FIU Baseball Splits Four Game Weekend Series against Coastal Carolina

Jonathan Mayer / Contributing Writer

The FIU baseball team split their four game series in Conway, South Carolina against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on March 12th-14th.

The Panthers took the first two games of the series winning by scores of 8-6 and 7-4, but stumbled in the home stretch, losing 7-0 and 6-1.

FIU now holds a record of 6-8 on the season and is second to last out of the six teams in the Eastern division of Conference USA. The series marked the first meeting between FIU and Coastal Carolina.

The Panthers had the early advantage in game one, as they hit two solo home runs in the first inning, courstery of outfielders Alec Sanchez and Justin Farmer. In the fourth, FIU added onto their 2-0 lead with another home run from first baseman Adrian Figuorea. Two more runs were in the fifth, including a sacrifice single from outfielder Juan Teixeira. Coastal Carolina finally responded in the fifth with a two-run homer, which cut the Panthers’ lead to 5-2 .

In the sixth inning, the Panthers increased the score to 8-2 with third baseman Dante Girardi’s groundout and shortstop Steven Ondina’s two-run single. Despite the Chanticleers scoring three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh, it wasn’t enough as the Panthers took game one with a score of 8-6.

In game two, Coastal took the early 1-0 in the third with a double, but FIU responded off an error from the Chanticleers second baseman and scored two runs in the fourth, giving FIU the 2-1 lead.

It was a stalemate until the seventh inning, when Figourea hit a single that bumped up the lead to 3-1. Coastal responded, stealing home base off an inaccurate pitch by Farmer, and cut the score to 3-2. In the top of the eighth, the Panthers were able to bring in four runs including a single from catcher Luis Chavez and a two-run single from Giradi, increasing their lead to 7-2.  

Coastal scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, and had men on base in the ninth to potentially tie the game, but FIU pitcher Greyson Fletcher struck out the final batter to take game two with a score of 7-4.

Game three was an offensive onslaught from Coastal Carolina, who scored two in the third, four in the fifth, and one in the sixth, totaling for a final score of 7-0. The lone bright spot for FIU was pitcher JJ Teixeira who pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing only one hit, striking out five batters.

The fourth and final game of the series was more of the same for FIU on offense. Coastal was the first to score, with three runs in the second inning. In the third, the Panthers cut the deficit to 3-1 as Sanchez hit a solo home run, but that was the only run of the day for FIU. The Chanticleers would score two more runs that game, ending with a 6-1 win.

Next up for the Panthers is a road trip to Deland against the Wichita State Shockers and the Stetson Hatters. It’ll begin on Friday, March 19th at 2pm against the Shockers, and transition to Saturday at 2pm against the Hatters. On Sunday, March 21st, the Panthers will rematch Wichita State at noon, and then take on Stetson 45 minutes afterwards.