FIU Baseball Swept By SHSU To Wrap Up CUSA Season

MIAMI, FL – The Sam Houston State Bearkats, who were looking to secure their spot in the Conference USA Tournament, improved their chances by defeating FIU by a final score of 10-6, sweeping them in the process.

Joel Pineiro, who was not used in Saturday’s matchup, took the mound and had himself a strong start. Pineiro pitched in five and 2/3 innings, giving up two runs off of four hits and two walks while striking out five.

The first run that Pineiro gave up was a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning. In the top of the fifth inning, a wild pitch drove in the Bearkats’ second run of the game.

Kishon Frett, who has found a lot more success against the conference this season, capitalized by hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the second, taking a 2-1 lead over the Bearkats.

Playing small ball in the top of the fifth inning extended the Panthers’ lead. Jeff Liquori led the inning off with a base hit to right field. Catcher Brendan Roney continued his strong season with a base hit, moving Liquori to third base.

Roney attempted to steal second but got himself into a rundown that was long enough to score Liquori, and then Roney was caught trying to head back to first base.

The Bearkats were projected to finish toward the top of the conference for a reason. Trailing 3-2, in the top of the sixth inning, the Bearkats loaded the bases for Easton Loyd who drove in two runs on an RBI single. Lead-off hitter Caleb Cotton drove in a fifth run for the Bearkats on a sacrifice fly.

Walker Janek, who is the Bearkats’ top bat, took reliever Jaydon Bishop deep for a two-run blast to extend the lead, 7-3.

The Panthers’ offense began to chip away at their lead. With this marking the final Conference USA game of the season, the Panthers celebrated senior day and Jeff Liquori, one of 14 seniors being honored, hit his tenth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to three.

The Panthers’ offense managed to find some late success with Hector Candelas hitting his first home run in D1, and Guida smacking another homer to left field.

Still, they were unable to keep it going in the long run, falling to SHSU by a score of 10-6.

The Panthers, who had not seen their conference record below .500, finished the season by getting swept and their record dipping to 12-14, but still are at an overall .500 record at 25-25.

FIU will play their final home game of the season on Tuesday, May 14 at 6pm against Miami Hurricanes. The Panthers will look to split the season series against the rivals. The starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game is TBD.