Previewing FIU Baseball’s Matchup Against Penn

Richard Gibson/Staff Writer

Heading into the series against Pepperdine, FIU had a 7-0 record and was first in Conference USA. After three losses to the Waves, FIU is now 7-3 and fourth in the conference. The losses can be credited to giving up early leads, and numerous silent innings by the offense. It was part of a west-coast style that FIU learned the hard way, but now they have to gear up for something brand new- the Ivy League style. 

Beginning on Friday, March 6th at 7 p.m, FIU will begin a three-game series at home against the Penn Quakers. The Quakers are part of the Ivy League, which includes other schools such as Brown, Columbia, Harvard, and Yale. More known for their academic standards, the Ivy League has had success with sports over the past decades, with baseball being one of their best. 

Aside from FIU, Penn will also play another Conference USA team this season: The Florida Atlantic Owls, immediately after the FIU series. Some other non-Ivy League schools Penn will face include Stetson, La Salle, Seton Hall, and George Washington (The university). Penn has already finished a series against Kennesaw State.

Last season, Penn finished the season with a record of 23-18. This includes series wins against Duke, Fairleigh Dickinson, Brown, and Winthrop. Some notable series losses include UNC Greensboro, Harvard, Yale, and Cornell. Despite the winning record, they didn’t make the Ivy League Championship Series. 

This will be the first-ever meeting between FIU and Penn. In fact, the only Ivy League schools FIU has ever played are Brown, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Colombia. In all of their meetings combined, FIU is 6-3 against the IVY League. 

The Ivy League has a style of play that involves high energy innings no matter the score. This is because Ivy League teams only play 40 games a season. Keep in mind- FIU played 55 games last season. Taking every game seriously is even more important in the Ivy League. One bad game for an Ivy League team can ensure that there will be no tournament appearance.

 As far as players go, keep an eye out for Penn’s starting pitchers and bullpen, which has a solid mix of freshmen and seniors. Pitcher Mitchell Holcomb leads the pitchers in strikeouts, with six total. Outfielder Peter Matt leads Penn in hits so far with four total. 

Three different players for Penn have earned at least one home run, so it’ll be imperative for FIU’s pitchers to keep them at bay. FIU struggled to score runs against Pepperdine, so they’ll need to make adjustments. If FIU goes back to the success they had on offense and defense against Fordham and George Mason, they shouldn’t have a problem winning the series against Penn.

As mentioned earlier, FIU begins the series against Penn on Friday, March 6th at 7 p.m. The series continues on Saturday, March 7th at 6 p.m, then wraps up on Sunday, March 8th at noon. FIU will then host Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday, March 11th at 7 p.m. After that, FIU will be on the road to begin a series against Southern Miss.