SERIES THREAD: UTSA vs #19 FAU Apr 13-15, 2018
What: UTSA (17-14, 6-5) at #19 Florida Atlantic (24-8, 9-3)
When: Fri, Apr 13th at 6:30 PM
Sat, Apr 14th at 4:00 PM
Sun, Apr 15th at 12:00 PM
Where: FAU Baseball Stadium
Stream: CUSA.tv *FEE
Stats: Here
Series
This Owls lead 7-5 overall but lost last season's series in San Antonio (6-9, 0-6, 10-0).
Projected Starting Pitchers
Fri: UTS - RHP Karan Patel (2-1, 3.13)
FAU - LHP Jake Miednik (5-1, 2.24)
Sat: UTS - LHP Steven Dressler (4-1, 2.73)
FAU - RHP Vince Coletti (1-2, 3.67)
Sun: UTS - TBA
FAU - RHP Mike Ruff (1-0, 1.93)
Notes
Owls
With a perfect mark of 4-0 last week, FAU finally cracked a Top 25 poll, making their debut at #19 in the Perfect Game Poll for the week of April 9th. They moved up to #26 in the NCBWA Top 30, and continue to receive votes (27) in the Coaches Poll as well.
Highlighting the game action, the Owls completed a first ever season series sweep of Miami, and followed that effort with their second straight C-USA sweep - this time over Charlotte (5-2, 5-4, 6-5).
David Miranda, who was a big part of the team's successful run, was awarded C-USA Hitter of the Week for his performance. Miranda went .538 for the week with two doubles, three home runs, seven runs scored, six RBI, a .684 on-base percentage and a 1.385 slugging percentage. He is hitting .441 over his last 15 games, with nine multi-hit efforts, and is batting .378 against C-USA opposition.
The Owls were rained out on Tuesday night for an anticipated match-up against #27 Florida Gulf Coast. A possible road rematch with the Eagles has yet to be determined, but the teams are scheduled to meet on April 24th at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
Roadrunners
UTSA snapped a two game skid by defeating Prairie View 24-3 in their second midweek game on Wednesday night. Prior to that the team was just one-of-four with a 5-1 Tuesday night loss to Stephen F. Austin and series loss to Louisiana Tech over the weekend (7-8, 4-3, 0-13).
The Roadrunners saw their batting average rise to .265 after racking up a season-high 19 hits on Wednesday.
Ben Brookover leads the UTSA offensive contingent with a .328 batting average to go along with five home runs and 29 RBIs. Bryan Arias is hitting .323 with four homers and 20 RBIs, while Trent Bowles is hitting at a .322 clip with five round-trippers and 23 RBIs.
The Roadrunners rank fifth in the league with a 3.89 ERA, while allowing opposing teams to hit only .232 this spring.
Local Owl said
Hoping that our "friends" to the south can take the weekend series vs SoMiss. We need to take care of business vs a very good Texas team. Good weekend for baseball. I anticipate a Sunday time adjustment for weather concerns.Posted On: Apr 13th 2018, 5:21 PM #378018
UTSA is "bi-polar"…they have beaten some solid squads and then lost to trash. Strange…but I agree, this will be a test for our guys - at least the first two games. Then the wheels come off their staff and we could wreck them in game three IMO.
💥COMEBACK KIDS💥 #FAU overcomes SEVEN run deficit for 10-8 G1 VICTORY over #UTSA! Wilson 2-2 2RS & Go Ahead HR. Rivera 4-4 GT RBI 🔥 Lambert HR. Pages 2RBI. WP Peden 2.1IP 1H 0R 1BB 1K. Save Schneider (2K 9th). G2 Sat @ 4P #GoOwls! 👌 pic.twitter.com/4mZjMWB3JN
— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) April 14, 2018
Starter Jake Miednik (5IP, 8H, 7ER, 1BB, 6K) runs into trouble giving up four scores in both the 3rd and 5th innings before making an exit, but the bats come alive to bail him out, with a another solid effort from the bullpen as the backer.
Florida Atlantic (25-8, 10-3) extends their win streak to eight games in the process, despite being outhit 12-11.
Nick Prather, Drew Peden, and Zach Schneider allow just four hits and one walk collectively in a combined four innings of action.
UPDATED SCHEDULE: 2018 FAU Baseball Schedule - FAU Owl's Nest
LOCK IT UP! #FAU wins 9th STRAIGHT Game & The Series with 3-2 G2 VICTORY! Wilson (3-3) swats another HR, this time for 2RBI 💥 Rivera RBI. Miranda 2-3. WP Coletti 8IP 6H 0R 0BB 3K. Save Schneider. G3 for the SWEEP Sun @ 11AM #GoOwls! 👌 pic.twitter.com/kQBUH3uEQx
— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) April 14, 2018
The Owls take the series thanks to Cody Wilson's second homer of the series - and an RBI single from Eric Rivera - while avoiding some late drama from the Roadrunners.
Ahead 3-0 in the top of the 9th, closer Zach Schneider sees two runs posted - neither of which were earned and were aided by two errors. But when defense counted most it was found with a throw to the plate by Tyler Frank to end the threat and potential tying score.
Vice Coletti had a stellar outing on the afternoon, working three 1-2-3 frames and scattering six hits over eight full innings of work.
“Exciting ending,” said Head Coach John McCormack. “I thought Coletti was really good, turned it over to Zach and he did his job, we should have been out of that, a dropped third strike and error in the field. Zach is not a strikeout guy, and the more opportunities you give an opponent, the worse it is for him. David made a wonderful play to cut it off, then the relay, then (Kevin Abraham) held on to the ball at home.”
The Owls will go for the sweep on Sunday at 11:00 AM.
UPDATED SCHEDULE: 2018 FAU Baseball Schedule - FAU Owl's Nest
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