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Photo by JC Riley

Owls beat Forham 8-6 in Season Opener

David Wilson's clutch hit, the go-ahead triple in the sixth inning, help secure the win as Florida Atlantic beat Forham 8-6 on Friday.

 

Whatever pregame jitters Coach Mac might have felt were short lived. Sophomore starter Mike Gipson provided a great start by retiring his first three batters - two by strikeouts.  

 

The Owls offense provide some relief of its own when Travis Ozga recorded the first hit of the season, followed by a three-run home run by Tom Hatcher in his first at bat, adding a second digger in his second at bat of the evening later on.

Forham answered with three runs in the top of the second to tie the ball game.

 

The few lapses by the Owls defenders did allow Forham to rally and chase the Owls starter in the fourth, after Gipson threw 26 pitches allowing the Rams to push three runs across the plate to take a short lived 6-4 lead.  Gipson pitched 3 2/3 innings, striking out six, while allowing five hits and six runs, two of them earned. 

 

Alex Pepe came on in relief to pitch three solid innings, shutting down the Forham offense by retiring all ten of the Rams batters he faced and the team seemed to finally settle down and play solid baseball the rest of the way.

 

Newcomer Nick DelGuidice could not have envisioned a better start as an Owl. He led all players with three hits and was inches of going 4-4 in his first game as an Owl, on a ball pulled deep into the left field corner, ruled fouled. 

 

Hugh Adams worked a scoreless ninth to earn a save and help preserve Coach Mac's first victory as a head coach after serving 18 years as an assistant for the Owls.

Final Stats

Photo by JC Riley

A Shinning Star set to emerge from the Shadows

 

Don't let Will Block's quiet persona fool you.  Once he steps onto the diamond, he is one of the biggest competitors there is. And entering his final season as an Owl, there seems to have been a natural progression to becoming a team leader. 

 

 "I'm a pretty quite guy around the locker room and just go about my business. The biggest challenge [for me] was to be more of a vocal leader," he said. Block may also have to adjust being in the spotlight as opposed to staying hidden in the shadows of others.  

It's clear that Coach McCormack wants and expects Block to grab the opportunity to shine and showcase his ability.

"He plays hard. He's very aggressive and he gets the guys to play harder," McCormack said. As a senior who has not had the chance at post season play, McCormack hopes for Block to have a "good year, win a championships and play a regional."

As a junior, Block managed to maintain a .347 batting average, while hitting 12 home runs and totaling 47 RBI. 

 

For his career, he ranks fourth all-time at FAU with 173 runs scored; fifth in home runs (37), eight in hits (222) and 11th in RBI (138).   

 

With those type of numbers, you may wonder how he managed to duck the spotlight for so long.

Photo by JC Riley

 

"He's a good player, a team leader and was voted team captain," said McCormack. "He's done a nice job transitioning from when he got here at third base over to second base."

Displaying the type of attitude willing to do what was best for the team that also impressed McCormack. 

 

Introducing another one of  "Coach Mac's" new twists: "one thing that a lot of people don't know is that he's going to pitch a little this year." 

Pitching is something both have discussed over the summer and it's something McCormack is serious seeing what Block can do.  Block pitched a little in high school and has thrown some in the bullpen during his years at FAU.

 

This has the potential of being a real bonus for the pitching staff.

 

"As long as I'm out there and the team is winning that is all that counts," said Block. "As a competitor, I always want the ball in my hands. Being a pitcher and a hitter, it's pretty much the highest level that you can get to compete on the baseball field."

 

"With the schedule the way it is these days, the more good arms you have the better chance you have saving people and winning games," Block added.

 

With the success and reputation that Owl baseball has earned over the years,  the idea of post season play was expected.

With the recent three-year drought, fans are yearning to feel the aura once again. There is no doubt not playing in the post season has stayed on the players and coaches minds. 

Block puts it into perspective by saying: "your always working to be the best, to win games, to win the conference, make it to regional and then super-regional. So yes the expectations and  pressures are about the same. You just have to go out and play hard every day."

 

And win ball games.

 

As a competitor, you have to like Block's "just give me the ball" attitude .

 

Travis Ozga

Senior, Infielder

6'2", 215

Pope John Paul II

Boca Raton, Florida

A consistent and steady performer

Travis Ozga made great strides in his junior year as an Owl infielder, with a break-out type of season. He started 53 of the 60 games at first base, and one at third, posting a .357 hitting average for a good part of the season and holding on to a .330 average heading to the final week of regulation play, where his batting average never fell below .300 for the year.

 

Ozga's steady performance in 2009 allowed him to string together some impressive numbers for the season: finishing the year with 56 RBIs, which happen to be some of the best numbers in school history, and of those, he managed 16 multiple RBI outings with a .326 average with runners in scoring position and compiling 71 hits and 11 HR.

 

Entering his senior season, Ozga felt he had to work on his leadership skills.

"A lot of the kids look up to me and the rest of the seniors, so being a little bit more serious and energetic" will hopefully help the transition of a new ERA in FAU baseball, he said..

 

And as the team embarks on a new beginning, "a new twist," Ozga says, is part of a new approach Coach McComack brings as the team looks forward to returning to regional play.

 

The players are aware of the three-year drought of not making an NCAA regional, something Owl fans have come to expect.

Ozga adds that "we don't necessarily put additional pressure on ourselves, but it serves as extra motivation," striving to return to post season play. 

 

Heading into the 2009 season, Ozga mentions that "this year our team is a lot closer, we get along very well. We all are good friends and that helps a lot with the chemistry of the team. When you like each other you want everyone to do well," he said. Combined with "a new twist," hopefully that chemistry will help the team to a winning season.

 

Ozga's consistent play and outstanding performance of last season will no doubt be used as a barometer for the upcoming season. This can only be good news for Owl fans and a good indication what to expect not only form Ozga, but the rest of the team.

The chase to the title game and a possible birth at a regional comes to an end at the hands of the Hilltoppers. 

After a rough start on Thursday the Owls fought hard to get to within one game of the championship title game, a loss yesterday brought an end to a season and an era to one of the most successful coach FAU has had, one that brought this program to national recognition well before there was a football program that is trying to do the very same thing. 

I get the feeling that Coach Cooney may not be leaving on a full stomach, there has to be some disappointment not having been able to give his current & former players a place they could call home, sounds kind of familiar doesn't it.  I say this because the current facilities are in need of major renovations and we all know how facilities play a major role in recruiting, building and maintaining a program, to compete at the highest levels.

This is a program that found success on a national level since 1999, one that the football program is trying to reach, yet has not gotten the respect it truly deserves for its accomplishments.  We continue to bring nationally rank teams to Boca, how I don't know, other then we rely on a reputation that Coach Cooney was able to create and developed with the success he brought to a program he dubbed "the Blue Wave", it surely can't be the embarrassment of what is now being called home to this baseball team. 

In the mean time, Cooney had to watch funding being raised for a new football stadium that would pale any comparison that would be needed to renovate the baseball field and also witness a 10 million dollar renovation being done on "the Burrow", still not on par with most Sun-Belt facilities.  Sure, there have been talks of renovations and even possible donors that where pushed to football instead, so you can feel Cooney's frustration and bitterness, but also some disappointment, for not being able to provide his kids with the type of place they would feel proud of.  He has become an intricate part of the player's lives as most coaches do, becoming part of their families, as an extended father figure.  And it's only natural to feel some disappointment, for not being able to provide a home for the players that have come here to build a program (much like the pioneers of the football program have done).  The Blue Wave did it first and has earned & deserves a new home they can be proud of, justifying the hard work and dedication they brought to build a program to national prominence. 

We fans sometimes forget what it means to be a coach at this level and the demands that is placed on them.  I hold Cooney with the utmost respect for everything he has done and accomplished here at Florida Atlantic, he has gone far beyond what a coach in his position should ever be expected to do, yet he chose to do so, because of his players and love of the game. 

There is still plenty for Cooney to be proud of; having built a program that has gotten national recognition & respect, to all the young men he recruited and how he affected their lives for the better.  Yet, for everything that he has done for this program, one man can not do it all.  As far as I know, he did more then enough.

I wish Coach Cooney and his family nothing but the best as they march forward on a new life's journey.

Nothing has comes easy for these Owls this season and must now beat the Hilltopper's twice to advance to the championship game on Sunday. 

Yep, they must face the same team that greeted the Owls to a nice Cajun style brunch on Thursday, which the Owls have recovered nicely since then, moving them one step close to playing on Sunday.

Let's not jump ahead of ourselves though, there is still much work to be done, beating a team twice is no easy task, especially one featuring a more balanced team then the Owls.  At this stage of the tournament you would hope that the Owl's offense will take over and start to overwhelm the Hilltoppers pitching, they have carried this team this far and I would expect nothing less from this group of guys.

One thing for sure, this team is resilient enough for "One more little Victory".

 

There was a time this season, when this team looked destiny to make yet another appearance in a regional, with the hopes of ending a drought that once had become a norm.  There's no secret why this team has stumbled along the way and Cooney doesn't duck the issue and seems more perplex from a staff that held so much promise at the beginning of the season.   Life has a way of humbling us sometimes and there still seems to be hope emanating that this pitching staff can deliver an inspired performance.  This is a group that has had their moments and must now find a way to bring it all together, for this tournament series.

Is this asking too much from a staff that isn't operating at 100%, not knowing how many innings Storey will be able to throw?  I think that there is enough fuel in the tank, it just a matter of the players digging a little deeper, something Cooney was hoping might happen during the course of the season and what better time for them to deliver. 

No one is asking for an Oscar type of  performance here, the pitching have shown that they can be solid, it's just a matter of everyone doing it in the same series. 

While the pitching staff has struggled, the supporting cast has been nothing but spectacular, posting record numbers near the top of the nation in many categories.  There could easily be some finger pointing and discontent among teammates, yet they have shown a sense of calmness knowing they need to go out and produce.  This business as usual attitude has allowed this group to compile some impressive numbers, showing great fortitude  knowing they have to carry the burdens of the pitching staff on their shoulders, doing so with out complains.

Image what this team could accomplish if for one series they can put everything together and be the team that battled with some of the best teams in the country and can some how find a way to finish. 

It's been a strange season for the Owl's baseball team, hard to get a grasp of what this team is capable of.  The present line-up features plenty of fire power and the pitching have been spotty at best.  Hard to explain how you can play some of the toughest team around the nation like a team that belongs in a regional and faltered against weaker competition and resemble one that should stay home for post season play.

With a win over cross town rival, Florida International on Saturday, the Owl's solidified the #4 seed in the Sun-Belt Tournament that starts on Wednesday and will play Western Kentucky; a series the Owls won two games to one.

One thing is certain, if the Owls want to go deep in the Championship series, the bullpen will have to do a better job and give the starter a lift.

The first round pairing for the Sun-Belt Tournament:

10:00am Game 1: #3 Troy vs  #6 Louisiana-Lafayette
1:30pm Game 2: #2 New Orleans vs #7 South Alabama
5:00pm Game 3: #4 FAU vs #5 Western Kentucky
8:30pm Game 4: #1 Louisiana-Monroe vs  #8 Middle Tennessee

 

The Hottest team going into the tournament appears to be New Orleans, one of the match-up to watch in the first round will be Game 1, Lafayette struggled all season much like the Owls, but have found some fight as of late and should give the Trojans a tough test on Wednesday.

The Owls only lost two conference series during conference play, getting swept against the top two teams in the tournament which proved to be very tough series.  Confidence might not be at the highest as far as pitching goes, but I am hoping that the Owls are looking to give Coach Cooney a nice send-off present, by taking the Tournament Championship.