DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Wildcats are on the road for their first midweek contest of 2025 as they take on the Panthers of FIU on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in Miami. The game was originally set to be played at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, but, due to weather concerns in Daytona Beach, the two teams will flip midweekers, with the Wildcats now set to host FIU on Tuesday, March 25 in a game originally scheduled to be played in Miami.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to the call of the game for free at YouTube.com/CatEyeNetwork.



Wednesday, February 19
Opponent: FIU (4-0)
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Miami, Fla. | FIU Baseball Stadium
Watch: https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/0d76d45d-22e0-4264-8386-3cd7a769e2d8
Listen: Youtube.com/Cateyenetwork
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=584342



Leading 8-0 after two innings, the Wildcats watched their first win of the season slip away as Stony Brook came back for an 11-8 win in a seven-inning, rain-shortened contest, Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. 

Making his first start for the Wildcats, lefty starter Edwin Sanchez worked around two first-inning baserunners in a scoreless first.

B-CU bats wasted no time getting to work in the first, as Jesus Vanegas smacked his first homer as a Wildcat over the right field wall to quickly put the Cats up 1-0.

Just three pitches later, Armani Newton followed suit with his first homer as a Wildcat - an even deeper shot to right to double the lead at 2-0.

After a Michael Rodriguez walk and two straight singles from Andrey Martinez and Manny Souffrain, Darryl Lee legged out a triple that cleared the bases and made it 5-0, B-CU.

After a Sanchez 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts, the Wildcats went right back to work at the plate as Newton launched his second homer of the game to a similar spot in right center to push the Wildcat lead to 6-0. A hit-by-pitch and Martinez ground-rule double put runners on second and third with two away in the inning before Souffrain made it eight unanswered runs for the Cats through two innings. 

Stony Brook  began its comeback with a leadoff single and two-out double to get on the board at 8-1 before finally silencing the B-CU bats with a seven-pitch bottom of the third.

The Seawolves added three more in the fourth after loading the bases with no one out - cashing in for threre on a B-CU error that sent a ball soaring out into the visiting bullpen. 

One batter later, a dropped third strike allowed another run to cross the plate from third following the throw over to first. 

After a quiet fifth, the Stony Brook bats continued to pressure the B-CU defense, creeping to within one run at 8-7 off the B-CU bullpen. They did so all with two outs, with three-straight two-out singles adding two runs in the frame.

As the B-CU offense continued to stall, Stony Brook burst in front for the first time in the game in the top of the seventh with back-to-back walks, an RBI single, and a bases-clearing homer that made it 11-8.

The Wildcats were again shut down 1-2-3 in the seventh. The two teams attempted to continue the contest into the eighth, but inclement weather halted the game for an 11-8 final. 

In his first start with B-CU, Edwin Sanchez finished the game with five runs allowed - only two earned - on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in five innings.

The B-CU bullpen combined for six runs allowed - all earned, on six hits with two walks and only one strikeout. Jeffrey Gonzalez was saddled with his first loss of the season



The Wildcats will look for their first win of the season against an FIU team that swept a four-game opening-series against Stonehill. Over the final two games of the series, the Panthers scored 29 runs, including a 12-2 win on Monday. 

In 2024, the Panthers finished 27-30, and 11-13 in C-USA play, dropping a conference tournament elimination game to Western Kentucky.

Three Panthers were named to the 205 Preseason All-C-USA team by Perfect Game, including outfielder Kishon Frett, shortstop Alex Ulloa, and first baseman Brylan West. 

In their first series of the season, senior outfielder Albert Serrano led the way at the plate with five hits in ten at-bats, including a double, two homers, four walks, and six hit-by-pitches. He leads the team with eight RBI through his first four games. FIU hit eight homers as a team on the weekend.

• Junior lefty Brandon Vazquez will make the start for B-CU Wednesday. 
• The Wildcats started 0-3 for the first time since 2005. They were swept at home to open a season for the first time since they were swept by FAU in 2003. 
• Armani Newton hit a pair of homers for the Wildcats in the opening series against Stony Brook. Only five Wildcats finished the 2024 season with multiple homers. 

FIU and B-CU have met 31 times previously on the baseball diamond. FIU owns a 21-10 lead in the series, with B-CU last defeating the Panthers on Feb. 20, 2024 by a final score of 10-4 at The Jack. 


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