JACKSONVILLE, Fla. | A thrilling season opener for Florida Memorial ends in a heartbreaking loss to NCAA Division II foe and fellow Florida HBCU Edward Waters 15-14 in extra innings.

FMU began the game with a bang, scoring six runs in the top of the first before Edward Waters responded with an eight-run bottom of the first to take a two-run lead. The Lions answered in the top of the second when Eduardo Perez produced an RBI that scored Luis Ruiz. Ernie Farrell followed suit with a two-RBI that scored Perez and himself to give FMU a 9-8 lead. Edward Waters went on to score the next four runs to take a three-run lead after five innings.

The Lions responded with two runs in the seventh, one by Adrian Astudillo off a Ulises Rodriguez RBI and the second by Alejandro Fernandez's RBI that brought Daniel Sanchez around the diamond. Nathan Harris' run off a Fernandez RBI tied the game in the top of the ninth to send the contest to extra innings.

At the top of the 11th, a Perez two-RBI single sent Rodriguez and Ruiz around the diamond to give FMU a 14-12 lead going into the bottom of the 11th. EWU would score three runs in the bottom of the 11th to take the victory in a game that saw five lead changes.

Ruiz finished with a team-high three runs along with two hits and three walks. Rodriguez followed suit with two runs and a team-high four hits while Perez added two runs for FMU along with 3 RBIs. In total FMU had 10 players score runs in the contest.

The loss drops Florida Memorial to 0-1 to start the season.

The Lions return to action Saturday, February 3 where they'll take on Edward Waters for the first doubleheader of the year. Game one is scheduled for noon while game two is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Jacksonville, Fla.