Florida Atlantic University Athletics
South Florida Rival Visits Boca Raton
4/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 3, 2006
Florida Atlantic University will host four non-conference games this week at FAU Stadium in an off week in the Atlantic Sun for the Owls. South Florida rival Florida International University should set up an exciting match up on Tuesday night in Boca Raton. 2005 NCAA Regional opponent Virginia Commonwealth visits town for a three-game series beginning on Friday to close out the week. The game times on Saturday and Sunday have been switched to 1 p.m. on both days.
Will Mann will match up with FIU's Eduardo Elias on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Mann has started two games this season and holds a 1-0 record with a 2.25 ERA. Both of Mann's last two outings have been starts for a total of 13 innings. During that time, he has allowed two runs while recording 13 strikeouts.
Elias is a 6'5" right-handed pitcher from Miami, FL. The senior has four starts this year and holds a 3-0 record with a 3.62 ERA. His wins came over Seton Hall, Manhattan and Harvard. In his 27.1 innings of work, Elias has recorded 16 strikeouts, while walking 25.
FAU (16-15) has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Golden Panthers but will face a team that holds a .309 batting average. Luis Bautista and Bryan Pullin are both hitting over .350 for FIU with Michael Lopez close behind with a .348 average and a team-leading six home runs.
The Golden Panthers have won four straight and 19 of the last 21.
The meeting with FIU (24-10) will be the first of two this season between the future Sun Belt Conference rivals. A return trip to Miami will pit the two teams together on Apr. 4 in Miami.
VCU enters the weekend with a 17-11 record and has won its last four games including a sweep of Georgia State. Prior to that streak, the Rams dropped five in a row.
The team is batting .308, while the pitching staff is holding opponents to a 3.38 ERA. Jared Bolden, who is a starting pitcher and first baseman, leads the team with a .453 batting average followed by Sergio Miranda at .409. Bolden was named the Colonial Athletic Association Rook of the Week for the third time this past week. He batted .600 (9-for-15) with three doubles, five runs and 10 RBI in four VCU wins. He also picked up a won on the mound after working seven innings and allowing only one run on four hits. Bolden is expected to get the start in Sunday's 1 p.m. start. He is 3-2 on the year with a 2.57 ERA. In 28 innings he has recorded 24 strikeouts.
Right handers Harold Mozingo and John Leonard are expected to start the first two games of the series. Mozingo has been the workhorse of the staff with 50.2 innings. He holds a 2.08 ERA, 5-1 record and 72 strikeouts lead the team. On Saturday, Leonard is expected to take the mound. In last weekend's start against Georgia State, he threw seven innings and allowed two runs on seven hits, while striking out eight. He stands at 3-2 on the season with a 2.91 ERA.
The Owls hold a 1-0 series advantage over the Rams. The only meeting was in the 2005 Coral Gables Regional when Mickey Storey threw a complete game for a 3-1 FAU win.
The Owls have been slowly gaining momentum and are 8-4 in the last 12 games. The team has raised its batting aver .016 during that time and has lowered its ERA from 5.16 to 4.86.
Ovy Ramirez continues to lead the team offensively with a .339 batting average. Freshman William Block, who hit two home runs last weekend, leads the team with five homer runs.
The FAU pitching rotation has yet to be determined for the weekend series.
Fans can follow all games live via the gametracker link at www.fausports.com or listen live by clicking on the audio link. Both links can be found on the baseball schedule page.
