No. 21 Owls Drop Midweek at FIU

Wednesday, April 2

Miami, Fla.

6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

32-6

FIU

26-11

Florida Atlantic

FIU

Photo by: Christian Proscia

4/2/2025 10:00:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

MIAMI – The No. 21 Florida Atlantic softball team registered 12 hits on Wednesday evening but ultimately came up short to FIU by a score of 5-2.

In the final matchup of their four-game road trip, the Owls (32-6, 11-1 AAC) struck first with an early lead before the Panthers (26-11, 8-4 CUSA) responded with five unanswered runs.

Junior pitcher Jaden Martinez made the start in the circle, her 11th of the season, and took the loss to move to 4-3.

THE BEGINNING

For the third game in a row, redshirt sophomore outfielder Kylie Hammonds reached base in the leadoff spot, this time with a single up the middle. Two batters later, reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Week Jesiana Mora launched a deep double to left center to bring home the game's first run. This marked the first of four consecutive Owls to reach base, culminating in Yani Guzman driving home a run to go up 2-0.

The Panthers answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first to tie the game.

THE TURNING POINT

FIU took the lead on a two-run double in the top bottom of the third and scored again in the bottom of the fourth for the 5-2 advantage.

Back-to-back singles from freshman second baseman Destiny Johns and Mora in the top of the fifth put the Owls in scoring position. With two outs on the board, Johns attempted to come home on the single and thrown out at the plate.

THE FINISH

Hammonds logged her second hit of the day in the top of the fifth inning, followed by a single from sophomore shortstop Kiley Channell. Johns loaded the bases with a perfectly placed ball to the pitcher before the inning ended on a line drive to left field.

Senior pitchers Gabby Sacco and Ainsley Lambert combined to retire the bottom of the sixth. Florida Atlantic took to the plate for the top of the seventh where three straight launches to the outfield were caught to end the game.

NOTES/NOTABLE

The top four batters in the Owls' lineup all tallied multiple hits.
Hammonds has reached base in 34 out of 38 games this season.
Mora has logged 11 RBI in the last four games.
Johns added two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Channell has recorded a base hit in eight consecutive games.

UP NEXT

Florida Atlantic hosts a three-game series between the top two teams in the AAC with South Florida (29-10-1) coming to Boca Raton. Friday's first pitch is a 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE OWLS

For the Owls' complete schedule, click HERE. To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball, or for the most up-to-date information, go to www.fausports.com.