MIAMI, Fla. - The Rutgers baseball team lost a tough 4-2 decision to Florida International Saturday afternoon at University Park Stadium. The Scarlet Knights (6-5) held a 1-0 lead through six innings, before FIU (11-7) used a four-run seventh frame to earn the come-from-behind victory.
Hours after a 12-run performance against FIU on Friday night, the Scarlet Knights continued their scoring early in Saturday's contest. RU got singles from Todd Frazier (Toms River, N.J.) and Ryan Hill (Hillsdale, N.J.) to put runners on first and second in the opening frame and Dave Williams (Franklin, N.J.) produced the Scarlet Knights' first score of the afternoon with a single to right field to bring home Frazier for the 1-0 lead. RU threatened for more in the frame with runners on the corners, attempting a double steal but Hill was tagged out at home to end the inning.
With the one-run lead, Rutgers senior pitcher Steve Healing (Brick, N.J.) went to work, retiring 11 of the first 13 batters he faced. FIU starter Chris Allen, however, matched Healing frame-for-frame, allowing five hits, while striking out seven over the next six innings (second through seventh) for a classic pitcher's duel.
Rutgers came close to adding to its run total on one swing in the fifth when Frazier drilled a ball off the top of the wall in right-center field for a two-out, stand-up double but the junior was unable to advance any further.
FIU posed its first major scoring threat in the sixth when Brian Adams hit a one-out single to right field and used a wild pitch and a balk to move 90-feet away from the tying score. Healing, however, induced a fly out to right field and the Golden Panthers wisely chose not to test the right fielder Williams' arm on the tag up, before the Scarlet Knights' pitcher used his foot to stop a ball back up the middle and second baseman Mike Bionde (Pompton Plains, N.J.) picked up the loose ball and fired it to first for the inning-ending out.
It appeared to be another quick inning for Healing in the seventh with two outs on two pitches, but FIU got the elusive equalizer two pitches later on a home run by John Petika. Bryan Pullin then followed with a single and Cody Jacobs found the gap in left-center field for a double to score Pullin which gave FIU its first lead (2-1) of the game and ended Healing's day. Senior Sean Spicer (Pearl River, N.Y.) came in on relief of Healing. Spicer's first batter, pinch hitter Raimy Fuentes, made FIU's lead 4-1 with a two-run home run over the right-field fence.
Down for the first time since the first inning of Friday's series opener, Rutgers mounted a comeback in the eighth. Hill got things started finding a small hole on the left side for his third hit of the day and moved Bionde, who reached on a fielder's choice, in scoring position at second base. Williams then delivered a ball to the warning track in center field which went off the FIU center fielder's glove and Bionde came around to slide under the tag at home plate and make it 4-2. With Scarlet Knights on first and second and the go-ahead run at the plate, Allen worked out of the dangerous situation, inducing a fly out and recording his 10th strikeout of the game to prevent further damage.
After a 1-2-3 eighth inning of relief by senior Chris Lillis (Fair Haven. N.J.), Rutgers had one final chance in the ninth. Allen finished off what he started though, getting a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to earn the complete-game victory. He finished with a season-high 12 strikeouts to even his record at 1-1 for the season.
Allen's stellar day overshadowed a great effort by Healing, who struck out three batters without a walk in 6.2 innings, while giving up three runs on seven hits in defeat to move to 1-2 on the season.
Hill and Frazier each went 3-for-4 to account for six of Rutgers' 10 hits in the contest.
Rutgers will close out its series with FIU on Sunday with the rubber game set for 1:00 p.m.
