Can softball gain momentum against Stetson? 

Brian Olmo | Editor-in-Chief

The FIU softball team will fight to stay in the win column against the Stetson Hatters on Wednesday, April 24 in DeLand, Florida. 

It’s been a rough stretch for the Panthers. The team was in the midst of a six-game losing streak until they snatched a narrow 7-6 win in the final game of their series against Jax State. 

FIU sits near the bottom of Conference USA with a 5-13 record. 

Stetson isn’t looking too hot itself, with the team in a three-way tie for dead last in the Atlantic Sun Conference. 

The Hatters have lost four straight for a 4-14 record with their most recent loss being to FGCU. 

Both of these teams desperately want to generate some momentum to close out the season on a high note. 

Junior Kami Eppley has the highest batting average on the Hatters with a .356% while graduate Lath Freeman leads the team in runs batted in and home runs. 

Stetson’s biggest struggle over the course of its losing streak has been pitching. 

A 4.01 earned run average places the Hatters as the third-worst pitching team in the A-SUN. 

The stage is set for the Panthers to extend their win streak to two and potentially more with a softer matchup coming up against a struggling Sam Houston team at home.   

There’s just one problem: Wednesday’s matchup is an away game. 

Whatever the reason may be, this Panthers squad’s weakness has been its performance on the road. 

With a 1-8 conference road record, FIU is tied with the aforementioned SHSU for the worst record for away games in CUSA. The last time the Panthers beat a conference opponent on the road was against Middle Tennessee on March 29. 

Overall, the team’s away record is 1-11. 

FIU is the better team by most metrics: batting average, fielding percentage, home runs and many more. 

But how much of that will matter on the road? 

The Panthers play the Hatters at 3 p.m. at the Patricia Wilson Field. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

Follow Brian Olmo on X at @Brian_Olmo11