By Brett Shweky/Editor
Having played just one home game in their previous six matchups, the FIU Panthers are set to go on their second-largest homestand of the year with the team set to host the Florida A&M Rattlers on Tuesday and Wednesday for a midweek series.
The Panthers (5-5), who will compete in six consecutive games at the FIU Baseball Stadium, are fresh off their first series win of the season after taking two out of three games against Jacksonville State this past weekend in Alabama.
Series pitchers
Freshman right-hander Franco Aleman (0-11 7.11 ERA) will get the start for the Panthers in the first game of the series as he squares off against Florida A&M right-hander Zach Morea (0-2, 4.96 ERA).
Aleman has thrown in 6.1 innings for the Panthers with him having given up eights hits and five hits.
Josh Hancock, a junior right-hander for the Rattlers, will get the nod in the closing game while FIU has yet to announce who their final pitcher will be in the series.
Last time out for FIU
During the opening game of the series, starting pitcher Logan Allen paced the Panthers to victory following his remarkable 12 strikeout performance, which tied his career-high.
Allen threw five scoreless innings for FIU while limiting the Gamecocks to just two hits.
The Gamecocks and the Panthers split the final two games in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 2 after the series was shortened due to inclement weather in the forecast for Sunday.
Following a three-run inning by Jacksonville State in the fifth, FIU dropped the second game of the weekend series after losing 3-1.
FIU surged past the Gamecocks 5-2 in the last contest of the series to secure the series win.
Javier Valdes was pivotal in the Panthers’ final victory of the series as he hit a two-run homer to crack a late tie and give the team a much needed 4-2 lead in the closing parts of the game.
So far this season, Valdes has been essential for the FIU bats with him placing first on the team in RBI (8), slugging percentage (.750) and on-base percentage (.500).
Lorenzo Hampton Jr. has also fueled the Panthers’ hitting as he leads the team in runs (10), hits (16), doubles (6) and batting average (.410).
Scouting Report for Florida A&M
For the Rattlers (4-10), they too are coming off their first series win of 2019 after beating Jackson State two out of three times over last weekend.
Willis McDaniel has generated the most consistent offense for Florida A&M this season with him leading the squad in batting average (.385), hits (20) and slugging percentage.
Seyjuan Lawrence also falls under this category as he collected nine runs, 13 hits and six RBI while batting .295 so far this season.
Next on the schedule for FIU
After hosting Florida A&M, the Panthers will continue their homestand with them facing off against the Seton Hall Pirates in a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday at 7 p.m.
Saturday’s game is set for 7 p.m., while Sunday’s rubber game will start at Noon on Sunday.
