FIU trips up Southern Miss
Published 9:01 pm Saturday, April 14, 2018
MIAMI — Florida International got two big hits during a fourth-inning rally and rode them to a 5-4 win over Southern Miss on Saturday.
Lorenzo Hampton, Jr. cleared the bases with a triple, and Will Saxton belted a two-run home run for Florida International as it scored all of its runs in the fourth inning. The Panthers (17-18, 7-7 Conference USA) had five of their eight hits during the inning.
Southern Miss (23-11, 9-5) used an RBI double by Gabe Montenegro in the fifth inning and a two-run single by Luke Reynolds in the seventh to pull within 5-4, but couldn’t get any closer.
The Golden Eagles left the go-ahead run at second base in the seventh inning, another runner at second base in the eighth, and the bases loaded in the ninth. They loaded them with two outs in the ninth on two singles and a hit batter, and then FIU’s Steven Casey got Bryant Bowen to ground out to second to end the game.
Casey earned his second save of the season by retiring Bowen, the only batter he faced. Andres Nunez (3-2) started and went six innings to get the win.
Reynolds went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Southern Miss, and Irby was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Cole Donaldson also had two hits and scored a run.
The teams will wrap up their three-game series Sunday at 11 a.m.