MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | The first doubleheader of the year at Harry T. Moore Baseball Field proved to be one for the ages, as Florida Memorial completed the Friday sweep over Florida National and secured its first series victory of the season.
Game 1:
FMU 10 - FNU 4
The game started off slow, with the opening two innings going scoreless. FMU outfielder Pheron Charlton broke the scoreless streak with a single RBI that scored shortstop Marco Medina in the bottom of the third. Florida National answered back with two unearned runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead at 3-1, before senior Alejandro Fernandez's sacrifice RBI scored Nathan Harris to make it a one-run game in the bottom of the fifth.
Down by one after a scoreless sixth and seventh, the Lions retook the lead off three straight walks that scored Ulises Rodriguez, Medina, and Gianni Tusa in the bottom of the eighth. The dream inning continued as Fernandez added a pair of RBI that scored Luis Ruiz as well as Harris followed by a Conquistador error that brought Pheron Charlton around the diamond. Rodriguez finished the scoring for the Lions, as his single two RBI scored Raymond Rivera and Fernandez for an eight-run bottom of the eighth. After shutting out Florida National, FMU came back from a one-run deficit to earn a 10-3 victory, winning the opening two games of the series.
New addition Carlos Solano started on the mound for the Lions and in five innings, allowed four hits, three runs, and three walks while striking out five Conquistadors. Senior Kyle Morrison (1-1) secured the victory and in three innings pitched allowed just two hits and one walk while adding three strikeouts. Junior Stephen West finished on the mound, striking out two Conquistadors.
Game 2:
FMU 5 - 3
Florida National opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. FMU responded with four runs in the bottom of the first, the first two off an
Ernie Farrell two-RBI that brought Ruiz and Charlton around the diamond to give FMU the lead. Farrell continued the scoring, bringing in run three off an RBI by Fernandez. Fernandez was rewarded with a run himself, coming from a sacrifice RBI from Medina to give FMU the 4-1 lead after one inning.
Florida National began to chip away at the lead, scoring one run in three of the next four innings, while the Lions remained scoreless in that time to make the game 4-3 after four innings. Florida Memorial added its fifth and final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, off a sacrifice RBI from Fernandez that scored Charlton for his fifth run of the series. The final two innings would go scoreless, securing victory for FMU.
Juan Anderson started on the mound for the Lions and in three innings, allowed six hits, two runs, and one walk while earning four strikeouts. Junior
Andres Mendes (1-1) earned the win, allowing just one hit and one run in his lone inning pitched while adding a strikeout. Miami native
Kelvin Feliciano was next in line and in two innings allowed only two walks while striking out one Conquistador.
Junior pitcher
Jamal Johnson finished pitching duties for FMU, allowing only one walk in his one-inning pitched.
The doubleheader sweep marks the fourth straight win for Florida Memorial advancing them to 6-4 on the year.
The Lions return to action Saturday, March 2, where they'll host Florida National for the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Harry T. Moore Baseball Field.
