Second Season Begins: Owls Meet WKU in C-USA First Round

Florida Atlantic (33-23, 16-14 C-USA) vs Western Kentucky (31-24, 16-14 C-USA) \| Reckling Park I Houston, Texas I C-USA Tournament
Game Details	Houston, Texas \| Wednesday May 24, 8:30 p.m. EST
Game Coverage	Listen Live HERE Watch: ESPN+
Starting Pitchers	FAU -- C.J. Williams (RHP) vs.WKU -- Dawson Hall (RHP)
FAU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
WKU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

HOUSTON, Texas – Florida Atlantic baseball will be the five seed when the Conference USA postseason tournament opens on Wednesday night in Houston, Texas. The Owls will meet the fourth seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Dallas Baptist and Rice are the other two teams on FAU's side of the bracket.

OWLS IN REVIEW

The Owls concluded the regular season by taking two of three on the road from UAB. FAU won each of its last four C-USA series, sweeping FIU and winning two games each against Charlotte, LA Tech, and UAB. The Owls were riding a four-game win streak prior to Saturday's 10-5 season finale defeat.

WHO'S HOT

Nolan Schanuel was named Conference USA Player of the Year on Tuesday. He became the third Owl in program history to earn the award. On Monday, Schanuel was named as one of 25 semifinalists for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country.

Schanuel is first in Division I in batting average, on base percentage, and walks. His 51-game reached-base streak is tied for the longest active in DI. Schanuel also leads C-USA in slugging percentage, OPS, runs scored, and hits.

Robert Wegielnik had another multi-inning outing last Friday against UAB. Wegielnik has now gone 15 appearances (31 innings) without allowing an earned run. He enters the postseason with a 1.48 ERA.

Jackson Ross was named to the All-C-USA second team on Tuesday. Ross enters the postseason with a six-game hitting streak, including four multi-hit games. He homered on Thursday and Saturday in the UAB series and finished last week's four-game stretch with 10 RBI.

THE OPPONENT

When FAU and WKU met for the first time back on April 22 in Bowling Green, the Hilltoppers were 3-9 in C-USA. After sweeping the Owls that weekend, WKU's season seemingly flipped for the better. They also swept Charlotte and Rice and took two of three from FIU to jump into fourth in the league standings.

WKU will go with freshman Dawson Hall on the mound on Wednesday. Hall held the Owls scoreless for five innings back on April 23. His seven wins and 3.08 ERA leads the Hilltoppers. He was a second team All-C-USA selection and a member of the All-Freshman team.

Offensively, the Hilltoppers are not flashy, but they are effective. Junior Aidan Gilroy leads the team with a .335 average. Lukas Farris joined Hall on the C-USA All-Freshman team after leading WKU with 13 home runs and 40 RBI.

OPPONENT HISTORY

Wednesday is likely to be the final meeting between WKU and FAU for quite some time. The Hilltoppers will remain in C-USA while the Owls move to the AAC next season. All-time, Florida Atlantic holds a 36-17 advantage. Prior to being swept in April, the Owls had won five straight against WKU.

FOLLOW ALONG

All C-USA tournament games will be streamed on ESPN+. There will also be an audio-only stream available on FAU Athletics YouTube. Start times are subject to change so keep an eye on @FAUBaseball on twitter for the latest updates.

UPCOMING

The Owls will play either Dallas Baptist or Rice on Thursday. A win on Wednesday would mean an 8:30 p.m. first pitch. A loss and the Owls would play an elimination game at 5 p.m. The full tournament bracket can be viewed at here.

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Players Mentioned

Jackson Ross

Nolan Schanuel

Robert Wegielnik

C.J. Williams

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