Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic (17-11; 6-8 Sun Belt)
4/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 5, 2009
VIDEO: Inside the Owls with Coach Mac
The University of South Alabama salvaged a game of its three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Florida Atlantic University, winning 9-3 Sunday. Florida Atlantic (17-11; 6-8 Sun Belt) had won one-run decisions against USA Friday and Saturday. The Owls will next play at the University of Miami Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
The Owls took two-of-three from South Alabama over the weekend to improve to 14-7 at FAU Stadium. The longest road-swing of the year for FAU begins Tuesday night in Coral Gables versus Miami, which precludes a weekend bus trip to Troy, Alabama to play a three-game conference set against the Troy Trojans.
LAST FIVE:
L, 5-7 vs. LOUISIANA-MONROE
L, 1-2 @ USF
W, 6-5 vs. SOUTH ALABAMA
W, 12-11 vs. SOUTH ALABAMA
L, 3-9 vs. SOUTH ALABAMA
NEXT FIVE:
@ #7 Miami, TUE 6 p.m. ET
@ Troy, FRI 7 p.m. ET
@ Troy, SAT 7 p.m. ET
@ Troy, SUN 2 p.m. ET
@ #7 Miami, TUE 6 p.m. ET
Florida Atlantic continues to be paced by its offense, rallying from a five-run deficit to win Friday night and scoring three in the ninth to win again Saturday. Senior 1B Travis Ozga (.361 BA) is the team-leader in hits (39), RBI (24), slugging % (.537) and total bases (58) and is also tied for the team lead in doubles (10). Senior classmates 2B William Block (.289 BA) and DH Tom Hatcher (.337 BA) were outstanding over the weekend. Block hit a game-winning double on Saturday in a game in which Hatcher hit two homers and drove in a career-high six runs. Hatcher leads the team with a .365 average against Sun Belt pitching while also slugging .615. Hatcher is 9-for-23 (.391 BA) with four doubles in FAU's last six games. SS Nick DelGuidice (.351 BA) has 13 multi-hit games, followed by 11 from OF David Wilson (.333 BA) and Ozga.
FAU has three lefty starters in its four-man rotation. Freshman midweek starter LH Brent Adheen (0-2; 8.27 ERA) pitched well at USF, allowing just two runs in a season-best five innings. Sophomore RH Mike Gipson (2-2; 5.09 ERA) has made every Friday start for the Owls this season. Gipson has a staff-best 37 K's in 40.2 innings. LH Alex Pepe (2-0; 2.14 ERA) has been called upon more times (16) than any other FAU pitcher and is on pace to break the program's career record for appearances. The senior from nearby Deerfield Beach owns a 1.17 ERA in his last five outings. Pepe leads all FAU pitchers in limiting opponents to a .200 batting average against.
UP NEXT: @ No. 7 Miami (Tuesday 6 p.m.); @ Troy (Friday through Sunday). Miami (23-8; 10-6 ACC) slipped from No. 2 down to No. 7 in last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Poll after dropping two-of-three to No.3 Georgia Tech last weekend but rallied to knock off state rival No. 19 Florida State in two-of-three this weekend. Troy (18-12; 7-6 Sun Belt) is coming off a sweep of Arkansas State to move into the top tier of the league standings. The Trojans will be the host of the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Championships in late May.
LAST WEEK'S NOTABLE PERFORMERS:
Senior DH Tom Hatcher had three doubles, two homers and 15 total bases in FAU four games last week, which included two SUn Belt Conference wins over South Alabama. Hatcher had a career-high four hits and six RBI in FAU's 12-11 Saturday win over USA - a game in which he hit two homers, one to left field and another to right. Hatcher slugged 1.000 for the week, going 6-for-15 (.400 BA) and stole a base. He is hitting a team-best .365 against Sun Belt pitching and his hitting .415 in FAU's last 15 games, going 25-for-61 with nine extra-base hits and 13 RBI during that span.
LHP Alex Pepe was dominant in four games last week. The 2008 MLB Draft pick has returned for his senior season and has emerged as one of the Sun Belt's top relievers. Pepe allowed just one hit in four-plus innings of relief last week, appearing in every game and helping the Owls win two-of-three against South Alabama. Pepe faced 15 batters, struck out four and had spotless ERA of 0.00.