Florida Atlantic University Athletics
FAU's Albaladejo and Church Named to All-Tourney Team
5/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 30, 2010
BOCA RATON, FL - With Selection Monday less than 24 hours away and FAU expected to earn their seventh NCAA Regional berth in school history, two Owls were honored today for their individual performances over the past week.
Catcher Mike Albaladejo and second baseman Raymond Church were selected to the 2010 Sun Belt Baseball All-Tournament Team for their outstanding performances during the conference's postseason tournament.
The No. 1 and 2 hitters in the FAU lineup set the table for head coach John McCormack all week long, collecting a combined 18 hits with 16 runs scored, five home runs and 18 RBI.
Church perhaps had the best offensive production of any one player in the tournament, going 11-for-21 at the plate with 10 runs scored, four home runs and 13 RBI during the four-game span. The West Palm Beach native posted a remarkable .560 on-base percentage and a 1.238 slugging percentage.
Albaladejo hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning on Wednesday that propelled the Owls to victory over WKU on Day 1 of the Tournament. The home run was Albaladejo's second of his career.
Both players recorded at least one hit in all four games they played in during the week.
Church also had a record breaking performance in Friday's 18-16 marathon lost to FIU. The former Palm Beach State College standout tied an FAU all-time record and broke a SBC Tournament single-game record with nine RBI. The junior went 4-for-6 in Friday's loss with two home runs, including a game-tying home run in the ninth and a game-tying two-run single in the 10th.
FAU was eliminated from the tournament by FIU on Saturday in an 11-9 defeat.
The Panthers then defeated Troy 14-10 in the championship game on Sunday afternoon and in doing so, clinched the Sun Belt automatic's bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
The Owls are expected to receive an at-large bid and await word on where they will be slotted. The most current projections have FAU as the No. 2 seed in the Gainesville Regional.
The 2010 NCAA Selection Show will air at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
