Fabio Lopez / Staff Writer
The FIU Softball team has finished another disappointing season with a losing record for the second straight year, which hasn’t happened since their 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
The Panthers topped off their year with a 15-26 overall record and a 7-13 Conference USA record. Their short-lived 2020 season ended 8-9 with no Conference USA matches played.
FIU just missed out on the C-USA Tournament as they finished in fourth place out of the six teams in the Eastern Division and were seventh out of the 12 schools overall, narrowly missing out on the top six required to qualify.
Head Coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson joined the team in August 2019. Her appointment proved to be unfortunate timing as the COVID-19 pandemic cut the 2020 season short. The few games that were played prior to the cancelation gave a slight indication as to where the squad seemed to be heading.
With 14 Freshmen, four Sophomores, 10 Juniors, and only two Seniors making up her 30-player roster, Steinder-Wilcoxson has a balanced group of athletes that can still develop under her guidance. With this being her first full season in charge, the jury is still out as to whether or not 2021 is indicative of a downward trend for the Panthers.
Poor Tournament Performances
FIU kicked off 2021 with their yearly appearance in the Felsberg Invitational. The Panthers typically perform well in this tournament and this time was no different.
They beat the Florida Atlantic Owls 7-5 before winning two consecutive games against the Winthrop Eagles 9-1 and 5-3.
Against FAU, the Panthers demonstrated their determination by coming back from a 5-2 deficit in the fifth inning. First Baseman Kayla Whitehead scored a sac fly to tie the game 5-5 before second baseman Jocelyn Alonso both forced the comeback as she singled for second baseman Vanessa Gallegos to put FIU ahead.
Pitcher Kendahl Dunford guaranteed the victory with three-straight outs that prevented any comeback from the Owls, handing the Panthers a deserved 7-5 victory.
They faced off against Winthrop later that day, completely dominating the Eagles in the process.
Gallegos stole the show with an impressive five hits, a pair of doubles, seven RBIs and two stolen bases. Following a five-run third frame to score nine unanswered, the Panthers ran away 9-1 victors.
The final game of the invitational proved to be more of a challenge as FIU saw themselves trailing 3-0 heading into the final frame in their rematch against Winthrop.
Shortstop Jessica Rivera put a single down the middle to bring home two runs to make it 3-2 before a 1-2 pitch from Gallegos gave the Panthers an emphatic 5-3 win.
These early wins unfortunately were not a sign of things to come as FIU will struggle to find consistency from this point forward.
Prior to their Spring Games Tournament, FIU played five games- two doubleheaders against Connecticut and Northern Illinois and a one-off game against Florida Gulf Coast.
The Panthers went on to only manage to beat Florida Gulf Coast 3-2. They lost both doubleheaders against UCONN and Northern Illinois, making only four innings in those losses.
Once the Spring Games Tournament and FAU Invitational arrived, FIU could only muster up a solitary win in seven attempts; defeating New Mexico State 11-5.
Despite their best efforts, the Panthers struggled to establish themselves throughout both tournaments, only losing by more than three innings once.
There were some highlights that FIU could take away in spite of their lackluster results. Rivera hit her first home run of the season as well as six hits in three games. Utility player Gaby Ruiz earned her first career RBI and Gallegos homered to continue her offensive contributions.
Conference USA Performances
The Panthers would look to bounce back from their shoddy tournament form to focus on the C-USA. Prior to their first conference game against FAU, FIU faced off in a tripleheader against South Dakota, winning all three games.
With their opening game against the Owls, a team they beat 7-5 in their season opener, the Panthers had room for optimism. However, they once again showed their inconsistency as they got swept 0-8.
Their four-game series against FAU ultimately saw both teams split the series 4-4 as they won two and lost two games. This was a sign of the times for FIU as they failed to win a single series throughout their entire C-USA run.
Against Charlotte, they won one game, losing three. They repeated this feat against Marshall and Western Kentucky before finally splitting their final series against Middle Tennessee.
This extreme lack of consistency proved costly as the Panthers would narrowly miss out on a place in the C-USA Tournament as they fell right behind Marshall in the overall standings.
FIU ended the conference with a 7-13 record accompanied by a 15-26 record, exemplifying their struggles throughout the year.
Analysis
Now what exactly went wrong for the team? With nine players added to the team, this could simply be a case of the team not gelling just yet. The pandemic could have also played a huge role in the performance of the team.
With coaches and players having to work out on their own and meetup remotely, it could have proven a serious hurdle for the squad as a whole.
While the team overall endured a tough season, there were certainly players who stood out and had one of their best individual campaigns.
Gallegos, Rivera, and Whitehead earned All-Conference USA Awards following their stand-out performance this year. Gallegos led the team in batting average hits, and RBIs. Rivera ranked third in batting average and had the second-most hits and RBIs.
Whitehead accomplished the second-best batting average on the team. She also got a team-best 10 doubles and four triples. The 10 doubles ranked sixth in the league and her four triples as the second most in the C-USA.
Steiner-Wilcoxson went through a rough full season in charge of the Panthers as they went through their worst overall season in eight years. Despite this, FIU still has extremely talented players and an accomplished coach who is more than capable of coming back stronger next season.
The FIU softball team declined an interview request by PantherNOW.
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