Bryan Palacio/contributing writer
A game-winning homerun in the last inning of the game by Mercer University landed FIU in second place, one win short of a two-tournament sweep and a 10-game winning streak.
“I thought we played pretty well,” said softball Head Coach Jake Schumann. “We pitched well, swung the bat well, [but] we lost focus on a couple of pitches there in the end. We had some bad walks, and those walks will come back to bite you and they did.”
FIU (9-6) took home silver in the FIU Classic this past weekend, where they faced the University of Hartford, Mercer University, and Savannah State University in the Softball Field.
The Panthers finished the weekend 4-1, losing 4-3 in the championship game to Mercer. The loss handed Junior Shelby Wagnon (3-1) her first loss of the year. But even with the loss, the Panthers continued their winning ways and had a successful weekend.
Senior Brie Rojas is one of two Panthers to start all 16 games though Feb.25, but has been struggling recently with a .229 average and a .302 on-base percentage on the season.
“I think we’ve gotten better every day. We haven’t taken any steps backwards,” Schumann said. “But still not where we need to be in two weeks when we start conference play. That’s something we talked about post game and the girls know that. A nine-game winning streak will cover up some stuff that you’re doing wrong.”
Freshman Corrine Jenkins (4-1) and sophomore Shelby Graves (2-1) both picked up two wins each during the tournament. The pitching dominated, giving up more than six hits only once. The Panthers also limited their opponents to 10 runs in the three games. They managed to keep the opponent under .300 in all but the final game.
As good as they pitched, FIU also hit better than they had all season. They managed to put up more than six runs, in four out of the five games. Their previous game high this year was only six.
Sophomore Krystal Garcia had an efficient weekend, extending her hitting streak to five games before she went hitless in the last game. Garcia tallied an average of .467, four runs and five RBIs.
After the weekend, FIU still finds itself in third place in the conference, now five games in back of first place South Alabama. But Schumann said the team doesn’t stress the standings too much now while they’re playing non-conference games.
“College is about the experience not just the game. So, we’ll do some Savannah ghost tours and stuff like that. We’re going to face some good teams, so it’ll be a good warm up for some conference play.”
The Panthers will play their first road games of the year as they participate in the Georgia Southern Tournament starting this Friday, March 1. They will take on Georgia Southern, Kennesaw St., Alabama St., and South Carolina in Statesboro, Ga.
