Upcoming Event: Baseball at Wichita State on May 10, 2026 at 12 p.m.
12 p.m.
Baseball
at Wichita State
Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Diamond Diary by Kevin Cooney
5/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 6, 2002
Bad Weekend!
UCF came in and handed us our first conference series loss. They won the first two games and then were shut down by a great game pitched by Danny Core.
Friday night saw the first bad outing for Chris Pillsbury. He had good stuff, but looked lost out on the mound. Unfortunately, our bullpen also faltered after we roared back with six runs in the fourth. UCF had just put up a seven spot and things looked real bleak, when we roared back with a Mike Cox grand slam and one of the longest home runs ever hit to right field by Matt Pali. We just couldn't find a way to stop them until it was too late.
The first game Saturday saw us jump out in front again. NeSmith looked good in the first inning, but pulled a muscle in his glute. He tried to continue, but was really affected by it and I removed him. I told him the story about Dizzy Dean and his broken toe, but he had never heard of Dizzy Dean. Oh well.
We were in position to win, but relief pitching continued to be snake bitten. McNab really deserved better than he got. A lot of balls couldn't have been rolled out there any better.
So now we were faced with the prospect of getting swept at home and seeing our lead evaporate. The pressure was right where we wanted to see it; right on Danny Core's back! Danny had a perfect umpire for his style of pitching. The less said about the other two umpires, the better. They had a bad weekend.
I got to watch most of Danny's pitches from the press box. It seems one umpire thought it best to excuse me early and get me out of the heat. The view from up there is great, but it is agonizing to sit and watch, unable to do anything but suffer in silence. The UCF coaches were probably sad to see me out of the game. The advantage switched back to FAU with me out of the decision making process.
Johnny Mac, Lyttle, and Bob did a great job in a real nail biter of a game. Our one score came as a runner was picked off first, and we took a 1-0 lead into the last inning. With one out and runners on first and second their pinch hitter singled to right. LJ had to go to his left for the ball, so I felt we had no chance of throwing out the runner. I looked up and there was a play at the plate. For a minute I thought it was the guy from first base. LJ's throw arrived in time to nail him and save the day. A tough play up the middle kept my heart in my mouth until Hutton grabbed it and flipped to Spano. Game over. During the first game, I criticized LJ for making a throw all the way to the plate and enabling their runners to move up. I said "When was the last time you threw anyone out at home?" I guess he was ready for his chance.
Now we have a 3 1/2 game lead with six to play. Our magic number is four. A sweep at Mercer and one UCF loss would do it this weekend. If not, we wait and try to get it clinched at home against Georgia State.
Meanwhile, tomorrow we travel to Miami and try to beat FIU. This is more than just a midweek game. We need to get some things straightened out for the weekend, and every win is critical to help put us in a position for an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament. We still havea lot of baseball to play.
Where are our fans? I hate to say this publicly, but we are not drawing real well. In 1999 and 2000, we were getting over 1000 on Friday nights for our conference games. The UCF crowd was bigger and louder than ours in our own park. They knew all the baseball things to chant and they had a lot of fun with it. Unfortunately for us, it felt like an away game. Especially when they were chanting Cooney, Cooney, as I walked out to remove my son from the game Friday night. I know you have to be ready for the bad as well as the good with our situation, but it was irritating to hear it at home.
This team has the chance to be one of the best to ever play here at FAU, and beyond our small loyal contingent of locals, families, and girl friends, we might as well be playing on the back field in the afternoon.
Where is the coverage by the local newspapers? The Sun Sentinel has recently started doing some features. The Palm Beach Post is MIA. And what is up with The Boca News? Our games don't even get in there half the time. Occasionally a picture, and no one ever staffing a game. Our basketball team got tremendous coverage all year. Our games don't end much later than theirs. In '99 we got great coverage in that paper. Now we get absolutely nothing. I guess 27 straight wins, a national ranking, players having great years, a possible conference championship, and a regional bid are not very newsworthy. If anyone knows the answer, let me know. KC
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 Spring Show #9
Tuesday, May 05
Hometown Team w/ Patrick Ward
Monday, April 27
Leroux Backhand Stop
Friday, April 24
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 Spring Show #8
Thursday, April 23