Jonathan Mayer / Staff Writer
For the FIU Baseball Team in 2021 there was a lot of hope for the direction this team was heading. A terrific recruiting season, many returning players who were key contributors in previous campaigns, and a year looking forward to a full slate of games after COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season to only 15 games.
However, the expectations that were given to the 2021 season fell short as they finished the year with a 20-31 record, their third losing season for Head Coach Mervyl Melendez in the five years he has spent with the team.
The team also had to adjust to multiple COVID protocols. When going against Conference USA teams, they had to play a four game series, with one day being a doubleheader to maximize the amount of matches on their schedule.
This impacted FIU as they finished the year with an 11-19 record against conference opponents, which is their worst finish to a season in the past 10 seasons.
Against non-conference teams, the Panthers were under .500 going 9-12, with their wins coming from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Miami Redhawks, Coastal Carolina, Wichita State Shockers, and Stetson.
Both these records guided FIU to a losing year as they ultimately were not qualified to make it to the 2021 Conference USA Baseball Tournament.
A Successful Recruiting Year
This past September, FIU made headlines once again being a part of Baseball America’s Top 25 Recruiting Class, and the only school that does not belong to a Power Five Conference (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and PAC 12).
The class was headlined by the Puerto Rican duo of Steven Ondina and Mario Zabala, who were ranked by Baseball America as the top two prospects from the island.
Ondina is a shortstop who comes from Gurabo, Puerto Rico and is ranked as the 68th best overall player and the 12th best shortstop ranked by Perfect Game.
Zabala is an outfielder who hails from San Juan, Puerto Rico and is ranked 16th best overall player and seventh overall best outfielder also by Perfect Game.
FIU also recruited three Freshman whose fathers had great careers in the MLB. This includes Dante Girardi (son of Joe Girardi), RJ Ibanez (son of Raul Ibanez), and Orlando Hernandez ( son of Orlando Hernandez “El Duque”).
With the many great recruits in 2020, it became increasingly clear that FIU is looking ahead to a promising future with the amount of talent on their roster.
Starting out the year with a three team homestand
The Panthers kicked off the 2021 season playing their first three series’ at home and facing their first opponent against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They took Game One by a final score of 9-4, which included an eight run first inning.
FIU then won game two, winning the game 4-3 in 10 innings with a walkoff hit from Zabala. They would close out the series losing by a score of 10-6, but starting the year with a winning record of 2-1.
After taking the series against UIC, FIU welcomed the Miami Ohio University RedHawks for a four-game home series.
The Panthers won the first encounter 3-1, where starting pitcher Tyler Myrick allowed one run while striking out 13 batters. However, game two was the total opposite as the RedHawks dominated by a score of 21-4 in which FIU allowed 18 hits and 11 runs in the eighth inning. FIU would come back in game three picking up an 8-4 win, while losing the final game 15-6.
The final series of the homestand was against the Indiana State Sycamores, which FIU ultimately got swept in the three games by scores of 13-2, 9-4, and 7-2.
Thus, the Panthers went 4-6 to start out the season, and looked to get over .500 on the road.
Finishing non-conference matchups on the road.
FIU continued their non-conference play this time on the road as they took on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, a team that has been successful in recent years. FIU split the four-game series, taking the first two victories, but falling short in the final two.
After their trip in South Carolina, their final opponents before conference play was against Wichita State and Stetson, both taking place at Stetson’s home ballpark. Although two of the games were cancelled, FIU took two victories againstWichita State, but lost to Stetson 6-3.
At the end of the non-conference play, the Panthers finished with an 8-9 record as they got ready for the C-USA matchups.
The Pitching Woes Begin
FIU began conference play taking on the Old Dominion Monarchs, winning the first game by edging out the Monarchs in an offensive outburst with a 15-12 victory. Old Dominion would then go on to shut out the Panthers 14-0, taking the victory in a pitchers duel of 3-2, and take the final game by a score of 16-9.
ThePanthers would come back to Miami to take on their in-state rivals the Miami Hurricanes for a midweek matchup, where the Hurricanes blew out the Panthers with a score of 21-1 with FIU allowing 19 hits through nine innings.
In this span of five games between the Monarchs and the Hurricanes, FIU allowed over 69 runs, which is the most they have given up in a five-game in the program history.
Inconsistency at its best
After allowing over 69 runs, the Panthers faced the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers the following weekend. FIU would look dominant in this series after losing game one, they would go on to win the final three games by scores of 3-2, 2-1, and 10-0. It became clear that the pitching problems were resolved and this team was destined for more wins.
On the contrary, this proved to not be the case when they took on the Hurricanes again, this time at Mark Light Field, and lost 8-3.
FIU would come back home to take on Charlotte in a four-game set, but would not win a single match, getting swept in the process. This dropped the Panthers record to 12-19 as they found it difficult to get over their current hump.
They would then head out to West Virginia to play the Marshall Thundering Herd for another four games, in which they would split the series taking games one and three with a score of 8-2 and 5-0, which was a no-hitter by pitcher Steven Casey.
The Panthers then took on Stetson for a midweek game winning 7-6, as they continued to fight to try to compete for a spot in the C-USA Tournament.
The All Important FAU-FIU Rivalry
With only four series’ remaining, and six games under .500, FIU were going to play against the Florida Atlantic Owls, for an eight game series. This was important for the Panthers as winning the series would give them a much needed boost in their hopes of getting a spot in the C-USA tournament.
Unfortunately, the Owls made it a tough time for FIU as the Panthers would only get two wins in the series to put them at a record of 17-27, making them 10 games under.
Falling Short of any Comeback
The losses against FAU were brutal for the Panthers, and now had to take on 14th ranked Louisiana Tech in the final home series. FIU would defeat the Bulldogs in game one with a score of 10-5, but would lose game two 12-7. Ultimately, the next two games of the series would be cancelled and not be postponed due to excessive rain over the weekend.
It was then on to Middle Tennessee for the final road trip that saw the Panthers split another series, this time winning by 2-1 and 11-9.
The final game of the year would be against the highly ranked #3 Vanderbilt, which FIU would be dominated losing 20-4.
This officially ended any playoff hopes for the Panthers as they finished the season with an overall record of 20-31.
What went wrong and What went right?
There was one main problem to why FIU struggled this season and had another losing record, it is primarily down to the pitching staff.
The pitching for FIU would stand out to be the biggest issue as they earned a run average of 6.71, which is second to last in C-USA. They allowed over 480 hits, 312 earned runs, and 56 home runs. This made it increasingly difficult to stay in ballgames and hold onto lead when FIU was in control.
Only Angel Turbucio and Casey would have ERA’s under 4 on the pitching staff.
Although the team struggled on one end, the hitting for FIU did not disappoint. The team had an overall batting average of .258 with 410 hits and an on base percentage of .349.
Key contributors include First baseman Adrian Figueroa, who led the team with a .324 batting average while hitting 2 home runs and drove in 32 runs. Outfielder Justin Farmer had a great junior season hitting .279 with 9 HRs and 41 RBI’s.
Derek Cartaya, infielder and leader of the team finished off his senior season with a .269 average with 45 hits and seven stolen bases.
The FIU baseball team declined an interview request by PantherNOW.
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