Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Final Home Tournament For Owls Begins Friday
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 17, 2005
The Florida Atlantic University softball team, fresh off their victory at this past weekend's FIU Blue & Gold Coca-Cola Classic, hosts their fourth and final tournament of the year this weekend in the form of the FAU Parents' Weekend Tournament. The Owls will be joined at FAU Field by Florida International, Michigan State, Tulsa, No. 12 Texas A&M and Wisconsin, with six games scheduled for both Friday and Saturday and four games on the slate for Sunday.
After losing in the championship games of their past two tournaments, the Owls (17-19) finally got over the hump on Sunday with their 3-2, 10-inning victory over hosts Florida International in the title contest of the Blue & Gold Coca-Cola Classic. The win capped a perfect 6-0 weekend for the Owls who defeated both the Golden Panthers and Quinnipiac twice and Tulsa and Manhattan once. Senior Jessica Braggins paced FAU offensively, going 9-for-18 with a homer and eight RBI, stats that earned her MVP honors. Sophomores Jenna Lopez and Meghan Doonan and junior Danielle Arriaga were named to the all-tournament team. The Owls head into this weekend with an eight-game win streak and have won 10 of their last 12 games.
Let's look at the Owls' scheduled opponents this weekend:
No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies (23-2) - Friday, March 18, 2005, 1 p.m. @ FAU Field
Led by freshmen sensations Megan Gibson and Amanda Scarborough, the Aggies are off to a fast start in 2005, averaging 6.76 runs scored a game. Ranked 10th and 12th in the latest USA Softball and NFCA rankings, they have only lost to Long Beach State and Ole Miss this season and are currently working on a seven-game win streak. Gibson leads the Aggies in average (.469), home runs (11), and RBI (29) and has a remarkable 1.063 slugging percentage. On the pitching side of things, Scarborough is off to a 12-0 start to her collegiate career and has a 0.57 ERA, while the staff ERA is a solid 1.43. For all out-of-town FAU fans: Texas A&M's official athletic site, www.aggieathletics.com, will be broadcasting live audio from the game free of charge.
All-time series: Texas A&M leads 1-0.
Last meeting: Texas A&M won 10-2 on 3/15/03.
Wisconsin Badgers (6-5) - Friday, March 18, 2005, 7 p.m. @ FAU Field
The Badgers return seven starting position players and both starting pitchers from last year's squad that went 29-28. Senior Kristin Zacher was a second team all-region selection in 2004 after hitting .350, but the shortstop has only played in five games so far this season. Fellow senior Boo Gillette, a third team Big 10 selection last year, is hitting .423 with three homers in 2005, while sophomore Eden Brock is off to a 5-1 start on the mound with a 2.21 ERA.
All-time series: FAU leads 2-1.
Last meeting: FAU won 3-2 on 2/23/03.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (15-16) - Saturday, March 19, 2005, 5 p.m. @ FAU Field
For the second consecutive weekend, FAU and Tulsa will face off in round-robin tournament play. FAU opened play at the Blue & Gold Coca-Cola Classic on Friday with a 3-2 victory over the Golden Hurricane. In 2005, Tulsa is being led offensively by juniors Julie Shaffer (.324) and Katie Torres (.321) and sophomore Lindsay Galloway, who leads the team with four homers and 12 RBI. Senior right-hander Lindsey Dyer leads the pitching staff with a 1.23 ERA in 13 appearances.
All-time series: FAU leads 1-0.
Last meeting:FAU won 3-2 on 3/11/05.
Michigan State Spartans (4-14-1) - Saturday, March 20, 2005, 7 p.m. @ FAU Field
After having their scheduled match-up at the NFCA Leadoff Classic back in February rained out in the third inning, the Owls and the Spartans will meet for the second time in 2005. MSU opened the season by defeating current Top 25 team Florida, but then lost nine of their next 14 before defeating Bethune-Cookman twice last weekend at the Stetson Tournament, where they fell 2-1 to Virginia Tech in the championship game. Senior Victoria Morache leads the Spartans with a .341 batting average, but the Spartans are struggling as a team at the plate, hitting only .200. Former FAU standout Nikki Myers is the pitching coach for MSU and right-hander Rachel Turney appears to be a good student of Myers'. The sophomore has a respectable 1.67 ERA in 75-plus innings, but as her 3-8 record suggests, she has received little run support.
All-time series: Tied at 5-5.
Last meeting: Michigan State won 8-1 on 3/8/03.
Tickets for this weekend's tournament will be available on a per-day and entire tournament basis. Daily tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for youth/seniors while the tournament pass, which will only be sold on Friday, is $25 for adults and $18 for youth/seniors. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS, or at the gate.