Saturday, March 29, 2003

Western Kentucky tops FIU 11-7
Box Score

The Florida International baseball team fell 11-7 to Western Kentucky Saturday afternoon at University Park. The Hilltoppers cranked out 16 hits in the win. Antone Towns led the way for WKU, going 3-for-5 with four RBI, a home run and two runs scored.

FIU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Freshman infielder Luis Rivera led things off with a walk and then advanced to third on a groundout. Senior outfielder Adam Summerell then knocked him home with a groundout to the shortstop.

The Golden Panthers extended their lead to 3-0 in the second inning. Senior infielder Skip Adams singled up the middle to start the inning. He then stole second base and later advanced to third on a wild pitch. After freshman infielder Jimmy Bacon walked, senior catcher Michael New earned an RBI single on a bunt up the right field line. New then scored on a throwing error.

In the next stanza, WKU answered with two runs to pull within 3-2. Matt Johnston earned a sacrifice bunt and then Tim Grogan got a sacrifice fly to account for the two runs.

The Hilltoppers then exploded for five runs in the fifth, to go up 7-3. The scoring onslaught was keyed by back-to-back home runs. Towns knocked out a three run home run and then Brent Miller homered to left center. Kevin Bearden later earned an RBI single.

The Golden Panthers came back to tie in the seventh inning. Freshman outfielder Brian Aragon pinch hit and was hit by a pitch to start the inning. New drew a walk and then freshman outfielder Yahmed Yema singled down the right field line to load the bases. Rivera singled through the left side for an RBI and freshman infielder Mike Lopez walked in another run with the bases loaded. Down 7-5, Summerell reached first on a fielder’s choice, scoring Yema from third, and finally junior outfielder Fernando Alvarez knocked in Rivera on another fielder’s choice.

Western Kentucky scored the winning run in the eighth, courtesy of a Johnston sacrifice fly. The Hilltoppers then added three more runs in the ninth to close out the scoring. Matt Gunning hit an RBI single, then David Lower got an RBI on a sacrifice fly and finally Johnston recorded an RBI single of his own.

The Golden Panthers face Western Kentucky in the final game 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, and on Spanish Radio WRHC 1550 AM. The student broadcast can be heard on 88.1 FM in Miami or on the Internet at http://wrgp.fiu.edu/sports.