Paws Up Preview – FIU Baseball vs FAU

MIAMI, FL – Riding a three-game win streak, the FIU Panthers will head up to Boca Raton on Friday and Sunday to take on the FAU Owls. The Owls come to FIU Baseball Stadium on Saturday as a part of a split three-game set.

After splitting the series against Seton Hall, FIU took on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and defeated them to a final score of 5-1.

Ryne Guida notched his team-leading 15th RBI of the season. This season, Guida is slashing .375/.456/.625/1.081 with three home runs. The senior DH has played in all 13 games this season.

Power, which FIU lacked last season has been an evident improvement in 2023. Amongst Conference USA, the Panthers are tied with New Mexico State for home runs and just behind Dallas Baptist. FIU has 20 home runs this season; leading the way on the team is Kishon Frett with five.

On Tuesday, first baseman Brylan West hurt his hand attempting to steal second. Currently, there are no updates, but West did stay in the game and ended up playing about one more inning and then a wave of defensive substitutions began coming in.

Catcher Brendan Roney went two for three with an RBI on the night, which was his third on the season. He will likely catch both games in Boca Raton. Ronny Medina will most likely catch the middle game at FIU.

Behind the dish, Roney has still been one of the best catchers in Conference USA. Roney ranks 16 in the conference in putouts and is second behind Jax State catcher Bear Madliak in throwing out runners.

Original Friday starter Jackson Ritchey lost his opening spot and Logan Runde took over. Through his first two appearances, Runde struck out a total of 10 hitters through his two outings, but on Friday against Seton Hall, Runde gave up five runs (two earned) off of seven hits and walked one.

Runde did strike out three. He will likely start the Friday game once again in Boca Raton.

On Saturday, Owen Puk gave the Panthers 1.1 innings of work, allowing five runs (three earned) off of seven hits. Puk did strike out one and lowered his ERA. Expect the hard-throwing junior to get the start on Saturday in Miami.

Joel Pineiro has been the Panthers’ best starter this season. On Sunday against Seton Hall, Pineiro went 6.2 innings, gave up one run off of three hits, walked two, and struck out five. He had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning. Pineiro will be the Panthers starting pitcher on Sunday most likely.

Scouting the Owls

Former Conference USA foe of FIU, the FAU Owls is about 60 miles north. The last time these two teams faced off against each other, the Owls got the best of head coach Rich Witten and his ball club, taking the season series with five wins and only one loss.

In 2024, FAU has gotten off to a 6-5 start with a big Opening Series win against number six-ranked Vanderbilt and after a sweeping Towson, the Owls have won two of their last five games. Their only losses have come against UCF UNF, and Stonehill.

Infielder Brando Leroux currently leads the Owls in batting average and on-base percentage. Leroux is slashing .364/.472/.477/.949 with one home run and 12 RBIs.

Outfielder Spencer Rich leads Florida Atlantic in home runs and OPS. This season, Rich is slashing .360/.396/.560/.956 with two home runs and eight RBI.

The Owls this season currently have only two qualified pitchers on their staff with their starting duo of C.J. Williams and Trey Beard. In three starts, Williams has posted a 4.24 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Bears has a 2.84 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in three starts as well.

That third starter for FAU has been a revolving door of Tyler Murphy who has made three starts, Braden Ostrander who has made one start, and Zach Abbey who has also made one start. Expect Murphy to be the Sunday starter.

All three games will be streamed on ESPN+. Game one in Boca Raton will be on Friday, March 8 at 6:30pm. Game two in FIU will be on Saturday at 5:00pm and the series finale in Boca Raton will be on Sunday at noon.