Softball Travels West to Face El Paso

Florida Atlantic @UTEP
Game Details	April 19-20 \| El Paso, Texas \| Helen of Troy
Game Coverage	Live Stats Live Video Radio: N/A Twitter: @fauowlssoftball Instagram: @owls_softball
FAU Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule
UTEP Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University softball team (18-23, 5-10 C-USA) will venture west to El Paso this weekend for three games. FAU will get things started on Friday at 6 p.m. for a doubleheader and finish out the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. Live stats from each of the games will be available here and live video will be accessible here.

Game Notes:
Week 11 at UTEP

Series History:
Series Record: 8-1 (FAU)
On April 18, 2014, these two teams squared off for the first time during the Owls' inaugural season in Conference USA. The Owls swept the Miners in that first series at home and have won each of the three series against UTEP. FAU's lone loss came in a 6-4 defeat in El Paso, Texas in 2017.

Last Meeting:
In the previous series played at FAU Softball Stadium last season, the Owls outscored the Miners 16-1 in the series sweep. The Owls shutout the Miners in two of the three games after the first game of the series was taken to eight innings. Kelsey Morrison crushed a three-run home run to help the Owls walk away with the victory on Sunday in five innings.

Eyeing UTEP:
UTEP finished ninth in C-USA to be just on the outside looking in of making the C-USA Tournament with a 21-33 record (10-14 C-USA). The Miners were hot at the plate with a .286 batting average to be second in C-USA, but rounded out last in ERA at 5.51. Ariana Valles was an All-Freshman Team selection, as she batted .255 with 38 hits, 10 doubles and three triples.

The Miners were projected to finish 10th in the conference in the 2019 C-USA Preseason Poll. UTEP is coming into this weekend's series with an 11-29 record (4-10 C-USA) and has the conference's leading hitter in senior Kacey Duffield, who has posted a .402 batting average with 43 hits, 25 RBI and nine home runs. Freshmen Kasey Flores and Pate Cathey are putting on tremendous rookie seasons. Flores posts a .360 batting average with eight home runs, while Cathey bats .320. Courtney Smith also leads the Miners in home runs with 10 and senior Kira McKechnie is controlling the circle with a 5.36 ERA with 74 Ks. The Miners are ranked 11th in the nation in fielding double plays per game with 22 to average out to .55. UTEP also brings a lot of power to the plate with 39 home runs to rank second in C-USA behind Marshall and No. 51 in the country with .98 per game.

FAU vs. Middle Tennessee Recap:
In the 2018 C-USA Tournament rematch between the regular season champions in FAU and the tournament victors in MTSU, the Owls dropped both of Saturday's contests, but were able to avoid the sweep on Sunday. FAU had a 3-1 lead in game one, but a five-run inning for the Blue Raiders in the top of the sixth led to a 6-3 win in the series opener. In game two, the Owls could not match the Blue Raiders' power at bat, as they hit a one-, two- and three-run home run to slide to a 9-3 win. The Owls went up early on Middle Tennessee in game three, and despite the Blue Raiders pulling within one run, FAU followed through with an 8-6 triumph.

Social Media:
For live updates during all games and for other FAU softball news, follow along on Twitter (@fauowlssoftball), Instagram (@Owls_softball) and Facebook.

Up Next:
The Owls will be back home April 27 to host Charlotte for Senior Day in a 4/6 p.m. doubleheader. To purchase tickets, visit the Ticketmaster page or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

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Players Mentioned

Kelsey Morrison

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Softball versus St. Johns River (10 Innings) on October 24, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Softball versus Lynn (10 Innings) on October 25, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Softball versus Miami Dade (10 Innings) on October 29, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Softball at Eastern Florida State on November 1, 2025 at 12 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Softball versus Keiser on November 1, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Softball versus Nova Southeastern (10 Innings) on November 5, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University Athletics