In the first two games of FIU's weekend series with Middle Tennessee at University Park Stadium, the Golden Panthers' starting pitchers were erratic.
On Sunday, FIU got a much-needed quality start from left-hander Corey Polizzano and jumped to a four-run lead, but the Golden Panthers' bullpen couldn't hold it as the Blue Raiders roared back to score five runs in the 10th inning for an 11-8 win to sweep the Sun Belt series.
It's been the story of FIU's season: unreliable pitching. When a starter has a good start, the bullpen implodes, and when a starter gets roughed up, the bullpen pitches well.
''Corey Polizzano pitched a good game,'' FIU coach Turtle Thomas said. ``We got into a long offensive inning in the bottom of the sixth, and he came back out in the seventh and he didn't quite have the same stuff that he had before.
``One of the things that you have to do when you have a long offensive inning is keep your concentration, keep focused in the dugout. That's something that all pitchers have to do, and I'm not talking about one specific guy. Everybody has to do that.''
Concentration on the mound has not been FIU's strong suit, as the 7.12 team ERA will attest.
Polizzano, coming off a poor outing against Western Kentucky last weekend, allowed two runs through six innings before tiring. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed four runs.
FIU (12-26, 5-10 Sun Belt) gave him an early 6-2 lead with a two-run double by Jorge Castillo and RBI singles by Steven Stropp and Corey Lozano. But the Blue Raiders (18-14, 9-8) knocked the FIU bullpen around.
Tyler Burnett, who won Saturday's game with a two-run home run in the 10th, tied Sunday's game with a two-run home run off FIU reliever Carlos Martinez in the eighth.
In Sunday's 10th inning, Middle Tennessee loaded the bases on Martinez with a single and two walks.
Steven Stewart relieved Martinez and gave up a bases-clearing double to Zach Barrett to put the Blue Raiders ahead 9-6. Cleanup hitter Rawley Bishop followed with a two-run home run.
