Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Owls' Quest for NCAA Berth Starts Thursday
5/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 9, 2006
BOCA RATON, FL - Three months and one day after the quest began for a ninth Atlantic Sun Conference title, the Florida Atlantic University softball season comes down to a three-day scramble of balls and bats to claim the ultimate prize - an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
Beginning Thursday, the Owls (29-22, 15-5 A-Sun) host the 2006 A-Sun Softball Championship, chasing the program's final conference crown before moving to the Sun Belt for the 2007 campaign. That chase starts at 11:00 a.m., when Florida Atlantic, the no. 2 seed, battles no. 5 East Tennessee State (20-34, 9-11 A-Sun) in the first round.
Florida Atlantic dominated ETSU in April, winning by a combined score of 19-3 in two games. Those two wins kicked off a homestretch in which the Owls went 12-1 in their final 13 games.
During that stretch Florida Atlantic hit .335 as a team and outscored its opponents by more than four runs per game, averaging nearly seven runs and 10 hits per game. Led by Danielle Arriaga's .475 average, the line-up card was full of offensive threats from top to bottom, with eight Owls batting .314 or higher.
It's that performance on the field and another factor that have head coach Joan Joyce excited about what can happen this weekend.
"We are playing really well right now and we are the healthiest that we have been the entire year," noted Joyce. "Outside of a couple of players out for the year, our line-up is very healthy. One of the things that I really like about our team right now is that, when we are behind, we continue to fight to win games at the end. If we are going to go down, it's not because we are going to lie down and let someone beat us. We are going to be fighting the whole way."
That fight and health will be important against any team in the tournament, even a team like ETSU - against whom the Owls would seem to be the favorite.
"I think that any team in this tournament is going to be a tough team," stated Joyce. "I hope that our kids don't get a little lax because we beat them (ETSU) by so many runs up there (in Johnson City, Tenn.). They are a very good hitting team - they scored some runs against us and played very well against us. We just did such a super job of hitting the ball while we were there. We can't let those games, which are behind us, distract us. We need to play really hard in every one of these games and not take anyone for granted."
Coming into the tournament, Florida Atlantic is the only team in the A-Sun to hit over .300 or score 100 or more runs in conference play. The Owls beat every team in the conference this season except Stetson, the regular season champion that escaped at home with two one-run wins over FAU on April 8.
The Owls' offensive potential was recognized by the coaches in the A-Sun this week, with freshman Kala Guy being name to the First Team All-Conference and four other players receiving Second Team awards. No FAU pitchers were honored but the staff has performed well in the final month, striking out 82 batters and walking just 33 while holding opponents to a .191 average.
The Owls will need strong performances both offensively and defensively to win Thursday's opener and move on to play either no. 3 Mercer (26-26, 12-6 A-Sun) or no. 4 Campbell (30-26, 12-8 A-Sun) in the 6:00 p.m. game. A loss would send Florida Atlantic to Thursday's 4:00 p.m. start against the loser of no. 1 Stetson (41-13, 16-4 A-Sun) and no. 6 Gardner-Webb (12-36, 7-13 A-Sun).
Ticket Information
Tickets may be purchased at the gate or by contacting the FAU Ticket Office at 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
Full-tournament pass: $20 adult, $10 youth/senior
One-day pass for Thursday, May 11: $10 adult, $6 youth/senior
One-day pass for Friday, May 12: $10 adult, $6 youth/senior
One-day pass for Saturday, May 13: $5 adult, $3 youth/senior
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 11
Game 3: #3 Mercer (26-26, 12-6 A-Sun) vs. #4 Campbell (30-26, 12-8 A-Sun), 9:00 am
Game 2: #2 Florida Atlantic (29-22, 15-5 A-Sun) vs. #5 ETSU (20-34, 9-11 A-Sun), 11:00 am
Game 1: #1 Stetson (41-13, 16-4 A-Sun) vs. #6 Gardner-Webb (12-36, 7-13 A-Sun), 1:00 pm
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 4:00 pm
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 6:00 pm
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 3, 8:00 pm
Friday, May 12
Game 7, 3:00 pm
Game 8, 5:00 pm
Game 9, 7:00 pm
Saturday, May 13
Game 10, Championship: 12:00 noon
Game 11, 30 minutes after Game 10 (if necessary)
