FIU Defeats Kennesaw State In First Round Of CUSA Tournament

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One pitch, one swing is all FIU needed to defeat the No. 3 Kennesaw State Owls by a final score of 9-3 in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament. They will now face off against the winner of No. 7 New Mexico State vs. No. 2 Western Kentucky.

Brylan West, who was riding a seven-game hitting streak, took Owls starting pitcher Daniel Powell deep on the first pitch of the tournament. It marked West’s 12th home run of the season, which is a career-high, and he now has a hit in his last eight games.

First pitch, first HOMER 💥

Welcome to postseason baseball folks!

📺 ESPN+ (https://t.co/Zp43KZSF3P)@FIUBaseball | #NoLimitsOnUs pic.twitter.com/O9RfRIZdZW

— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) May 21, 2025

Brylan West finished the game going three-for-five with two RBI. In the top of the fourth inning, West drove in the game’s fifth run of the game on an RBI double.

 

“The guys were ready to go,” said FIU head coach Rich Witten following the game. “They’ve been ready to go since the bracket came out. We wanted some revenge on Kennesaw, but they’re a good team. We knew we didn’t play our best baseball at their place earlier in the year.”

“But our guys were ready to go, and we always have a couple of practices on Saturday morning that are early, and we talk about it in the fall when we have those practices that there’s a chance you can be playing your most important game of the year at 9:00 am later in the season. Those are things we try to prepare for and talk about, but we were ready to go from the start, so getting off to a hot start.”

Lighting Up The Scoreboard In Lynchburg

In the top of the third inning, both Kishon Frett and Austin Dearing worked back-to-back walks. Designated hitter Andrew Ildefonso wasn’t able to drive them in, but third baseman Javier Crespo smacked an RBI triple, giving FIU a 3-0 lead. Second baseman Alex Ulloa drove in Crespo on an RBI single, his 40th of the season. FIU took a 4-0 lead.

After West drove in the game’s fifth run of the game, Dearing drove in West on a sac fly, and a Kennesaw State throwing error allowed Frett to score, extending the lead, 7-2.

Freshman Cole Cleveland put the nail in the coffin when he belted a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning, giving FIU a 9-2 lead. It was Cleveland’s fifth home run of the season.

CLEVELAND ROCKS BABY 🤘

T7 | FIU 9, Kennesaw State 3 pic.twitter.com/WlSSRTm4kq

— FIU Baseball (@FIUBaseball) May 21, 2025

Before Wednesday’s game, it was announced that FIU starting pitcher Easton Marks would miss the first game of the tournament due to shoulder tightness. In his place, reliever Jaydon Bishop took the ball for the Panthers and went three innings, allowing two runs on four hits, one walk, and striking out two. He threw a total of 53 pitches.

“It meant everything,” said Bishop. “I’ve been preparing the whole season for a moment like that, and I’m just grateful that the coaches had faith in me to put me in that position, and I went out there and did my job. I really couldn’t ask for more.”

In the bottom of the third inning, Donovan Cash drove in two runs on an RBI double, bringing some life into the Owls and at that point, trailing 4-2.

Pitchers Pitch, And Closers Close

“That’s what we were looking to get out of Jaydon (Bishop),” said FIU head coach Rich Witten. “He was going to be on a pitch count, as were all the guys who threw today, so we can make sure that guys were staying fresh throughout the entire week, because our goal is to win the tournament.”

Going into his start, Bishop noted that his fastball wasn’t feeling the best, so he had to rely on more swing and miss, leaning more towards his secondary stuff. Despite that adjustment, he kept FIU in it.

“I wanted to get swings and I got a few and a few dropped for them and put me in a position to work out of a jam, but I never lost faith in myself and my confidence stayed high and I made a big pitch when it needed to be made and we got out of there with the lead.”

In one of the biggest starts of Jaydon Bishop's career, he pitched three solid innings to help defend FIU's lead over KSU. ⚾️

“He’s a veteran guy for us. He’s pitching game one for a reason. We trust him in those spots." – Rich Witten. #FIU | #Panthers | #PawsUp pic.twitter.com/DFlnfVqrvX

— Paws Up Podcast (@PawsUpPodcast) May 21, 2025

FIU went with Jarek Woodward, freshman Bryce Turner, and Juan Villarreal out of the bullpen. Woodward gave the Panthers a shutout inning of work, and despite allowing a run, Turner went two innings, striking out two. Juan Villarreal closed it out for FIU, going three innings of work and striking out two.

With the win, FIU has won its 31st game of the season, the most since 2014, and has won in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.

Logan Runde will take the mound for the Panthers with Kevin Martin and Tracen Cameron from the right side and Tristan Dietrich from the left side as potential relief options. Witten noted that Jarek Woodward will be available, and if in a save situation, Villarreal could potentially be available.

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