Bautista Samperi | Sports Director
The FIU softball team begins their season with a three game series against the Texas A&M CC Islanders starting on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m, as FIU will host the Felsberg Invitational.
The team will begin the season with six games in three days. After the Islanders, FIU will face Louisville on Feb. 6, at 7 p.m., Stony Brook on Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. and Lehigh on the same day at 7 p.m. They will wrap up the invitational with their second game against Louisville on Feb. 8, at 11:30 a.m..
Last season, the Panthers finished with a 29-22-1 overall record and 11-15-1 in Conference USA play.
The team led by fifth year head coach Mike Larabee is looking to get back to the conference tournament for the first time in 2023.
Despite their irregular season last year, FIU had some standout performances. Kally Meredith and Paige Miller were named to the All-CUSA Second Team. In the mix of their sophomore season, the former high school teammates from Wisconsin were the driving force behind the team.
Meredith led FIU offensively with her .352 batting average, had 63 hits and a total of 15 RBI. She also managed to steal 40 bases last season, the seventh-most in the NCAA and most for any FIU player in a single season.
Miller, who transferred from Wisconsin, had a team-high .432 on-base percentage and a .351 batting average.
In order to make it back to the Conference USA Tournament, the team will need to improve their play away from home as they have not managed to have a winning road record since 2018.
When it comes to the Islanders, FIU has not played them since the 2009 season where the Panthers earned a 10-2 win.
Before the beginning of the season, FIU athletics announced that the Panthers’ softball stadium has been officially renamed Felsberg Field at Baptist Health Stadium replacing the previous name of Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
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