Baseball receives SBC championship rings

Members of the FIU baseball team received their 2010 Sun Belt Tournament Championship rings in a ceremony during halftime at the men’s basketball game against Florida State Nov. 18.

The ring, made by Jostens, is custom designed and contains 25 sparkling stones. The top of the ring has the word “champions,” while the bottom has the date “2010.” The FIU logo in blue finish is surrounded with five stones on each side. One of the side panels features the player’s name, number and the FIU logo, while the other panel has the Sun Belt Baseball Championship logo and says NCAA Regionals.

Last season, the FIU baseball team defied all odds by winning five-straight games in the double-elimination conference tournament to earn the right to call themselves SBC champions for the first time since 1999.

After losing to South Alabama in the first game of the conference tournament, 7-1, the Panthers won the next five games, including a doubleheader in which they defeated South Alabama, 10-9, and FAU in an 11-inning battle, 18-16. After a quick turnaround the next day, FIU eliminated FAU from the tournament with an 11-9 win to set up a championship showdown with the Trojans of Troy.

The Panthers defeated the Trojans, 14-11, behind the bats of Tyler James Shantz and Jeremy Patton who each hit clutch home runs in the game. For his efforts, Patton was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. As a team, the Panthers set SBC Tournament records for hits, runs scored and batting average for a championship. FIU’s .385 batting average was the highest in the tournament since 1984.

With a SBC Championship and a second-straight winning season under its belt, FIU will go into the 2011 season with a proverbial target on its back and won’t be able to fly under the radar with all the national exposure the program has been getting as of late.

The Panthers open up the season with a three-game series against Southeastern Louisiana Feb. 18-20 on ESPNU and ESPN3.

For ticket information on the 2011 FIU baseball season, call 305-FIU-GAME.

— Courtesy of FIUSports.com