[caption id="attachment_723" align="alignleft" width="375" caption="Nick DelGuidice beats out a throw to first base. (Photo by Kevin Glackmeyer)"][/caption]

Owls to Play Rivals FIU Next

The Owls struggled on the mound early, in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference 2009 post season tournament, allowing the top seeded Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State to cash-in on three first inning walks and an error for four runs as they cruised to a 12-2 victory.

The Blue Raiders batted around in the first; never looking back or allowing the Owls to do much offensively and ending any chances of a comeback. The game was called due to the Sun-Belt conference 10-run mercy rule.

Barry Rooks' day ended early, pitching only 3-2/3 inning, yet throwing 114 pitches and walking seven batters in his post season effort.

The Blue Raiders starter, Kenneth Roberts pitched all seven innings and was able to keep the Owl's hitters at bay for most of the day, never allowing them to gain any momentum. Travis Ozga did manage to dig a solo shot in the fourth while Mike Albaladejo had a solid performance going 3-4 with an RBI.

The Owls will be facing Florida International on Thursday morning at 10:00am ET, who were beat 11-3 by Louisiana-Lafayette earlier in the day.