or at least KC is hoping it will be so!
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Baseball Looks to Rebound on the Road against Lipscomb
Three-Game Series in Tennessee Critical


April 13, 2005

Boca Raton, FL - Coming off a disappointing A-Sun series loss to Belmont at home over the past weekend, Florida Atlantic University's baseball team now takes to the road to face fellow A-Sun Conference rival Lipscomb University in a three-game conference series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

FAU (19-13, 7-8) and Lipscomb have squared off just three times, with all three meetings coming last season in Atlantic Sun Conference play. FAU holds a 2-1 series edge, having won 8-8 (4/16) and 17-2 (4/17) last season to win the season series. Lipscomb won the most recent contest, however, 5-1 on April 17, 2004.

Lipscomb currently stands 17-17 with a 4-8 record in the A-Sun, having most recently defeated Tennessee Tech April 12 in Nashville. The team is tied for ninth in the A-Sun standings after losing two of three against Central Florida last weekend.

The Bisons are led by Todd Brewer's .364 batting average, Nathan Sensing's four home runs, .508 slugging percentage and 14 stolen bases, and Ryan Mitchell's 22 RBI and .464 on-base percentage.

Their starting rotation is in doubt going into the weekend, as regular starter Alan Tungate is suffering from an elbow injury and may be out for the entire year. Zach Duncan will likely be a Day 1 or Day 2 starter. He holds a 4-2 record with a 3.19 ERA in 53.2 innings of work. The other probable starters are Seth Kuwik, who holds an impressive 1.38 ERA and 5-2 record in 39 innings of work, and Brett McCullough, who is coming off 6.1 innings of work in an earned win over Tennessee Tech.

Sophomore Mike McBryde leads the FAU offense with a .351 batting average and 34 runs scored. His two home runs vs. Belmont lifted him into a first-place tie for the team lead with three. Fellow sophomore Robbie Widlansky is the team leader in RBI with 24, and he also joined freshman Mike McKenna and McBryde as home run leaders with three in one game against FIU. McKenna is first on the team in slugging percentage (.511) and also recently carried a 20-game hitting streak.





Probable starting pitchers for FAU this weekend are Mickey Storey, Brandon Kloess, and McBryde. Storey leads the team with a 1.05 ERA and 38 strikeouts, and he holds a 3-1 record in 15 appearances. Kloess is 4-1 with three starts under his belt and has a 4.23 ERA. McBryde has seen just 13.2 innings of work at pitcher, but owns a 1-0 record, 0.00 ERA, and 23 strikeouts.

Good weather is expected in Nashville, with temperatures predicted to reach the high 70's.
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A start by Storey is something I have been looking for all year (because I believe he has the finesse, maturity and ability) and he finally gets it and we won't be able to see it!! I hope he does well enough to impress KC and staff to stay with the the frosh through the rest of the year as a starter. McBryde and Kloess have also done the job in shutting teams down. We need that at the front end of games, rather than having to dig ourselves out of a hole every time out. A sweep this weekend is essential to keep our hopes alive. Hopefully the pitchers can get the hitters motivated to produce at the plate. Go Owls!

The change in pitching starters has proven to be successful, at least in game one. Storey did the job of holding the Bison's down, in spite of two mistake pitches resulting in HR's in the 4th. The bats delivered as needed to provide Storey with a nice lead to hold on to rather than having to claw back from being behind.
Let's see if McBryde and Kloess can do the same on the mound and the rest of the Owl's can continue providing support with the bats. Go Owl's!!

Two down, one to go. KC's looking like a genius. What happened to our bats though? We got out hit 6-7 and Lipscomb had 11 LOB! Hafer comes back and goes 3 for 4 and gets benched in game two? What's up with that? I, for one, hope KC sticks with his plan to pitch McBryde in game three. WE NEED THIS SWEEP!! I would be totally PO'd if he relents to letting Crotta or Mann or Salberg put us in a hole again. Go Owls!