Panthers Pitching Woes Continue, Drop Weekend Series To Owls

MIAMI, FL—FIU Baseball’s offense couldn’t overcome a rough pitching performance as the Panthers fell to Florida Atlantic in the weekend series finale by a score of 6-4.

This was an interesting game for FIU offense-wise, as all their runs were cashed in on the deep ball. Four home runs in a game are impressive, with Brylan West, Kishon Frett, and Andrew Ildefonso being the culprits. West doubled up with a pair of home runs in the sixth and eighth innings.

Regardless, the Owls had their way with starting pitcher Logan Runde, who entered this game with a 2-0 record. Despite putting in five innings of work, Runde gave up seven hits, four earned runs, and only two strikeouts.

When West blasted his first home run of the game in the sixth inning, the Panthers cut into the lead. Ildefonso’s blast to center field in the seventh inning cut the lead to 5-3, giving FIU some life.

Florida Atlantic added an insurance run in the eighth inning, and FIU couldn’t find answers at-bat from there on out. All in all, the Panthers have lost three of their last four contests and have yet to win a game on the road.

The CUSA slate of the season is later this month, but the 12-5 Panthers have some final non-conference opponents to take care of. That starts with a midweek matchup in Miami against the 6-9 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Tuesday, March 11th, at 6pm. They’ll then host the 6-6 Bucknell Bison for a four-game weekend series – also being the final four-game series of the season.