Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Baseball Hits the Road
4/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 22, 2004
Florida Atlantic University (31-9,10-8 A-Sun) hits the road for its second road trip of April when it visits Belmont University for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series on Friday and Saturday. Game times have been changed with a doubleheader scheduled for Friday at 3 pm et and a single game on Saturday at 5 pm et.
Belmont (24-14, 9-9 A-Sun) is coming off of a 24-5 rout of Tennessee Tech on Tuesday. The Bruins used six home runs to score a school record 24 runs after being held scoreless in a three-game series against UCF last weekend. Belmont only managed five hits in 23 innings against the Golden Knight pitchers.
Despite the three-game sweep, the Bruins still stand in fifth place in the A-Sun, one spot behind FAU.
Expected to take the mound for the Bruins are right-handers Justin Jordan and Charles Lee. Coach Dave Jarvis will send southpaw Cody Blackard out on Friday. Blackard leads the trio with a 2.44 ERA in 44.1 innings. The junior holds a 4-1 record and has thrown three complete games in seven starts. Justin Jordan has earned a decision in each of his 10 starts and currently stands at 6-4 with a 3.47 ERA. The workhorse of the staff, he has put in 70 innings in 10 appearances with 39 strikeouts and 10 walks.
Freshman, Charles Lee has been placed in multiple roles this year with three saves and five starts. He holds a 1-2 record and 5.08 ERA in 39 innings.
The offense is led by Josh Brummett's .380 batting average and .639 slugging percentage. Preseason All-Conference member Jason Warpool leads the squad with seven home runs.
The FAU rotation will have a new twist as Chris Saxton (Lake Worth, FL) makes his way into the starting lineup after acting as the team's closer. Saxton, who is ranked 17th in the nation in saves, started five games in 2003 after recording five saves. The right hander is expected to take the mound in the second game on Friday with a 2-0 record and 2.49 ERA.
Randy Beam will start game one in his 12th start of the season. The senior left-hander holds a 3.41 ERA and 5-2 record with 74 innings on the mound.
Slated for Saturday's start, Matt O'Brien (Royal Palm Beach, FL) is ranked sixth in the nation in victories with an 8-2 record. He is holding opponents to a .251 batting average and holds a 2.48 ERA.
Freshman Mike McBryde (North Palm Beach, FL) leads Florida Atlantic with a .431 batting average and is currently on a 17 game hitting streak. Tim Mascia (Wellington, FL) is also hitting over .400 with his highest batting average since March 20 at .424.
Senior Rob Horst (Gering, NE) leads the Atlantic Sun with 11 home runs and 48 RBI.
Fans can listen to live game action via the Belmont radio broadcast. Visit the FAU website at www.fausports.com and click on the link on the baseball schedule page.
