LYNCHBURG, Va. – A leadoff home run from
Brylan West set the tone early, as the No. 6 seed FIU baseball team rolled to a 9-3 victory over No. 3 seed Kennesaw State on Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the 2025 Conference USA Championship.
With the win, the Panthers (31-25) secured their second consecutive tournament opening victory, following last year's 7-5 triumph over Western Kentucky on May 22, 2024. In addition, FIU has now won its CUSA tournament opener in back-to-back postseasons for the first time in program history.
FIU now advances to the winners' bracket and will face the winner of No. 2 seed Western Kentucky and No. 7 seed New Mexico State on Thursday, May 22 at 12:30 p.m.
"The guys were ready to go," said head coach
Rich Witten. "They've been locked in since the bracket came out… they stayed hungry and aggressive."
FIU wasted no time getting on the board, as West launched a solo shot on the very first pitch of the game to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead. It marked West's 12th home run of the season—a new career high.
The offense kept rolling in the third. After walks to
Kishon Frett and
Austin Dearing,
Javier Crespo lined a ball past the right fielder and into the corner for a two-run triple—his first of the season and the program's first postseason triple since Kilby Follis on May 25, 2016.
Alex Ulloa followed with a sharp RBI single to left, pushing the lead to 4-0.
Kennesaw State (29-26) responded with a two-run double in the bottom half, but FIU answered quickly in the fourth. West doubled to right-center to plate another run, Dearing added a sacrifice fly, and Frett later scored on an infield error to make it 7-2.
The Owls added one more in the sixth on an RBI single, but
Cole Cleveland put the game away in the seventh with a two-run blast—his fifth homer of the year—sealing a crucial 9-3 victory.
On the mound,
Jaydon Bishop earned his second career start and win, tossing three innings with two earned runs and two strikeouts.
"It meant everything," Bishop said. "I've been preparing all season for a moment like that. I'm just grateful the coaches trusted me to step up, and I went out there and did my job."
Jarek Woodward delivered a scoreless fourth inning, ending the frame with a clutch double play.
Bryce Turner contributed two innings with one earned run and a pair of strikeouts.
Juan Villarreal closed it out with a dominant three-inning save—his team-leading fourth of the year—allowing no hits, no runs, and striking out two.
Offensively, FIU totaled 10 hits. West led the way with three hits and two RBIs, giving him 15 hits over his last nine games. Cleveland chipped in two hits and a homer. Frett reached base four times via two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a single. Crespo, Ulloa, and
Adonys Velez each added a hit.
UP NEXT
FIU advances to the winners bracket to take on the winner of No. 2 Western Kentucky / No. 7 New. Mexico State on Thursday, May 22 at 12:30 on ESPN from Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
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