After its dominant performance in an exhibition game earlier this week – an 11-0, no-hit win – Florida Memorial University will play its first Sun Conference games of the season beginning Friday when it travels to Lake Wales, Florida to take on Warner University in a three-game weekend series at WU’S Royals Field.
Friday will be a single game set for a 6 p.m. start and the teams will return to the diamond Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
About The Lions (3-1)
- FMU looked dominant in an 11-0 exhibition win over visiting Atlantis University this past Tuesday.
- The Lions used seven different pitchers and they combined to throw a no-hitter.
- The exhibition win helped Florida Memorial get the bitter taste of a 5-4 loss in the third game of their weekend series against NAIA independent Florida National University on Feb. 5.
- Senior outfielder Yunior Sanchez is leading the team in hitting through the early part of the season – going 9-of-14 with 7 runs scored and 3 RBI through four games.
Scouting Warner (7-4)
- Warner University enters the weekend having won three of its past four games – including a 9-6 win over Keiser University this past Tuesday (Feb. 15).
- The Royals received votes in the latest NAIA National Baseball poll.
- WU has shown itself to have a offensively-potent ball club – averaging 7 runs scored per game this season and recording fewer than four runs in just two of their 11 games this year.
- Royals head coach Jeff Sikes is in his 38th season leading Warner University’s baseball program and is the longest-tenured head coach in the Sun Conference.
Series History
- Florida Memorial trails the all-time series against Warner University 29-13.
- The Lions’ last single game win against WU came on April 9th, 2021, in a 6-3 victory. Their last series victory happened during the 2018 season, with a sweep of all three games on the Royals’ home diamond.
- FMU is 7-15 all-time when playing at Warner.
Keys To Victory
- Florida Memorial’s pitching staff will face its biggest test up to this point in the season – their ability to throw strikes and keep the Royals’ bats in check will be the biggest factor in this weekend’s outcomes.