enough to negate a Jax State answer for a 13-10 win.

Listing every instance of a score would be a nightmare in a game like this, but the eighth inning was the biggest for FIU at the bats. Down 10-5 at this point, the Panthers were running out of time to respond and found ways to answer.

Armando Becerra opened up the inning with an RBI single bringing in Jeff Liquori. Then, a single to right field by Hector Candelas brought in both Kishon Frett and Matthew Corpas. Just like that, a comeback seemed more than possible.

Not long after, a grounder from Alex Ulloa was enough to bring home Becerra, then an error by the Jax State shortstop off a hit by Ryne Guida bought home Candelas for the equalizer.

Jax State did not have a response to this in regulation, and couldn’t find success in extras either. In the 11th inning, Frett found success with a single to center field, bringing in Liquori. Adrian Figueroa then doubled along the infielder line and sent both Frett and Corpas home for the final runs of the game.

This game will blow you away statistically. 13 hits for FIU and 11 for Jacksonville State is crazy work for one game, combined with four errors on the Gamecocks part.

After losing their winning record yesterday, the Panthers claimed it right back, now standing with a 16-15 record overall with a 7-5 record against C-USA opponents.

The Panthers will take on the FGCU Eagles for a pair of games this Tuesday and Wednesday, with the former being in Fort Meyers at 6:30pm, and the latter being in Miami at 6pm. They’ll then meet the Wofford Terriers in a weekend series beginning on Friday.