JC YOU LATER: Escarra's 2 HRs help FIU bash No. 21 Southern Miss 10-4

FIU Athletics




HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The first of JC Escarra's two home runs snapped a tie score and sparked FIU to a 10-4 win over No. 21 Southern Miss Sunday afternoon at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg.The Panthers (18-14, 6-6 Conference USA) won the series finale from the Golden Eagles (26-7, 10-2) after the dropping the first two games of the weekend.Escarra led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo blast to left center off USM starter J.C. Keys (2-2). The home run put FIU ahead 3-2. Escarra hit his sixth home run of the season – another solo shot, this time over the right center field wall in the seventh inning. The FIU first baseman was 3 for 5 with two RBI and scored two runs.FIU scored in every inning but the first and the ninth on Sunday.In the fifth, the Panthers added two runs. Jack Schaaf singled and Zack Soria reached on an error to set up the inning. Kenny Meimerstorf doubled off Sean Tweedy into the right field corner to score Schaaf. Javier Valdes plated Soria on a sacrifice fly to left.Soria had an RBI single in the sixth to make it 6-2 FIU and hit a solo home run in the eighth to cap off the scoring. Soria was 2 for 4, including his fourth home run of the season.Irving Lopez was 2 for 3 and Kolby Follis was 2 for 5 with two RBI for FIU.Nick MacDonald (5-0) recorded his team-leading fifth win by pitching six innings, allowing six hits, three runs and striking out seven batters.Trailing 9-4 in the bottom of the seventh, USM brought the tying run to the on-deck circle in freshman Matt Wallner, who has 11 home runs after a solo shot in the sixth, but Alex Demchak got Hunter Slater to bounce into a 5-2-3 double play and struck out ...

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