Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
Eastern Michigan
Florida Atlantic Sweeps Series in Lopsided Fashion
3/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 2, 2008
BOCA RATON, FL (March 2, 2008) - Florida Atlantic routed Eastern Michigan in the final game of a four-game series on FAU's campus 24-3 on Sunday.
Nick Arata and Nick Criaris hit grandslams in the same inning, part of back-to-back nine-run frames for FAU (5-3) in the third and fourth- eliminating an early 1-0 deficit and any hopes EMU had of winning a game in Boca Raton.
Sunday's onslaught prompted both teams to use nearly every position player on its respective rosters. 15 different FAU batters registered a hit, with All-America candidate Mike McKenna going 4-for-6 and homering for the third time in four games versus Eastern Michigan (0-10).
Daniel Cook hit his third and fourth homeruns of the season Sunday, going 2-for-3 with five RBI. Arata's grandslam and 3-for-3 afternoon allowed him a batting average of .400 during the course of FAU's five-game week.
After dropping all three games to North Carolina in its season-opening series, 21st-year head coach Kevin Cooney has guided the Owls to five consecutive wins, none more impressive than Sunday's victory over the Eagles.
NOTES: Florida Atlantic (5-3) is hitting .341 as a team and is scoring 10+ runs per game. The Owls have hit 16 homeruns in just eight outings. 33 of FAU's 86 runs have come with two-outs. Travis Ozga (.484 BA) is enjoying a phenomenal start to his junior season, going 9-for-18 (.500 BA) in five games this week. In 31 at-bats this season Ozga has 15 hits, 12 RBI, three homeruns and three doubles. Mike McKenna is the FAU leader in batting average (.486), RBI (13), total bases (29) and hits (18). Daniel Cook is the team-leader in homeruns (4). Six different every-day players own an average above .345. Mickey Storey (0-1; 2.38 ERA) lowered his season ERA to 2.38 after throwing seven strong innings without giving up an earned run in a no-decision vs. EMU on Friday. True freshman starter Glen Troyanowski (1-0; 2.84 ERA) pitched five innings of three-hit baseball and struck out eight to pick up his first collegiate win against Mt. St. Mary's Wednesday.
