Panthers Explode on Offense in First Win Over Villanova

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MIAMI, FL – FIU Baseball came up strong with their bats in today’s game against the Villanova Wildcats. All of their runs came in the second and fourth innings today.

The bullpen came through and silenced their opponent after they made some early noise in the game. The Panthers exploded on offense in a 13-3 victory over Villanova, their first win of the 2026 season.

George Adams Gets Tested Early on but Finishes Strong

Villanova started the game ahead 3-0 after posting a sac fly in the first and homering in the second inning. Despite those instances, Adams had an upright start and performed better after his team provided run support.

Adams finished his outing, allowing four hits, three earned runs, and two walks while punching out three in 3.0 innings of workload.

“I thought those two offensive explosions really started on the mound,” head coach Rich Witten said. “We finally got that explosion in the bottom of the second and then got a quick top of the third, and George settled in there to finish off his outing nicely. Juju came in and really threw the ball well, put up some zeroes, and also gave us some tempo and energy, which is what we’ve been looking for.”

“There’s been a lot of long innings on defense, a lot of deep counts, a lot of runners that we’ve tried to pitch out of. So, he got some tempo going for us and I think, that let’s us get back in rhythm offensively.”

“That’s the kind of offense that we have, that can put up some crooked numbers, and they’re sticking within their approach. Fighting with two strikes and doing damage in plus counts on fastballs so that’s what we’re looking to see out of this group this year and it’s good to see them boune back today.”

Six-run Second Inning

Lucas Reyes opened up the scoring in the second inning with his first home run of the season. It was a solo homer, and it was only the beginning of the offensive spark FIU put on during the inning.

Luca DESTROYED that baseball 😳

His first HR as a Panther! pic.twitter.com/IM5Hc5b9r3

— FIU Baseball (@FIUBaseball) February 14, 2026

Samuel Fischer tested Villanova’s Jack Kelley and drew the walk. He then advanced to third on Boston Doeschot’s double. After Mario Trivella got the free pass to first, FIU had the bases loaded with no outs.

Aris Rivera hit a two-RBI single to tie up the game at three, scoring both Fischer and Doeschot.

Andrew Ildefonso continued the rally by getting a groundout RBI. Cole Cleveland followed up with an RBI, and Aidan Cohall capped off the scoring with an RBI double to left center, making it a 6-3 contest.

Cleveland cashes in for the lead 🤫 pic.twitter.com/sF3NBvUEDV

— FIU Baseball (@FIUBaseball) February 14, 2026

Seven-Run Fourth Inning

The Panthers were gifted with four straight walks to Vicente Feliciano, Ildefonso Cleveland, and Cohall to force in a run. Reyes then hit an RBI groundout, and with the bases still loaded, Doeschot hit a two-run single to right to extend the lead to 10-3.

Trivella then finished the rally by launching a three-run homer to extend FIU’s lead to 13-3. This inning proved to be the icing on the cake in this match.

MARIO WITH THE THREE-RUN BOMB 💣

B4 | Villanova 3, FIU 13 pic.twitter.com/wU6UC7Q3Aw

— FIU Baseball (@FIUBaseball) February 14, 2026

Reyes and Doeschot led the team with multi-hit games, and a total of seven players had at least one hit.

FIU’s ability to pressure Villanova’s pitchers into throwing strikes was pivotal in their ability to move runners across the basepaths. Impressively, they were able to draw a total of 13 walks in the game.

Bullpen Shuts the Door

FIU’s bullpen was phenomenal in the game, allowing just one hit while striking out 10 Wildcat hitters.

Julian Mlodzinski got the win after he tossed a career-high of three innings and recorded four punchouts. Enrique Sierra had a scoreless seventh, getting a strikeout. Clayton Sherwood closed out the eighth, striking out each batter he faced, and Mason Koczawa tossed a scoreless ninth, registering two strikeouts on the scoreboard.

Juju is cruising 🚢

📺 https://t.co/sEryPmZglb pic.twitter.com/8AAj52bIPN

— FIU Baseball (@FIUBaseball) February 14, 2026

The command vastly improved for the team overnight, with the bullpen issuing just two walks.

Up Next

The Panthers will look to take home the series win tomorrow afternoon against Villanova at 12 pm. It will be streamed on ESPN+.

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