MIAMI ? Tyler Townsend hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Florida International to a 10-5 win over visiting New Orleans on Saturday evening at University Park.
Townsend, who leads the Sun Belt Conference in hitting, broke a 5-5 tie with a towering fly ball that carried the center field wall.
The blast came after UNO (14-23, 5-12 SBC) decided to intentionally walk Ryan Mollica to set up a possible inning-ending double play.
But Townsend jumped on the first pitch he saw from sophomore Jake Henderson (3-5) to help FIU (23-13, 10-7) even the three-game weekend series.
“We wanted to set up the double play and we felt like if we could get good location we'd be okay,” said UNO head coach Tom Walter. “But give credit to Townsend. He made a good swing and got them going.”
Mollica and Greg Waddell each had three hits and scored a run, while Tim Jobe added two hits ? including a solo home run. The Golden Panthers tallied 15 hits but struggled with 13 runners left on base.
Alan Harris continued his solid weekend with two hits and an RBI. Nick Schwaner also had two hits, and Jay Morris provided a two-run single.
All of the UNO offense came in the fifth inning, as the Privateers rallied from an early 4-0 deficit with a five-run frame.
Harris got UNO on the board with an RBI single before Blake Doty (1-for-3) followed with a run-scoring single. After a bunt single by Kyle Maldonado, Tyrone Wethers cut the margin to 4-3 with an RBI groundout.
Morris then hit a ground ball that bounced over the head of Mollica at second ? allowing two runs to score to give UNO its first lead of the night.
The Golden Panthers, though, tied it at 5-5 in the bottom of the inning before jumping ahead with a five-spot of their own in the seventh.
Tom Ebert (4-2) picked up the win for FIU after going 7 2/3 innings and giving up five runs while striking out six.
UNO pitching struggled with eight walks and two hit batters.
“We had eight walks and we let the leadoff man on too many times,” Walter said. “You are not going to put yourself in a good position to win games when you give them that many opportunities.”
The two teams will wrap up the series at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday.
