FMU To Open 2021 Baseball Season At Rival Edward Waters

AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (0-0) at Edward Waters College Tigers (0-4)
When: Friday, February 5 & Saturday, February 6, 2021
Where: Edward Waters, Jacksonville, Fla. | James P. Small Memorial Park
First Pitch: Friday: 12 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. | Saturday: 12 p.m.
Last Meeting: March 9, 2019, Loss 4-5
Live Stream: N/A
Live Stats: Link

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Florida Memorial University's baseball team will open the 2021 season with a road trip to Jacksonville, Florida to take on rival Edward Waters College in a three-game weekend series beginning Friday.

Because of expected inclement weather, the series will open Friday with a doubleheader – the first game set for a 12 p.m. first pitch and the second game beginning 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first. Saturday will be the rubber match, set for a 12 p.m. first pitch.

The Lions enter the 2021 season as a team brimming with optimism and confidence after it had its 2020 season halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida Memorial made it just 20 games into its 2020 schedule before the stoppage – going 8-12 – but appeared to be rounding into a shape as a dangerous team capable of competing with just about any team on a given day.

Much of FMU's optimism lies within the fact that it returned a healthy handful of players from the 2020 roster – a group that has already shown it can buoy the team offensively and defensively.

Among the returners is junior utility man Yunior Sanchez. Sanchez, a 2020 Sun Conference All-Academic honoree and recipient of the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award, led the Lions in RBI (15) and walks drawn (17) in the shortened season. Junior catcher Josue Sanchez will be covering home plate for the Lions again this season while infielders Manuel Mollinedo, Axel Gomez, and Rohandry Javier and outfielders Malik Shinozaki, James Spatafora, and Gabriel Marinez are all back for 2021.

Opening the season at Edward Waters should be the perfect early litmus test for Florida Memorial head baseball coach Florentino Burgos to get a glimpse of what his team is capable of against live competition.

The rivalry between the programs – two of the historically Black colleges in the state of Florida – extends across all of their competitive sports, but it has been a spirited matchup on the baseball diamond. The Tigers lead the all-time series 15-12-2, but the teams have split the last six meetings.

Edwards Waters (0-4) opened its season this past weekend with a pair of doubleheaders against Keiser University. The Tigers lost all four games by a combined score of 27-10 and recorded six errors through the weekend.

Expected Starting Pitchers:
Friday, Feb. 5
Game One
FMU: Not Available
EWC: Not Available

Game Two
FMU: Not Available
EWC: Not Available

Saturday. Feb. 6
FMU: Not Available
EWC: Not Available

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Players Mentioned

#10 Gabriel Marinez: OF; 5' 11"; Junior

#7 Axel Gomez: INF; 6' 2"; Junior

#1 Rohandry Javier: INF; 5' 8"; Junior

#13 Manuel Mollinedo: INF; 5' 9"; Senior

#18 Josue Sanchez: C; 5' 10"; Junior

#22 Yunior Sanchez: UTL; 5' 10"; Junior

#9 Malik Shinozaki: OF; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Gabriel Marinez
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OF

#7 Axel Gomez
: 6' 2"; Junior
: INF

#1 Rohandry Javier
: 5' 8"; Junior
: INF

#13 Manuel Mollinedo
: 5' 9"; Senior
: INF

#18 Josue Sanchez
: 5' 10"; Junior
: C

#22 Yunior Sanchez
: 5' 10"; Junior
: UTL

#9 Malik Shinozaki
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OF

Florida Memorial University Athletics

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned