Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Florida Atlantic tops Florida International 13-7
Box Score

Junior pitcher Josh Banks extended his record streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 30 but gave up eight runs after that as the Florida International baseball team lost its third straight game, 13-7 to Florida Atlantic Wednesday night in Boca Raton. FIU and Banks had beaten the Owls twice already this season, earning shutouts both times, but this game turned into a high-scoring affair quickly.

Senior outfielder Solomon Frieder doubled to start the second inning, and then senior infielder Skip Adams and freshman infielder Luis Rivera notched back-to-back singles through the right side to score Frieder. At that point, junior designated hitter Fernando Alvarez hit a deep sacrifice fly ball to right to score Adams and give FIU a 2-0 lead.

FAU tied the game and ended Banks’s scoreless streak when Owl outfielder Matt Pali knocked out a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning.

The Owls took the lead in the third inning off another home run, a Jeff Fiorentino shot down the right side, which made the score 3-2.

The Golden Panthers answered in the fourth. Senior catcher Michael New lined a double down the left field line to score freshman infielder James Bacon and tie the game at 3-3. Sophomore infielder Dennis Diaz then gave FIU the lead with a New-scoring double to right center.

Leading 4-3 in the sixth inning, the Golden Panthers added to their lead, scoring three runs to go up 7-3. Adams reached base on balls to lead things off, Rivera followed it up with a single, and Diaz also walked to load the bases. Freshman infielder Michael Lopez then cleared the bases, doubling to deep left center.

FAU rallied again, coming up with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning. The onslaught of runs was kick-started by a Fiorentino two-run home run. Following a foul-out, five consecutive batters registered a hit, another batter earned an RBI groundout and another run scored on a wild pitch to give FAU the 10-7 lead.

In the seventh, the Owls added to their lead when five consecutive batters walked and another earned an RBI groundout, pushing the lead to 12-7. They also got an unearned run in the eighth on another RBI groundout, making the final score 13-7.

Banks (2-1) was credited with the loss for the Golden Panthers, while FAU starter Chris Pillsbury pushed his record to 4-1. Florida International next travels to Tallahassee to take on Florida A&M in a two-game series.