FIU Baseball Prepares for Upcoming Ranked Opponents

Miami, FL – After being swept by the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, FIU Baseball is back at it looking to rebound, but the opponents are only going to get more difficult.

The opponents the Panthers will have to match up against include the nationally ranked No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, which is a makeup game from last week, which was postponed due to weather. After that, conference play will continue against The 22nd ranked UTSA Roadrunners on Friday, with the series continuing to Sunday.

FIU currently stands with a record of 14-22, but have an abysmal record of 3-12 against Conference USA opponents.

FGCU

The Eagles find themselves with a 27-9 overall record and are 11-4 in the conference. Their key player has been Edrick Felix, who is slashing .392/.469/.797/1.282 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs. On the pitching side, Justin Henschel has pitched to a 4.15 ERA and has seen an increase in giving up walks (22), but still getting most of his work done through the defense behind him.

FGCU is coming off a series loss against Eastern Kentucky Colonels, but still took the last game, so they have momentum moving forward. The Eagles have already beaten the Panthers twice this season, with the Cats giving up 26 runs total against Florida Gulf Coast.

We make good contact quite often. 🤷🏾‍♂️#WeKnow #WingsUp #FGCU 🤙🦅🌴 ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/TVYJ1AwETb

— FGCU Baseball ⚾️ (@FGCU_Baseball) April 18, 2023

The starter for FIU will be Christian Santana, who has an 8.68 ERA through 18.2 innings pitched. Santana was in the rotation early in the season, but his struggles took him out of the starting spot, and he is now being used as a reliever/opener.

UTSA

The task won’t get much easier for FIU Baseball after facing off against the ranked Eagles. FIU enters conference play against the best team in Conference USA, UTSA. This season, the Roadrunners are 28-9 overall and are 12-2 in the conference.

Led by Matt King who is slashing .319/.399/.532/.931 with four home runs and 36 RBIs, the Panthers will need to focus mainly on the hot hitter to contain him.

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨…

YOUR @d1baseball #️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ UTSA ROADRUNNERS ‼️🤩#BirdsUp 🤙 | #LetsGo210 pic.twitter.com/zQiQD8OtNg

— UTSA Baseball ⚾️ (@UTSABSB) April 17, 2023

The game-one starter for FIU will be Angel Tiburcio. After a great start against FAU, he struggled against Middle Tennessee right after. Tiburcio has given the Panthers longevity this season on the mound and if he can do that against UTSA, there’s a chance FIU can sneak a win.

The game-two starter will be Jackson Ritchey followed by Ryan Cabarcas. Both have had their highs and lows this season, but if they can keep UTSA quiet with the bats, then that will make way for the offense to strike.