LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (May 06, 2023) – A three-run advantage after the top of the first was not enough for the Florida National University’s baseball team at game one of the Continental Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. The Fisher College Falcons rallied from an early deficit to take a commanding 9-5 victory at Georgia Gwinnett College.
FNU’s first-inning lead came courtesy of Matthew Gonzalez’s single that advanced Gino Bellantoni and Erick Rodriguez in for an FNU score. Roberto Fernandez made his way around the bases to home thanks to a flyout on Nick Diaz to cap off a three-run, two-hit inning.
The Falcons responded quickly putting up two runs at the bottom of the frame. Coby Johnson was the first Falcon to score in a run and a wild pitch from Bastyan Hernandez allowed FC’s Tim Catalano to make it a 3-2 ball game. The Conquistadors were held to just two hits through the next five innings as the score remained unchanged.
The Falcons tied up the contest at the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Jose Aybar that allowed Catalano to slide into home for his second score of the afternoon.
The real turning point came at the bottom of the seventh when the Falcons capitalized on two FNU errors to highlight a six-run, two-hit inning. Despite the 9-3 advantage, FNU’s Alejandro De Arazoza launched a two-RBI single at the top of the ninth. De Arazoza’s late-game heroics were not enough to keep FNU alive, as a routine ground out to second on Bellantoni ended the Conquistadors’ comeback hopes.
FNU recorded eight hits and two errors while the Falcons collected six hits with no errors awarded.
Up Next: FNU baseball will face Iowa Wesleyan tomorrow at 3 p.m. in a must-win CAC showdown.
