The Two Hottest Baseball Teams in C-USA Square Off this Weekend in Boca Raton

No. 24 Florida Atlantic Baseball vs. Louisiana Tech
Matchup Details	Boca Raton, Fla. \| FAU Baseball Stadium \| Tickets Friday, April 12 \| 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13 \| 4 p.m. Sunday, April 14 \| Noon
Game Coverage	Streaming: FAUSports.TV Stats: Live Stats Twitter: @FAU_Baseball
Florida Atlantic Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| FAU-LA Tech Game Notes
LA Tech Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Beginning Friday for a three-game set at FAU Baseball Stadium, the No. 24 Florida Atlantic University baseball team hosts Louisiana Tech. The Owls (23-9, 11-1 Conference USA) have won seven in a row and are 20-3 after a 3-6 start to the year. The team is now ranked No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball, and No. 27 by the NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association). The Bulldogs (22-10, 8-4 C-USA) are sitting on a eight-game winning streak, the longest in the league, and have won 11 of 13. The teams are first and third in C-USA, respectively.

Owls' Weekend in Review
With no midweek, FAU is coming off their third C-USA sweep out of four league series, overcoming Charlotte on the road this past weekend by scores of 8-4, 10-6 (in 13 innings) and 12-5. Offensively, five Owls hit .375 or higher against the 49ers, and .338 as a team. On the year, they continue to lead the league at .301, which is No. 22 in Division I, along with national rankings of No. 9 in hits, No. 10 in doubles, No. 27 in slugging, No. 32 in runs and No. 34 in home runs. The pitching staff has lowered their season ERA to 4.12, the third lowest in C-USA. Blake Sanderson ties for the national lead with seven wins, setup man Vince Coletti is No. 10 with 19 relief appearances, and Zach Schneider ties for the conference high with seven saves, No. 18 in the country.

Owls' Weekend in Preview
LA Tech too has put together sweeps in each of their last two conference weekends, against UAB, and most recently UTSA. Closer Braxton Smith's performance in the latter, saves in each of the three wins over the Roadrunners, earned him C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors. He is tied for the league lead with seven saves, alongside Schneider. The team's top hitter is Mason Mallard, fourth in the conference at .377. He is the top run scorer (40) and in getting on base (.480) in C-USA as well.

Weekend Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday: FAU – Blake Sanderson, R-Sr. RHP (7-0, 3.29) vs. LA Tech – Matt Miller, R-Sr. RHP (4-0, 3.45)
Saturday: FAU – Mike Ruff, Jr. RHP (4-0, 5.44) vs. LA Tech – Logan Robbins, R-Sr. LHP (2-2, 7.32)
Sunday: FAU – TBA vs. LA Tech – Logan Bailey, Sr. LHP (4-3, 6.31)

Opponent History
Despite both joining the league in 2013, this is only the second regular season series ever between the two squads. That came in Boca Raton in 2014, with the Owls bookending the series with wins (3-1, a 3-2 loss and a 3-2 win. Twice since, the teams have matched up in the C-USA Championship. The Bulldogs won in 2016, 5-4 in 10 innings; last year in Biloxi, it was an 8-6 FAU win. That makes it a 3-2 Owl advantage all-time.

Owls' Baseball on Social Media
Follow along with the team on Twitter @FAU_Baseball, on Instagram, and "like" FAU Baseball on Facebook.

After This
Five road games are next: Tuesday in Orlando at UCF, next weekend in Bowling Green, Kentucky at WKU, and the following Tuesday in Gainesville at Florida. After that is a conference set at FAU Baseball Stadium, April 26-28, hosting Old Dominion. Tickets are available by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visiting baseball's ticket website.

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