On his day off, FIU Panthers baseball coach watches his son play professionally

FIU baseball coach Mervyl Melendez got a thrill of a lifetime this weekend.

After FIU lost to South Dakota State 4-3 in Port Charlotte on Saturday, Melendez flew to Arizona, where his son — Kansas City Royals catching prospect — M.J. Melendez — made his debut in a major-league spring training game Sunday.

On his first at-bat, Melendez, 20, pulled a pitch down the right-field line that nearly went for a two-run double.

“It was an inch from being fair,” Melendez said of his son, who was drafted in the second round in 2017. M.J. went 0 for 2 with a walk in his debut.

Coach Melendez is set to fly back to Miami on Monday night. On Wednesday, his Panthers (3-3) will take on the Miami Hurricanes (5-2) at FIU.

Under Melendez the past two years, the Panthers are 5-1 against UM, but the coach doesn’t believe those games will have any carry-over effect.

FIU will start freshman right-hander Franco Aleman (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his second collegiate start.

“He’s confident and throws strikes,” Melendez said. “He doesn’t pitch like a freshman.”

Melendez, by the way, said he coached an 11-year-old team to an AAU national title in 2010. That team included his son as well as FIU pitcher Logan Allen and UM first baseman Alex Toral, who is off to a monster start with five homers and nine RBIs in seven games, hitting .320.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Antonio Daye scored a career-high 22 points as FIU’s men’s basketball team defeated host Florida Atlantic 79-76 on Saturday.

Point guard Brian Beard added 20 points, six steals, six assists and five rebounds for FIU (17-11, 8-7 Conference USA). Beard, who scored 14 points in the second half, needs one more point to reach 1,000 for his career.

FIU has secured its first winning season since 2012-2013. Going back further, this is FIU’s second winning season since 1999-2000.

▪ FIU’s beach volleyball team, ranked 10th nationally, is off to a 4-0 start. FIU’s top duo is comprised of Italians Margherita Bianchin, a 6-0 junior; and Federica Frasca, a 5-9 junior.

The second duo is comprised of Abbie Hughes, a 5-9 freshman from Ohio, and South Carolina Gamecocks transfer Ali Denney, a 5-7 junior from Jupiter.

At the No. 3 position: the Austrian sister duo of 6-2 senior Dorina Klinger and 5-10 freshman Ronja Klinger.

“Ronja is a dynamic freshman,” FIU coach Rita Buck-Crockett said. “She and her sister played for the Austrian national team. They’re both very good.”

Other players to watch include Lina Bernier, a 5-10 junior from Puerto Rico; Erika Zembyla, a 6-1 senior from Cyprus; Katie Friesen, a 5-9 senior from Canada; and Madison Besterfield, a 6-0 sophomore from Tampa.

▪ FIU senior high jumper Clarissa Cutliff won her third consecutive Conference USA indoor title last week in Birmingham, Alabama. FIU senior Terrisa Russell also won an indoor title, in the weight throw.

▪ FIU’s softball team is off to a 9-5 start. The Panthers are led by outfielder Jackie Schoff, who is hitting .413; and pitcher Megan Kugelmann (4-1, 1.80 ERA).