FIU-FAU rivalry is a tale of two teams

The Owls want to continue rolling into the postseason tournament, while the Panthers are trying not to end the season with a thud.

By DAVID J. NEAL

For FAU, the three-game series that starts 6 p.m. Thursday at FIU Baseball Stadium represents a chance to keep the train rolling at streak speed into the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

For FIU, the series represents a chance to stop plunging toward a regular season ending splat.

Thursday finds the teams in different places than they were in March, when FIU lost 2 of 3 in Boca Raton. Blame pitching and defense.

Both teams hit.

FIU has four .300 hitters — sophomore Aramis Garcia (.342), freshman Edwin Rios (.323), junior Zach Sweety (.322) and sophomore Julius Gaines (.308) — among its daily players and a team average of .289. Rios and junior Josh Anderson are tied for third among Sun Belt players in doubles, Nathan Burns is tied for second in triples; Garcia is fifth in RBI and fourth in home runs.

FAU has four .322 hitters — freshman Brendon Sanger (.344), junior Levi Meyer (.331), senior Nathan Pittman (.326) and sophomore Mitch Morales (.322) — among its daily players and a team average of .283.

FIU (25-27, 13-14) has lost 11 of its past 13 as its pitching, which began the year hanging more zero-run innings on opponents than the Marlins have had hung on them, sinks in West Dade. Panthers pitchers sit tied for last in the Sun Belt in ERA (5.05). FIU also sits last in fielding (.958).

Meanwhile, FAU (32-20, 16-11) comes in with a four-game winning streak and a chance to finish as high as second in the Sun Belt.

The Owls own the Sun Belt’s best ERA (3.83), led by sophomore Austin Gomber’s 3.04, and sit fourth in fielding (.970).

Get the Miami Herald's Sports News
VIA EMAIL

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.