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2021 C-USA Baseball Championship

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The 2021 C-USA Baseball Championship will be held at the newly rebuilt J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, in Ruston LA, which suffered massive damage after a tornado devastated the Bulldog's campus on April 25th, 2019. Games will run from May 25th-30th, and will feature the top eight teams in regular-season league play. The format consists of two double-elimination brackets with four teams each, and the winners of each bracket will meet in a single-elimination championship game.

After sweeping Marshall, the Owls faced adversity in conference play, going on a 1-7 stretch in which they suffered a sweep at the hands of the Charlotte 49ers before dropping three of four to Old Dominion. However, since then, the squad boasts a 13-7 record, including a series split against No. 19 Southern Miss. And they remained vigilant with 3-0 shutout over Miami to close out 2021 regular season play in Coral Gables.

FAU is 12-9 all-time in the C-USA Championship, being bounced out of the tournament finals in 2019 by Southern Mississippi. Entering as the number five seed, the Owls are slotted the lowest they've ever been since 2014 when they missed the C-USA Championship for the first and only time since joining the league.

FAU will face ODU to kick-off the Championship. RHP Javi Rivera earned the Owls their lone win against the Monarchs earlier this season in a 1-3 series loss, allowing three hits, two walks, and striking out seven batters in an eight-inning shutout performance.

The Owls enter Championship play exactly as seeded in most key stats, sitting 5th in the conference in batting average (.275), slugging percentage (.454), and on-base percentage (.377) while being a passable team with the bat, but still in the middle of the pack. However, they also have strived on the long ball, enjoying a 2nd place slot in C-USA with 70 home runs, which is 18 home runs behind the Old Dominion lineup that leads the conference.

FAU ranks 7th in ERA (5.86) and 5th in opposing batting average (.269). Of note, they will have to improve in homers allowed going into the tournament, an area where they hold the nation's top spot (63) while going head-to-head against a dominant power-hitting ODU team that led C-USA with 88 home runs.

The last time they faced the Monarchs, some of the Owls' top bats struggled. Starting outfielders Mitchell Hartigan, Bobby Morgensen, and Jackson Wenstrom combined for just one hit over that four-game span. Meanwhile, all of ODU's top bats were able to contribute during that series. In fact, now backup 2B Sam Low was FAU's leader offensively during that series, hitting .462 with two RBIs. It will be interesting to see if the Owls' utilize Low in the lineup, even if now-starting 2B Steven Loden has emerged as one of the best hitters in the conference.

The Owls could look to ride the hot-bat of Loden, who has been arguably the best hitter for the Owls since their midseason turnaround. Before conference play, Loden played sparingly, not mustering up a single home run and only knocking in two RBIs. However, he turned it around during conference play, hitting .453 with 22 RBIs and five home runs.

Coach John McCormack will likely run a similar lineup to what he's been working with over the 13-7 stretch while the pitchers are still to be announced.

Below is the slate for the full five days of action in Ruston.


Game Schedule - Eastern Standard Times

Wednesday, May 26 (ESPN+)
Game 1                 (4) ODU 11   (5) FAU 2
Game 2                 (1) Charlotte 2   (8) MTSU 7
Game 3                 (2) LA Tech 7   (7) UTSA 6 [12]
Game 4                 (3) USM 11  (6) WKU 1 [8]

Thursday, May 27 (ESPN+)
Game 5                 FAU 9  Charlotte 8
Game 6                 ODU 10  MTSU 6
Game 7                 UTSA 9  WKU 10 [10]
Game 8                 LA Tech 1  USM 4

Friday, May 28 (ESPN+)
Game 9                FAU 14  MTSU 8
Game 10              WKU 4  LA Tech 14

Saturday, May 29 (ESPN+)
Game 11               FAU 5  ODU 13
Game 12               USM 11  LA Tech 10 [10]
Game 13               N/A
Game 14               USM 5  LA Tech 6

Sunday, May 30 (CBS Sports Network)
Championship LA Tech vs ODU (2:00 PM)

Rick Henderson contributed to this report
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These tournaments always come down to three things. Pitching, pitching , and pitching. Fingers crossed.
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Cooley will look to send the Monarchs into the loser's bracket for game one:

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C-USA Tournament (5) Florida Atlantic vs. (4) ODU


What:      (5) Florida Atlantic vs. (4) ODU

When:     Wed, May 26th at 10:00 AM
             

Where:    Ruston, LA | J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park

Stream:   ESPN+

Stats:      Here

Projected Pitchers:

FAU -  LHP Hunter Cooley (8-3, 3.57)
ODU - RHP Ryne Moore (7-1, 3.31)

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Tournament time. Everything is different. Ten oclock game. Anything can happen. Lets go Hunter!
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Looks like the rain followed us to Ruston… we SHOULD have baseball coverage coming your way at noon, though. Grab a coffee and stick with us!
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The rain should be out of there soon and them clear skies
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Hope you guys enjoyed your coffee! Personally, I had myself a french vanilla frozen coffee from Dunkin, but anyways… IT'S BASEBALL TIME!

FAU and their three All-Conference Second Team members are set to face off against Old Dominion in just a few minutes!
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Man, ODU already has two runs in the top of the first inning. Their lineup has been cruising against Cooley so far. Kyle Battle led things off with a triple and it's been trouble ever since…
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This camerawork is making me sick. Also, the good old fashioned white on white game. 
Twitter: @JakeElman97
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