BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University softball team (9-9) is back at FAU Softball Stadium this weekend to co-host the Parent's Weekend Tournament with FIU. There will be nine teams making the trip to South Florida to play games at both FAU and FIU all weekend long. The Owls will get the tournament rolling against ECU tomorrow night and will cap things off against Notre Dame next Tuesday night before conference play begins next weekend. Live stats for all of the scheduled tournament games can be found
here and live video for FAU's matchups can be accessed
here.
FAU Game Schedule:
Game Notes:
Eyeing the Competition:
ECU (Friday at 6 p.m.)
All-time series: 2-2
ECU (11-6) is managed by Courtney Oliver, who is in her fifth season with the Pirates. Last season, ECU finished 23-32 (8-13 in conference), ended seventh in conference and lost in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Pirates are projected to finish sixth in the AAC and return sophomore Tyler King, the 2018 leader in batting average, as well as Erin Poepping, who led the way in the circle during her freshman campaign with a 3.26 ERA. ECU is mainly composed of sophomores and juniors and will have two seniors graduating after the season. The team went 2-2 last weekend at the Purple-Gold Invite and split a weekday doubleheader with Campbell. This will be the first meeting between FAU and ECU in 12 seasons. The last time out, FAU lost at home, 2-1.
Stony Brook (Friday at 8:15 p.m.)
All-time series: 3-1
In Megan Bryant's 19th season as head coach of Stony Brook (0-2), she has steered the team to 12 postseason appearances and three conference titles. In 2018, the Seawolves finished 25-22 (10-7 in conference/3rd) and fell to Albany 9-0 in the American East Tournament semifinals to be eliminated. The Seawolves were picked to finish third in the All-Conference Preseason Poll. Junior Melissa Rahrich led the team at the plate last season with a .453 batting average and a .537 on-base percentage. She was the American East Player of the Year and an NFCA All-Region Third-Team selection. Although the Seawolves have only been able to play two games going into this weekend, Rahrich leads the way with a .714 batting average and four RBI. Junior Taylor Pechin is the leader in the circle with a 4.67 ERA over three innings pitched. The last time the Owls met with the Seawolves in February of 2016, and FAU came out victorious at home, 6-1.
Yale (Saturday at 8:15 p.m.)
All-time series: 1-2
Yale (2-4) is led by Jen Goodwin, who is in her seventh season as head coach. The Bulldogs dropped its first four games of the season but are on a two-game winning streak after two wins over Hartford, 5-0 and 4-3 (8 innings). Yale finished the 2018 season 10-30 (6-15 in conference) and rounded out the Ivy League in seventh. The Bulldogs are projected to finish seventh again this season, with four players returning that made the All-Conference Team in 2018. Sophomore Sydney Goodman was a second-team selection at first base, while sophomore Miranda Papes (starting pitcher) and seniors Carlin Hagmaier (OF) and Shelby Kennedy (OF) were honorable mention picks. The last time the Owls faced the Bulldogs, FAU picked up its first win in program history over the squad with a commanding 10-1 victory on a neutral site in 2014.
Illinois State (Sunday at 3:45 p.m.)
All-time series: 2-2
Illinois State (5-15) is headed by long-time head coach Jenna Fischer, who is the winningest coach in ISU athletics history. The Redbirds are coming off the 2018 season with a 21-33 record (11-14) and tied for sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Allison Spence led the bats in 2018 with a .304 batting average and 28 RBI, while Ali Domkuski finished last season in the circle 3-0 in 11 appearances with a 1.25 ERA. The Redbirds are projected to finish fifth in the MVC Preseason poll and sophomore Audrey Coursey (third base) made the conference's preseason team after being second on the team last season in batting average (.269) with 21 hits and a .410 slugging percentage. Illinois State lost its first nine games of the season, but the team is coming off a huge 3-0 victory against No. 16/15 Indiana at the Purple & Gold Challenge. This will be the fifth meeting in three seasons with the Owls and Redbirds. Last March, the Redbirds claimed a 4-3 victory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Purdue (Sunday at 6 p.m.)
All-time series: 5-3
Boo De Oliveria is in her third season as the head coach of Purdue softball (11-6) and facilitated the Boilermakers to a 16-40 finish (7-15 in conference) in 2018. The Boilermakers had their 2018 season come to an end following an 8-0 loss (5 innings) against Wisconsin in the first round of the Big 10 Tournament. Senior Jenny Behan made the All-Big 10 First Team at third base, while junior Madison Douglass was a recipient of the sportsmanship award. Freshman Rachel Becker is leading the squad with a .447 batting average with six RBI and 21 hits. Senior Kaitlynn Moody (3-2) has a 2.31 ERA with 22 strikeouts in the circle. The Boilermakers are winners of four straight, which started with a 6-5 win over South Alabama at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic II. The Owls took a win against the Boilermakers last season, as they won 2-1 (10 innings) in Baton Rouge.
Notre Dame (Tuesday at 6 p.m.)
All-time series: 0-3
Notre Dame (9-7) is steered by Deanna Gumpf, who is in her 18th season as head coach. The Irish finished last season 34-23 (13-10 in conference) and lost to Florida State in the ACC Tournament Semifinals, 6-1. The Irish got an NCAA Tournament bid and lost to No. 19 Kentucky at the Lexington Regional, 8-0 (6 innings). Notre Dame is picked to finish second behind FSU in the ACC preseason conference poll and Abby Sweet was an All-ACC Preseason Team selection after batting .333 with 57 hits and a .420 on-base percentage in 2018. Sweet was also an NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Third-Team selection. Senior Ali Wester leads the team with a .411 batting average with .23 hits, six RBI and a .431 on-base percentage. The pitching staff has a combined 2.65 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 13 walks allowed. Notre Dame has knocked off quality ranked teams, such as No. 3/2 Washington, 3-2 (8 innings) at the Puerto Vallarta Classic and a 6-0 victory against No. 20/17 Oklahoma State at the Clearwater/St. Pete Elite Invitational. The Irish are in the midst of a three-game winning streak and the Owls are hoping to clinch its first victory over the team from South Bend, Indiana. The last time the two teams played in March 2004, Notre Dame came out victorious at the FAU Softball Stadium, 2-0.
FAU at Carolina Classic Recap:
The Owls went 1-2 at the Carolina Classic and were only able to play three out of their five scheduled games due to inclement weather. On Thursday, FAU kicked things off against George Washington and despite seven hits, were unable to score a run and fell to the Colonials, 6-0. The Owls' two games on Friday against Maryland and UNCG were cancelled, but FAU was back at it on Saturday to face North Carolina. Against the hosting Tar Heels, the Owls struck first in the top of the sixth inning with two runs, but North Carolina came back in the bottom of the inning with six runs, and ultimately claimed the victory, 6-2. The Owls captured the Sunday win against Fairfield in dominating fashion with
Mia Olson in the circle, 12-4 (6 innings).
Madisyn Palmer broke the program's career stolen bases record against the Stags by stealing three bases in the game. Olson earned a spot on the Carolina Classic Tournament Team as well.
Social Media:
For live updates during all of the Owls' games and for other FAU softball news, follow along on Twitter (@
fauowlssoftball), Instagram (
@Owls_softball) and Facebook.
Up Next:
FAU will kick off conference play next weekend with a visit to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to face Southern Miss in a three-game series. The Owls will open up conference play at home on March 23 against UAB. To purchase tickets, visit the
Ticketmaster page or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.