Third ninth inning rally finally proves fruitful for UALR

Sunday March 23, 2003

Third ninth inning rally finally proves fruitful for UALR
Box Score

The Florida International baseball team lost to Arkansas-Little Rock 8-7 in a seesaw affair Sunday afternoon in Little Rock. The Trojans rallied in the bottom of the ninth for the third consecutive game, winning this time on a Clay Pittullo bloop single.

UALR catcher Rick Guarno continued to torment the Golden Panthers, hitting a home run to left center field to open the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Guarno batted .385 with two doubles and two home runs for the series

FIU went ahead in the fourth inning, courtesy of a three-run home run from freshman designated hitter Jimmy Bacon. Junior outfielders Fernando Alvarez and Ricardo Nanita led the inning off with consecutive walks to start the rally, then Bacon cleared the bases to give FIU a 3-1 lead.

The Trojans retook the lead in the fifth inning, going up 4-3. They scored their first run on a throwing error, and then added two more on sacrifice bunts.

The Golden Panthers answered quickly again, knocking out two more homers to make the score 6-4. Nanita hit the first one, a solo shot, to tie the game. Senior Skip Adams followed with a double down the left field line before Bacon hit his second home run of the game to right center.

UALR came back to tie the game at 6-6 in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Catcher Santino Dewreede knocked in a run with a single up the middle and then infielder Chris Julo hit a sacrifice bunt to score Dewreede.

FIU rallied once again in the ninth to take the lead back. New doubled down the left field line, Diaz walked, and Pullin singled through the left side to load the bases. Summerell then singled to send New home and give FIU the lead.

On Saturday, FIU defeated Arkansas-Little Rock 10-7. For the second consecutive game, UALR rallied in the ninth inning, and for the second consecutive game, FIU held on to win. Sophomore Derek DeCarlo (Southridge, Miami) extended his school record streak of consecutive victories to 15 games, improving to 4-0 this season with his seven-hit, eight-strikeout performance. He is still undefeated in his collegiate career.

The Golden Panthers return home to host Harvard Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at University Park. 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.