FIU’s baseball team lost to New Mexico State by a score of 6-5 on May 15 in the middle game of their Conference USA series at Presley Askew Field. The defeat brings FIU’s record to 18-35 overall and 9-20 in conference play, setting up a deciding game for the regular season finale.
The loss came after New Mexico State scored five runs in the third inning, taking an early lead with an RBI single, a fielder’s choice, a two-run double, and another RBI single. FIU responded in the seventh inning when Caden Sammler and Luca Reyes walked, Cole Cleveland singled to load the bases, and Samuel Fischer hit an RBI single. Mario Trivella followed with a two-run single that cut the deficit to 5-3.
New Mexico State added what proved to be the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch. In the ninth inning, Trivella singled before Cooper Rasmussen hit his twelfth home run of the season—an inside-the-park homer—that brought FIU within one run. However, their comeback attempt ended there.
Julian Mlodzinski started for FIU on the mound, allowing three earned runs over three innings while striking out two batters. George Adams pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and has now given up just one run over his last ten-plus innings pitched. Bryce Turner contributed with another 2.1 innings without allowing an earned run.
Offensively, FIU collected eight hits during the game. Trivella drove in two runs and reached fifty RBIs for the season; he and Rasmussen both had multi-hit games while Fischer also recorded a hit. Aidan Cohall reached base twice with a single and walk; Andrew Ildefonso added another hit while Sammler walked twice and Reyes drew one walk.
The teams will meet again Saturday at Presley Askew Field for their regular season finale scheduled for May 16 at 4 p.m., which will be streamed live.
