Max Zilberberg

Baseball 3/19/2021 1:16:00 PM J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director & Ivana Maric

Lions Hitting The Road For Weekend Series At Thomas University

AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (10-9, 3-6) at Thomas University Night Hawks (10-16, 0-6)
When: Friday-Saturday, March 19-20, 2021
Where: Thomas University, Thomasville, Georgia | Varndoe Stadium
First Pitch: Friday, 1 p.m. | Saturday, 12 pm.
Last Meeting: Feb. 9. 2019, Won 11-5
Live Stream: Link
Live Stats: Link

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Florida Memorial University will be looking to gain some momentum as it prepares to enter the meat of its 2021 schedule when it travels to face Thomas University this weekend in a three-game series beginning Friday.

The teams will play a doubleheader Friday at TU's Varndoe Stadium, with the first game set to begin at 1 p.m. and the second game scheduled to begin 30 minutes following the completion of the first. Saturday will feature a single game, set to start at 12 p.m.

Florida Memorial (10-9, 3-6 The Sun Conference) enters the road trip having won three of its past four games while picking up consecutive series wins against non-conference foes Voorhees College (S.C.) and Bryant & Stratton College-Albany.

The weekend series against BSC-Albany didn't quite go the way FMU head coach Florentino Burgos hoped it would, though. While the Lions did take of the three games, they had to hold off a late rally from the Bobcats in the second game and dropped the third game to a team that entered the weekend having won just one game up to that point in the season and had been handed lopsided defeats by other Sun Conference teams prior to coming to Miami Gardens.

Earning at least two wins this weekend at Thomas would go a long way for FMU, which currently sits in the No. 7 spot in the conference standings. Given the Sun Conference features four teams that are ranked in the NAIA's top 25 national baseball poll – including three teams in the top 12 – the Lions need to rack up as many conference victories as possible before it goes into its slate against those ranked teams.

Thomas University (10-16, 0-6) has played a lot of baseball up to this point in the season and shown itself to be a capable offensive team. The Night Hawks, winners of six of their past seven, have scored at least five runs in 14 of their 26 games this season – including seven straight outings with five or more runs.

Because the Lions have also been a potent offensive team, this weekend's matchup will come down to pitching. Florida Memorial's pitching staff has had to work without ace Johnaikel Acosta the past couple of weeks, as he's been out with an upper extremity injury. Without Acosta, Burgos has used Rafael Fernandez and Krystian Negron as starters on the mound recently while still going to hard-throwing freshman right-hander Dawrin Ruiz as a reliever.

The pitching staff is also still waiting on the healthy return of 6-foot-2 sophomore Arturo Pena, who has only seen action in one game so far this season.

Acosta's availability this weekend is still unclear, but the Lions should still have enough arms to battle with Thomas University and pick another weekend series victory.

Follow Florida Memorial University Athletics on social media
Instagram: @GoFMULions/@LionsFMUBaseball | Twitter: @GoFMULions/@BaseballFMU | YouTube: Official FMU Lions

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Players Mentioned

#14 Johnaikel Acosta: RHP; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#19 Rafael Fernandez: LHP; 5' 9"; Senior

#21 Krystian Negron: RHP; 6' 3"; Senior

#23 Arturo Pena: RHP; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#43 Dawrin Ruiz: RHP; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#14 Johnaikel Acosta
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: RHP

#19 Rafael Fernandez
: 5' 9"; Senior
: LHP

#21 Krystian Negron
: 6' 3"; Senior
: RHP

#23 Arturo Pena
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: RHP

#43 Dawrin Ruiz
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: RHP

Florida Memorial University Athletics

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned