Baseball: Golden Panthers put offense to test vs. UL

By: Joel Delgado / Asst Sports Director
FIU (15-9, 3-3 SBC), the conference’s leading offensive unit, takes on the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (12-12, 3-6 SBC), the conference’s most potent pitching staff, as both teams look to improve their standing in the conference with the Sun Belt schedule in full swing.
“Every one of 30 conference games is equal to the next,” head coach Turtle Thomas said. “They beat us pretty soundly last season and in the Sun Belt Tournament.
The Louisiana-Lafayette pitching staff has proven to be the most efficient unit in the conference with a team ERA of 3.54, the lowest in the Sun Belt, while opposing teams have only been able to hit a meager .247 against them.
Zach Osborne is the Cajuns’ ace, compiling a 3-1 record with a 2.05 ERA in six starts coming into this weekend and will provide the Golden Panthers with one of the biggest tests of the season.
The senior is also a workhorse, currently second in the conference in innings pitched with 44, averaging 7.33 innings per outing while string out 47 batters in that span.
“He’s a quality Sun Belt Friday night starter,” Thomas said of Osborne.
FIU enters the weekend with a conference-high batting average of .346, bolstered by three hitters who are among the top of the conference: Garrett Wittels, Mike Martinez and Pablo Bermudez.
But Thomas has stressed that both the offense and the pitching need to show up every game if the team is to remain competitive.
“We’ve got to hit on days when we pitch and pitch on days when we hit,” Thomas said. “We’ve got to put those things together on a more consistent basis.”
The series begins April 2 at 7 p.m. at FIU Baseball Stadium.

#FONDON IN#

R.J. Fondon will start in the second game of the series in place of No. 2 starter Corey Polizzano.
Polizzano struggled in his last start on March 27 against UALR, where he surrendered six runs, five of them earned, before being pulled in the second inning. On the season, Polizzano is 2-2 with a 7.76 ERA.
Fondon has made eight appearances on the mound for FIU and is 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA, the lowest among regular pitchers.
“It’s not anything that Corey Polizzano has done,” Thomas said. “They’re equal as far as pitchers are concerned, but I think [Fondon] can go deeper in the game which might relieve us from using much of the bullpen.”

#JUNIOR QUESTIONABLE#

Starting shortstop and team captain Junior Arrojo suffered a bruised index finger over the weekend against UALR and now the team is deciding whether he will be able to be a part of the starting lineup Friday night.
Arrojo played in an intra-squad scrimmage on March 31, but Thomas says that Arrojo will be a “game-time decision.”