Baseball Faces off Against FSU to Start Athens Regional

Florida Atlantic Baseball vs. Florida State - NCAA Athens Regional
Matchup Details	Athens, Georgia \| Foley Field Friday, May 31 \| 12 p.m.
Game Coverage	Live Free FAU Radio ESPN3 Live Stats Twitter: @FAU_Baseball
Florida Atlantic Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| FAU-FSU (NCAA) Game Notes
FloridaState Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team begins play at the Athens (Georgia) regional midday on Friday, as the No. 2 seed, against No. 3 Florida State at Georgia's Foley Field.

Top seed and host Georgia and No. 4 Mercer make up the remainder of the Athens bracket. FAU's opener will be on ESPN3, and Friday's result will determine the squad's next opponent, game time and broadcast outlet, as part of the double-elimination regional.

Full Athens Regional Schedule
Friday, May 31
Game 1 - Noon - No. 2 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 vs. Florida State (ESPN3)
Game 2 - 7 p.m. - No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Mercer (SEC Network)

Saturday, June 1
Game 3 - 1 p.m. - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 4 - 7 p.m. - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Sunday, June 2
Game 5 - Noon - Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4
Game 6 - 6 p.m. - Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4

Monday, June 3
Game 7 - 4 p.m. (If Necessary)

Note: The TV Network/platform for Saturday/Sunday/Monday will be decided after each day's action is complete.

Dylan O'Connell Feature

Owls' C-USA Championship in Review
The Owls (40-19) took their half of the C-USA Championship bracket with three wins, the last earning John McCormack his 400th career victory. Southern Miss did the same, going 3-0, and the Golden Eagles would take the title game by a 4-0 score. For their individual and collective efforts, Owl representatives on the All-Tournament Team were Pedro Pages, Mike Ruff, Nick Swan and Francisco Urbaez.

Owls' NCAA Regional Opener in Preview
Florida State (36-21) finished third in the ACC regular season standings, and went 1-1 in the league's postseason tournament. The Seminoles have made every NCAA Tournament since 1978 – 42 in a row – and 16 of those appearances have ended in the College World Series. This season is head coach Mike Martin's 40th and final year atop the program, and he holds the all-time collegiate baseball record with 2,023 wins to this point.

Probable Starting Pitching Matchup
FAU – Blake Sanderson, R-Sr. RHP (8-2, 3.93) vs. FSU – Drew Parrish, Jr. LHP (7-5, 4.81)

Opponent/NCAA Regional History
All-time, FAU has made 14 NCAA postseason regionals, 12 since joining Division I. That includes four of the last five, and five of the last seven. In the dozen DI appearances, the Owls are 21-23, and that includes a combined 6-3 mark out of state (3-1 in 2002 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; 3-2 in 2013 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina).

FSU and FAU haven't met up in over 20 years, with the last matchups in late March of 1998. The Seminoles hold an 8-1 advantage, with the only Owl win coming on March 19, 1997, by the score of 13-5.

The Owls have never played Georgia, and used to be Atlantic Sun members with Mercer (from 1994 to 2006), with 27 previous meetings. FAU leads the all-time series against the Bears, 16-11.

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

After This
The Owls will play again on Saturday in the double-elimination bracket. As winners, it would be a 7 p.m. first pitch. Should FSU advance, FAU would start the Saturday action at 1 p.m. against whomever falls in the Georgia/Mercer game.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

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Players Mentioned

Dylan O'Connell

Pedro Pages

Mike Ruff

Blake Sanderson

Nick Swan

Francisco Urbaez

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Florida Gulf Coast on March 17, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus UTSA on March 20, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus UTSA on March 21, 2026 at 4 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus UTSA on March 22, 2026 at 12 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Miami on March 24, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Rice on March 27, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University Athletics