By: Brian Howard, Sports Information Director
Box Score MIAMI, Fla. | D'Quan Matthews and Richard Ortiz each had two hits as the Grambling State University baseball team dropped the final game of a three-game series, 12-7, to FIU on Sunday afternoon at the FIU Baseball Stadium.
The Panthers (3-3) struck first with two runs in the first inning and one run in the third to grab a 3-0 lead through two innings. The Tigers responded with a pair of runs in the fourth inning to close the gap to 3-2.
Matthews opened the frame with a base hit and advanced to second on an error.
Trevin Bolden moved the runner over to third on a sacrifice bunt.
Marshawn Taylor reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with one out. Ortiz followed with a single to plate Matthews and
Isaiah Torres reached on a base hit to score Taylor to cut the deficit to 3-2.
FIU quickly answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fifth and took a 5-3 lead into the seventh.
The Panthers exploded for five runs on five hits in the seventh and added to the advantage with a pair of runs in the eighth to take a 12-3 lead.
The Tigers tried to answer in the top of the ninth with four runs, but it wasn't enough to rally for the victory.
Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State finished with eight hits and left seven on base
·
D'Quan Matthews and
Richard Ortiz each had two hits and one RBI.
·
Trevin Bolden,
Isaiah Torres,
Nick Wheeler and
Kristian Franklin registered one hit apiece.
·
Elijah Saunders (0-1) pitched five innings and gave up five runs on eight hits, with four walks and one strikeout to take the loss.
·
Ryan Evans and
Kerry Boykins, Jr. pitched in relief.
· FIU finished with 12 runs and stranded six on base.
· Austin Shenton, Diandre Amion and Lorenzo Hampton each had three hits, with Hampton driving in a game-high five RBIs
· Jose Garcia had two hits and four runs batted in.
· Logan Allen (1-1) picked up the win in six innings of work. He gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits and fanned seven.
· Jose Machado, Greyson Fletcher and Gio Soto worked in relief.
News & Notes
· The Tigers are now 1-2 in road games.
· Grambling State has now won four out its last six games.
· The Tigers will play back-to-back weekend series against teams' mascots Panthers (FIU and Prairie View A&M).
Up Next
Grambling State will have one more road tilt before returning back home for a weekend Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series on Friday against Prairie View A&M as the Tigers visit Baton Rouge, La., to face LSU. Grambling State is 0-7 (series started in 2007) against LSU.
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