MIAMI – The FIU Baseball program hosts the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a four-game weekend set beginning on Friday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. from FIU Baseball Stadium.
Friday, Feb. 23 vs Notre Dame
Saturday, Feb. 24 vs Notre Dame (G1)
- Time / Site: 2 p.m. at FIU Baseball Sradium
- Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 24 vs Notre Dame (G2)
- Time / Site 6 p.m. at FIU Baseball Sradium
- Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 25 vs Notre Dame
Saturday's contest will be a doubleheader, with action in game one set for 2 p.m. Game two will be the 2001 team reunion, honoring the FIU Baseball team that went on the Super Regionals beating the Fighting Irish in the NCAA Regionals. Former head coach Danny Price will also throw out the honorary first pitch.
FIU is coming off a 10-4 loss to the Bethune Cookman Wildcats this past Tuesday, Feb. 20 on the road in Daytona Beach.
Brylan West and
Ryne Guida each had three-hit performances in the Panther's first midweek matchup of the season.
WILD, WILD, WEST
It was one weekend for the ages for
Brylan West, who made a statement in his Panthers debut.
The Tampa, Fla. native has 13 hits in his first 16 at-bats, while hitting a perfect nine-for-nine in Saturday's doubleheader vs LIU. Overall, West logged a total of 10 RBIs, 2 HRs, and 3 doubles, and a triple in his first four games.
In game one on Saturday vs LIU, West went 4-for-4 with a two-homer out to right centerfield before tacking on a RBI double and single.
Game two's performance was a standout 5-for-5 game, bringing home four RBIs including a three-run homer and two-run double down the left field line.
For his contributions, West was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week, the first for the season.
MAKE IT RAIN HOMERS
The ball was carrying out well for FIU on Saturday, hitting a total of eight home runs in the combined doubleheader, five in game one and three in the nightcap.
Already five players (
Armando Becerra,
Ryne Guida,
Jeff Liquori,
Alex Ulloa, and
Brylan West) have put the ball over the wall with three Panthers notching multi-HR efforts (Liquori, Ulloa, and West).
WITTEN & STIFFLER REUNION
The Notre Dame series will mark the reunion between FIU baseball head coach
Rich Witten and Notre dame head coach Shawn Stiffler. Witten spent five seasons at VCU under then head coach Stiffler. The duo helped take the Rams to 162 wins including an A-10 Regular Season Championship in 2019 and 2021. In addition, making the NCAA tournament in 2021, and 2022.
HITS GALORE
The bats did not cool off one bit in the opening weekend as the team collecting 51 hits total over four games total.
Five Panthers have logged five or more hits in the opening week (Becerra,
Chase Engelhard, Guida, Liquori, Ulloa, and West).
In addition, FIU added seven doubles to their resume as West led the squad with three doubles while Engelhard sits with two.
PITCHING SETS THE TONE
Seven pitchers threw scoreless appearances against the Sharks led by
Logan Runde's four scoreless innings in relief on Friday night's 6-4 win, setting the tone for the comeback. The Peosta, Ia native allowed just one hit and struck out five batters.
Veterans
Orlando Hernandez earned the win in game one Saturday with three scoreless inning of work and three strikeouts. Miami native
Kevin Martin gave up zero hits to the Sharks in game two of action.
Southpaw Ryan Cabarcas earned the save Friday night, shutting down the LIU bats in two innings of relief.
Joel Pineiro got the start in game two on Saturday, allowing just one earned run over three frames.
Freshmen
Tristan Dietrich and
Evan Alwine closed out each game of the doubleheader with scoreless work, while senior
Zac Lampton threw a pair of no-run baseball in game one Saturday,
JUCO transfer
Bryce Greene allowed no runs over 1.2 innings and struck out two batters on Tuesday vs the Wildcats.
FRESH FACES
The 2024 roster features 22 newcomers for FIU including six freshmen to bolster the roster.
Notable key additions in DII transfer
Jeff Liquori who play various positions across the field. Seminole State College transfer
Kishon Frett will be a key power bat in the Panthers lineup, alongside South Florida State College transfer
Brylan West, and Erskine transfer
Armando Becerra. In the infield, Miami Dade CC transfer
Alex Ulloa is projected to play shortstop, while Tulane transfer
Chase Engelhard will get looks at second.
On the mound, JUCO additions
Logan Runde and
Ryan Reyerson will be pivotal pieces on the bump while freshmen
Tristan Dietrich and
Evan Alwine will get looks on the mound across the season.
MLB CONNECTIONS
FIU has multiple MLB connections on their roster as pitcher
Orlando Hernandez is the son of 4x World Series Champion Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and nephew of Marlins 1997 WS Champion Livan Hernandez.
Pitcher
Joel Pineiro is the son of 12-year MLB veteran
Joel Pineiro.
Pitcher
Owen Puk is the brother of current Marlins relief pitcher AJ Puk.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame comes into the contest with a 3-0 record after securing a season-opening sweep vs Rice.
Offensively, TJ Williams, has led the way for the Irish, collecting four hits in his first six at-bats. Simon Baumgardt and Tito Flores have combined for four home runs and 8 RBIs in their first three games.
On the bump, Radek Birkholz came out of the bullpen, throwing three scoreless frames, striking out three batters. Closer Nate Hardman has earned a pair of saves, ranking top two in the NCAA.
The series will mark the 8th meeting between the two schools dating back to 1999. FIU has the 6-1 edge winning the last two matchups. The Panther's last matchup vs Notre Dame came on March 2nd in a 13-4 victory in Miami.
UP NEXT
FIU prepare for a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 23. Game one will start at 2 p.m. while game two is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (
@FIU.Baseball), Twitter
(@FIUBaseball), and Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUBaseball) for all the latest Baseball news.
General athletic news can also be found at
@FIUSports on Facebook and
@FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram
