Golden Panthers narrowly stay alive with 5-4 victory

Thursday May 22, 2003

Golden Panthers narrowly stay alive with 5-4 victory
Box Score

Facing a must-win situation having already lost yesterday (13-9 against Western Kentucky), the Florida International baseball team answered the call with a 5-4 win over Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference Tournament elimination game Thursday afternoon at “Tigue” Moore Field in Lafayette, La.

The Golden Panthers (35-22) saw a 3-1 lead disappear in the sixth inning, as the Indians (24-31) took their first lead of the game. Zach Shipley led off the inning with a single and Neal Chambers reached on an error. A triple from Andy Runyan then scored both runners and evened the score at 3-3. Denischuk later scored Runyan with a single through the left side, giving the Indians a 4-3 lead.

The lead didn’t last long, as sophomore infielder Dennis Diaz knocked out a two-run go-ahead home run in the bottom half of the inning. The home run, Diaz’s first of the season, was set up by a double from freshman infielder Jimmy Bacon.

Back-to-back singles for the Indians in the seventh inning necessitated a relief appearance from sophomore right-hander Derek DeCarlo (Miami/Southridge), who earned his third save of the season by shutting out ASU the rest of the way. DeCarlo finished with four strikeouts and two walks, no hits and no runs allowed in two and two-thirds innings. He also remained undefeated in his collegiate career.

FIU started the scoring in the second inning, going up 1-0. Junior outfielder Ricardo Nanita and senior outfielder Solomon Frieder led off with back-to-back singles. After senior outfielder Adam Summerell advanced them with a sacrifice bunt, Bacon singled to score Nanita.

With two outs in the third, Blake Denischuk walked for ASU and then Matt Rogelstad tripled to tie the score, 1-1.

FIU came back with another run in the bottom half of the inning to reclaim the lead. Back-to-back singles from Diaz and freshman infielder Luis Rivera started things offensively, and junior outfielder Fernando Alvarez took advantage by singling home Diaz on the next play.

Up 2-1 in the fifth, the Golden Panthers added another run to pad their lead. Alvarez got hit by a pitch and then advanced to third base when freshman infielder Mike Lopez singled through the right side. Nanita then earned a sacrifice fly RBI, hitting the ball to deep left field and scoring Alvarez.

Junior right-hander Arthur Santos (Miami/Barbara Goleman) started and earned the win for FIU, throwing six and a third innings while striking out three and allowing just two earned runs and two walks. Diaz finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

The Golden Panthers next face the loser of today’s Western Kentucky-South Alabama contest Friday at 12:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Radiate 88, FIU’s student radio station. The broadcast can be heard on 88.1 FM in Miami or on the Internet at http://wrgp.fiu.edu/sports.