Owls and Monarchs Set for Pivotal C-USA Showdown

Florida Atlantic at Old Dominion at Bud Metheny Stadium
Series Details	Norfolk, Va. \| Friday, April 22, 6 p.m. \| Saturday, April 23, 3 p.m. \| Sunday, April 24, 12 p.m.
Game Coverage	Live Stats HERE; Watch Live HERE; Listen Live HERE
Friday, April 22 \| 6 p.m.	FAU -- Hunter Cooley (LHP) vs. ODU – Blake Morgan (LHP)
Saturday, April 23 \| 3 p.m.	FAU – Jacob Josey (RHP) vs. ODU – Nick Pantos (RHP)
Sunday, April 24 \| 12 p.m.	FAU -- Tyler Burnham (LHP) vs. ODU – Sam Armstrong (RHP)
FAU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
ODU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

NORFOLK, Va. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team (24-14, 10-5 C-USA) returns to Conference USA play with a pivotal three-game series against Old Dominion. The Owls enter the weekend in third place in C-USA, two games ahead of ODU in sixth.

OWLS IN REVIEW

The Owls swept WKU at home last weekend before falling to Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers on Tuesday.

Hunter Cooley will once again make the start on Friday night for FAU. Cooley is coming off a complete game in his last start where he struck out eight. On Saturday, Jacob Josey will make his first since February 25. Tyler Burnham will be on the mound for the series finale. The grad transfer from Seton Hall has allowed just 14 hits in 27.2 innings.

Offensively, the Gabriel Rincones, Jr.- Nolan Schanuel one-two punch continues to lead the way for the Owls. Schanuel has at least one hit in 34 of 38 games this season. Rincones, Jr. leads the team with 13 home runs and 53 RBI. Dylan Goldstein and Armando Albert have also been key pieces for the offense. Goldstein is second behind Schanuel with a .457 on base percentage. Albert has been the Owls' leadoff man all season. He has reached base in all 35 games he's played in.

THE OWLS' OPPONENT

ODU took two of three from UAB on the road last weekend. The Monarchs have won four of the last five, including a 9-2 victory over then-No. 5 Virginia on April 12.

Old Dominion owns the best offense (statistically) in Conference USA. They rank first in several categories including average (.310), runs/game (9.42), and home runs (77). Senior first baseman Matt Coutney leads the league 18 home runs and teammate Andy Garriola is second with 15.

On the pitching side, Friday's starter will be Blake Morgan. The freshman will be making his eighth start. He's allowed just three earned runs in 10 appearances so far this season. It's a similar story for Nick Pantos who will go on Saturday. The redshirt senior has a 3.27 ERA and allowed one run in five innings last Friday against UAB.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

Friday | FAU -- Hunter Cooley (LHP) (5-2, 4.14 ERA) vs. ODU – Blake Morgan (LHP) (3-0, 0.83 ERA)
Saturday | FAU – Jacob Josey (RHP) (4-2, 5.23 ERA) vs. ODU – Nick Pantos (RHP) (5-0, 3.27 ERA)
Sunday | FAU -- Tyler Burnham (LHP) (3-0, 2.93 ERA) vs. ODU – Sam Armstrong (2-2, 5.97 ERA)

OPPONENT HISTORY

FAU and ODU met six times last season including twice in the C-USA Tournament. The Monarchs won five of the six and eliminated the Owls from the postseason. The Owls lead the all-time series 15-11.

OWLS' BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow along with the team on Twitter @FAUBaseball, on Instagram and "like" FAU baseball on Facebook.

AFTER THIS

The Owls will return home for four games next week starting with a Tuesday rematch against FGCU. FIU will make the short trip to Boca Raton for next weekend's C-USA series.

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visiting FAU's baseball tickets website.

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Players Mentioned

Armando Albert

Tyler Burnham

Hunter Cooley

Dylan Goldstein

Jacob Josey

Gabriel Rincones, Jr.

Nolan Schanuel

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