With its 8-6 win over ULM Sunday, FIU reached the midway point of the 55-game 2012 regular season. Before embarking on the second half of the season Tuesday against Florida A&M, the Panthers are 14-13 overall and 4-5 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Let's take a look at the Panthers numbers at the midway point of this season compared to the midway point of the 2011 season.
When you read the following you might be surprised that FIU is just a little bit off the pace of last year's team that was ranked No. 24 at one point and finished 40-20-1. Yes, the 2011 team had a 15-game winning streak in the second half of the season and Jeremy Patton and Garrett Wittels, who were as consistent as the sun rising in the east, but I thought the 2011 team would have greater separation in the numbers compared to the 2012 team, but that is not the case.
All the following numbers are after the first 27 games of the 2011 and 2012 seasons. These are the hitting and fielding stats. Tuesday, I'll have the pitching stats.
After 27 Games in 2012 & 2011
Records: 2012 -- FIU 14-13, 4-5 in Sun Belt; 2011 -- 16-11, 2-4 in Sun Belt.
The difference in the toughest non-conference opponents is the 2012 team opened with six games at No. 4 Rice and No. 8 Florida State going 1-5. The 2011 team opened with three games against Southeastern Louisiana at home and later had the five-game Texas road trip, which featured three games at Texas A&M and single games at Rice and Baylor. FIU went a combined 2-6 against SE La., TAMU, Rice and Baylor.
Team batting average: 2012 -- .285; 2011 -- .288.
2011 had three batters hitting .330 or better (see individual leaders below). 2012 has just two batters hitting .313 or better. However, a 92-point jump in the average of Mike Martinez (photo above) helps as does a 60-point jump in the average of Jabari Henry (right) from .209 at this point in 2011 to currently .269.
Runs: 2012 -- 147; 2011 -- 165
Hits: 2012 -- 265; 2011 -- 270
Home runs: 2012 -- 17; 2011 -- 20
RBI: 2012 -- 138; 2011 -- 146
Slugging Percentage: 2012 -- .404; 2011 -- .419
Walks -- 2012 -- 129; 2011 -- 109
Strikeouts -- 2012 -- 207; 2011 -- 198
On-base percentage -- 2012 -- .383; 2011 -- .376
Stolen bases -- 2012 -- 47 for 61; 2011 -- 34 for 48
Errors -- 2012 -- 52; 2011 -- 51
Fielding percentage -- 2012 -- .951; 2011 -- .953
Individual leaders after 27 games in 2012 & 2011
Batting average -- 2012: Martinez .356, Pablo Bermudez .313, Nate Burns (below right) .287; 2011: Bermudez .404, Garrett Wittels .336, Jeremy Patton .330.
Runs -- 2012: T.J. Shantz (left) 26, Martinez 17, Burns 16; 2011: Bermudez 27, Patton 20, Yoandy Barroso 18.
Hits -- 2012: Shantz 33, Martinez 31, Bermudez 30; 2011: Wittels 38, Bermudez 36, Patton 34.
HR -- 2012: Aramis Garcia 3, Henry 3, Adam Kirsch 3; 2011: Martinez 5, Rudy Flores 3, Henry 3, Patton 3.
RBI -- 2012: Burns 22, Garcia 18, Kirsch 18, Martinez 18; 2011: Wittels 23, Patton 21, Martinez 16.
SLG % -- 2012: Martinez .517, Henry .462, Burns .455; 2011: Patton .485, Bermudez .483, Martinez .453.
OBP -- 2012: Martinez .482, Bermudez .430, Burns .408; 2011: Bermudez .531, Patton .432, Barroso .400.
Stolen bases -- 2012: Bermudez 7, Julius Gaines 6, Martinez 6, Shantz 6; 2011: Joel Capote 10, Bermudez 8, Henry 5.
FLORIDA A&M vs. FIU Series
The Rattlers visit the FIU ballpark for a two-game series starting Tuesday and concluding Wednesday. Both games begin at 6 p.m. and both games will get the usual comprehensive coverage right here on FIUSports.com.
You can join myself and Chad Robinson on the LIVE GAME BLOGS as well as the Panther Pass LIVE VIDEO BROADCASTS. We'll be on-line for each game at 5:55 p.m.
*Thanks Roy Viera photos
