Panthers head into must-win series

Reinaldo Llerena/ Staff Writer

The FIU baseball team must win at least one game in the final home weekend series of the year to guarantee a spot in the Conference USA tournament.

The Panthers (25-27) will face the No. 13 Southern Mississippi University Golden Eagles from Thursday, May 19 until Saturday, May 21. One win, out of the three games, locks the Panthers in the C-USA tournament.

After sweeping the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers the weekend of May 13-15, the Panthers put themselves in a good spot. The Panthers own the tiebreaker against the Blazers and Western Kentucky University. If the Eagles sweeps the Panthers, then both the Blazers and Western Kentucky must lose at least one game for FIU to get into the tournament.

The series between the Eagles and the Panthers features two of the best hitting teams in C-USA.

The Panthers rank second in the conference with a team average of .295. The Eagles rank first in the conference with a .305 team average.

However, Southern Miss has a slightly lower earned run average than the Panthers.

The Panthers’ 4.40 ERA heading into the series is the seventh best in C-USA while the Eagles’ 4.20 ERA ranks fifth in the conference.

Southern Miss is also very good on defense compared to the Panthers. The Panthers rank near the bottom in fielding percentage in the conference while Southern Miss ranks second in the conference.

In the last meeting against the Panthers, Southern Miss won in seven innings because of the 10-run rule.

First pitch from FIU Stadium is set for Thursday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. This is the last chance for the Panthers to secure a spot in the C-USA tournament.