Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Owls Open Conference Play with Campbell, GWU
3/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 21, 2006
BOCA RATON, FL - Tournament season is done for the Florida Atlantic University softball team and it is time for conference play to begin.
The Owls host Campbell (18-12) and Gardner-Webb (5-15) this weekend in the first two Atlantic Sun doubleheaders of the year. Friday's 6:00 p.m. game with Campbell officially begins Florida Atlantic's final season in the A-Sun, and FAU (12-17) is looking to go out in the same way that it came in - on top.
The preseason favorite as selected by both the media and coaches, Florida Atlantic won the conference title each of its first eight seasons in the league. That streak ended in 2005 when FAU took second in the regular season and UCF won the conference tournament.
A key piece to the Owls' hopes for an A-Sun title is still missing, that being junior pitcher Meghan Doonan (Wallingford, Conn.). Doonan was scheduled to be the no. 1 starter in the circle for head coach Joan Joyce this season but has yet to return from an injury she suffered in the preseason.
While Doonan continues to rehab for her return later this month, freshman Kathryn Stauffer (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and junior Jen Musillo (Tequesta, Fla.) have carried the load on the mound. Stauffer sports a 2.57 ERA and 4-11 record with 71 strikeouts to just 24 walks, while Musillo is 5-5 with a 2.78 ERA.
Florida Atlantic's bats have shown greater signs of life in recent weeks and have pulled the team's average up to .230 for the year after sitting at .204 on March 4. Junior Jenna Lopez (Orangeburg, N.Y.) has shown some of the greatest improvement at the plate, raising her mid-February .095 average to .270 after batting .429 with her first two career home runs in last weekend's tournament at FAU.
Florida Atlantic faces Campbell Friday evening starting at 6:00 at FAU Softball Stadium. The doubleheader with Gardner-Webb begins Sunday at 1:00.
