Gabriel Leads Baseball Past No. 20 FIU

3/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 29, 2002

GABRIEL LEADS BASEBALL PAST NO. 20 FIU

MIAMI – Justin Gabriel threw his second complete game of the season and Chase Lambin and Bryan Sneed each homered as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns handed No. 20 Florida International a 4-1 defeat here Friday at University Park Stadium. Gabriel went the distance allowing just one run on eight hits and striking out seven while holding the Golden Panthers (25-6, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) to their lowest offensive output this season. Sneed led the Cajuns (19-9, 3-1) offensively finishing 4-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and Lambin chipped in with a two-run home run of his own in the fourth inning, his fifth of the season The home run plated Sneed and gave the Cajuns a 2-0 lead. The home run came after Sneed led off the fourth with a single. FIU scored in the bottom half of the fourth when Skip Adams tripled and was then brought home on a Dennis Diaz infield single to trim the Cajuns' lead to 2-1. UL Lafayette padded their lead in the eighth off of Sneed's solo shot and a Justin Bourque sacrifice fly that scored Lambin and gave the Cajuns a 4-1 lead. The win was the third straight for the Cajuns and marked the first time in three trips to Miami that the Cajuns have won the first game of a three-game set. It was also the Cajuns' third straight win over a ranked team. Gabriel won his second straight conference start and the Cajuns won the opening game of an SBC series for the second time in as many weeks. The two teams will resume their weekend series Saturday with a Noon (CST) start as Donnie Bair (1-1, 4.41 ERA) will get the start for the Cajuns and Michael Baluja (4-1, 2.91) will be on the mound for the Golden Panthers.

-Ragin' Cajuns-