MIAMI, Fla. – Barry University Baseball (9-6) hung tight against cross town Florida International (1-3) but fell 16-11 at University Park Stadium.
The Golden Panthers jumped on the board first when Corey Lozano hit a home run off of Mike Tomoleoni (0-1) in the bottom of the first to give FIU the early 1-0 lead. The Buccaneers responded in the top of the second when Evan Ashley lined a shot through the right side which allowed Chris Leon to score from second, tying up the contest 1-1.
In the third inning the Buccaneers added another run on a John Servidio RBI double, driving in Nick Shaw. The 2-1 Barry advantage was short lived however with the Golden Panthers tagging three runs in the bottom half of the third, taking the 4-2 lead.
Over the following three innings, starter Tomoleoni cruised and kept FIU hitters at bay, limiting the offense to only one hit while striking out one. Tomoleoni finished the strong outing with four strikeouts, five hits and three earned runs in 6.1 innings of work.
The bullpen faltered in the latter part of the game, as the relief gave up 11 runs in 2 1/3 innings.
With the Buccaneers trailing 8-3 in the top of the seventh, the offense woke up behind Servidio, who hit a monster grand slam with two outs giving Barry the 10-9 lead through seven.
Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, the Golden Panthers answered back in the bottom half with a seven-run inning.
Servidio finished just a single shy of the cycle, going three of five at the plate with, a double, triple and home run and six RBI. Mitch Rodriguez drove in two, while Shaw and Ashley had three hits each.
Brian Milanes (1-2) took the loss for the Buccaneers giving up five runs on two hits in 1/3 inning of work. Carlos Martinez (1-0) earned the win for FIU.
The meeting between FIU and Barry was the first since 1996 when the Buccaneers defeated the Golden Panthers 10-0.
The Buccaneers will return to action on Friday as they play host to Rollins College in Sunshine State Conference play. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 pm with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon.
Florida Int 16, Barry 11 (02/26/08 at Miami, Fla.)
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Barry............... 011 000 261 - 11 12 2 (9-6)
Florida Int......... 103 000 57X - 16 11 2 (1-3)
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Pitchers: Barry - Mike Tomoleoni; Brian Mastin(7); Brian Milanes(8); Robbie Conver(8);
Josh Holmes(8). Florida Int - Ramos, Jorge; Akeem Francis(6); Ellison, Evan(7);
Martinez, Carlos(8); Santana, Brian(9).
Win-Martinez, Carlos(1-0) Loss-Brian Milanes(1-2) T-4:10 A-470
HR BUB - John Servidio (5).
HR FIU - Lozano, Corey (1); Fuentes, Raimy (1); Townsend, Tyler (2).
Weather: Cool with slight overcast
Conver faced 3 batters in the 8th.