Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Golden Panthers shutout Florida Atlantic for sixth straight win
Box Score

Florida International crushed Florida Atlantic in their second meeting in as many weeks Wednesday night at University Park, 9-0. FIU had also beaten FAU last Wednesday thanks to an impressive performance from junior pitcher Josh Banks. Banks got the win again Wednesday, going seven innings, giving up three hits, no walks and striking out six. The six strikeouts give him 37 on the year, and he leads the team with a 0.00 ERA through 29 innings pitched. His 29 consecutive scoreless innings are a school-record, breaking the old mark of 26.1 set by Evan Thomas in 1995

FIU got on the board in the first inning when freshman infielder Bryan Pullin stole home. The play was set up by back-to-back singles from Pullin and junior outfielder Ricardo Nanita, putting runners on the corners. At that point, Nanita took off for second, forcing the FAU catcher to throw for second. Nanita reached safely, and Pullin trotted home for the go-ahead run.

The Golden Panthers added another run in the second, thanks to an error by the Owls. With senior outfielder Solomon Frieder on third, junior designated hitter Fernando Alvarez stole second and the throw was long, enabling Frieder to make it home.

In the third, the Golden Panthers manufactured another score courtesy of two more FAU errors. Pullin singled through the left side and then stole second when Nanita struck out. Senior outfielder Adam Summerell reached on an error by the third-baseman. Following that, Summerell advanced to third on a throwing error, while Pullin scored.

From there, FIU broke the game open with six runs in the next three innings. Nanita hit a two-RBI single down the leftfield line in the fourth, and then Summerell brought Pullin home with a sacrifice fly to right field. In the fifth inning, sophomore infielder Dennis Diaz hit an RBI single with runners on the corners. Pullin followed it up by singling through the left side to bring home another runner. In the sixth, Summerell created his own run by drawing a walk, advancing to second on a wild pitch, getting to third on a groundout and finally scoring on a passed ball.

Pullin went 4-for-5 in the Golden Panther victory, knocking in one run and scoring three of his own. Alvarez (2-for-2) and Nanita (2-for-5, 2 RBI) also put up good offensive performances. Junior Arthur Santos and freshman Edgar Ramirez each pitched an inning in relief to preserve the shutout.

The Golden Panthers next host Bethune-Cookman Friday night in the first of a three-game series. The Wildcats ended FIU’s 2002 season with a 7-4 win in the Gainesville Regional. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Radiate 88, FIU’s student radio station. The student broadcast can be heard on 88.1 FM in Miami or on the Internet at http://wrgp.fiu.edu/sports.