FIU comes back, wins 10-9 over WKU

Friday, March 28, 2003

FIU comes back, wins 10-9 over WKU
Box Score

The Florida International baseball team edged Western Kentucky 10-9 Friday night at University Park. The game was highlighted by a series of rallies by the Golden Panthers, culminating in their three-run seventh which gave them the lead for good.

Trailing 9-7 in the bottom of the seventh, FIU came back to within a run when senior outfielder Adam Summerell doubled to score freshman infielder Bryan Pullin from first base. After junior outfielder Ricardo Nanita got hit by a pitch, he advanced to third when senior infielder Skip Adams singled to right center. At that point, junior outfielder Fernando Alvarez tied the score with a double to right center, which sent Nanita home. Adams then reached home on a wild pitch to give FIU the winning run.

The Hilltoppers had jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Antone Towns doubled to score a run and later scored from third on an executed double steal.

The Golden Panthers answered in the bottom half of the stanza, tying the score at 2-2. Summerell tripled to score Pullin from third. Summerell then reached home when Nanita grounded out to first base.

WKU scored two again in the top of the second, making the score 4-2. Kevin Bearden earned an RBI on a single to right field, and then he reached home on an error.

FIU tied it up again in the bottom half. Freshman infielder Jimmy Bacon reached home on an error and freshman infielder Luis Rivera hit an RBI single. Bacon had walked and stolen second to set up his scoring play.

The Hilltoppers continued the trend, scoring two more runs in the third. Brent Miller homered for the first run and then Matt Johnston hit an RBI single.

Down 6-4, the Golden Panthers came up with three straight runs through two innings to take their first lead of the game. Rivera earned an RBI in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly before Adams hit a sacrifice fly of his own and Alvarez knocked in a run with a groundout to put the Golden Panthers up 7-6.

WKU retook the lead in the sixth inning on a David Lower two-run double. They then added a run in the seventh, courtesy of Rafael Vallejo’s sacrifice bunt, to go up 9-7.

The Golden Panthers Face Western Kentucky in Game 2 of the series tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 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.