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SERIES THREAD: Old Dominion @ FAU, April 9-11, 2021

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FAU Baseball Look to Rebound Against Old Dominion


What: Old Dominion (21-5) vs Florida Atlantic (14-12)

When: Fri., Apr. 9th at 5:00 PM
           Sat., Apr. 10th at 2:00 PM (DH)
           Sun., Apr. 11th at 12:00 PM
           
Where: FAU Baseball Stadium
           

Video: CUSA.tv *Subscription Required

Live Stats: Here

Old Dominion Team Site: Here

Series: FAU owns a 14-6 series lead all-time over ODU, although ODU took two of three in Boca Raton the last time they played in 2019.

Projected Starting Pitchers:

ODU- LHP Tommy Gertner (1-0, 3.72)
FAU- LHP Hunter Cooley (4-2, 4.18)

ODU- RHP Nick Pantos (1-0, 2.27)
FAU- LHP Matt Sparling (2-1, 4.94)

ODU- RHP Hunter Gregory (3-0 1.82)
FAU- RHP Dante Visconti (0-1, 6.50)

ODU- RHP Ryne Moore (3-0, 3.06)
FAU- RHP Javi Rivera (2-0, 7.22)


Notes

Owls

FAU has been one of the most bipolar teams in college baseball to start conference play, getting swept by UNC Charlotte following an impressive sweep over Marshall. With the Owls coming home to the friendly confines of 75-80 degree Boca Raton, as opposed to the mid 40s weather in Charlotte, FAU may have a chance to rebound now that they're in their comfort zone.

One of the biggest storylines from last weekend's series was the Owls' inability to strike batters out. Through the four-game series, FAU pitchers struck out just 16 batters to Charlotte's 33. They've been becoming more reliant on getting lucky with batted balls in play going to their defense and the occasional highlight-reel catch from center fielder Jackson Wenstrom, but that system just hasn't been working. It resulted in FAU getting outhit 44-34, and when you include sacrifice flies, it's something that has to be worked on going into this next series.

One player who did rise up to the occasion last weekend was third baseman B.J. Murray, who hit a home run in all four games of the series. He finished the series with a 1.267 slugging percentage, a .467 batting average, and eight RBIs. Head Coach John McCormack recently moved him from the second spot in the lineup to the cleanup spot, and it's been paying off in spades. He has been coming through with crucial hits when the Owls needed them and has a knack for showing up in the big moments. He should continue to be a player to watch out for in this upcoming series.

Shortstop and leadoff hitter Wilfredo Alvarez has been on a bit of a slump over the last four games, hitting .083 and recording just one single in 12 at-bats over the four-game series. It should be interesting to see if FAU tries someone else out at the leadoff spot for the first time this season or if Alvarez is able to get hot again and be the reliable leadoff man he's been this season.

Freshman catcher Caleb Pendleton left Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, so it is somewhat likely that we see more of Nicholas Toney and possibly Shane Magrann at the catcher position during this series.


Monarchs

The Old Dominion Monarchs have been absolutely dominant to start the conference season, starting with a 7-1 record in C-USA play. Their only loss came to FlU, where they lost a 15-12 thriller where starting pitcher Tommy Gertner gave up four earned runs in just two innings. Gertner had similar struggles with going deep into the game in his last start, where he only pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five hits and two walks, albeit, ODU winning that game 12-1. If the Owls are able to get the bats going early, they can possibly get Gertner out of the game early and wear out their bullpen on Friday.

Even if they're able to get that bullpen worn out on Friday, the Moncarchs' offense is still going to make things every bit more hard for FAU to keep up with. Over their four-game series against Marshall last weekend, ODU outscored the Thundering Herd 43-15, averaging just over 10 runs per game. With FAU's pitching in a bit of a cold streak, the Monarchs have a matchup advantage that they can exploit if they can stay as hot as they were against Marshall.

ODU's crown jewel is junior outfielder Andy Garriola who leads the nation in RBIs with 40. (FAU's Nolan Schanuel is one RBI behind him, by the way.) He has a batting average of .318 and eight home runs to go along with it. He's one home run behind freshman infielder Carter Trice for the team lead.
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As Colby eluded to, no Caleb Pendleton for at least Game One; Nick Toney will catch tonight for FAU.


When I'm not in school, I'm schooling the CUSA Twitter game; Follow Me Here
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Hunter Cooley makes quick work of the top half of the order, retiring all 3 batters he faced. Go Owls!

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Nothing going through 1, no hits, tied at 1.

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FAU's bats have gone cold to start the evening, striking out four times and only registering one hit in the first three innings.

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The Owls left the bases loaded in back-to-back innings, striking out four times with the bases loaded, but manage to walk in two runs to tie the game.

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Cooley strikes out one more batter before getting pulled from the game through 7.1 innings. Of course, he exits the game to a standing ovation.

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I think we all know where out recruiting priority lies for next season.

Go Owls
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Stats rarely  lie. Hard to watch.
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The FAU Baseball team was able to keep pace with Old Dominion through seven innings, but the Monarchs blew the game open with a five-run eighth inning. They won the game 7-2.

 The Rundown
  • The Owls struggled immensely with the bases loaded, going 0-4 with two walks and four strikeouts with the bases loaded. They left the bases loaded in two straight innings.
  • FAU left 13 men on base and only had five hits. They gave up 13 hits to the Monarchs.
  • Owls batters struck out a whopping 14 times compared to Old Dominion's six strikeouts.
  • Hunter Cooley looked impressive tonight, going 7.1 innings and only allowing 3 earned runs. Two of those home runs came off of a three-run home run that Mike Entenza gave up after Cooley left the game.

"It's not the fact that we made outs, it's the fact we struck out, and we didn't get anything out of it. If you get a deep fly ball and the guys move up and maybe you roll a ground ball and you make two outs, you get two runs. Gotta get the guys to swing the bat more, gotta get them to be more aggressive." - Head Coach John McCormack

The Owls will be back in action tomorrow for some doubleheader action against the Old Dominion Monarchs. The game will be broadcast on C-USA TV and it will start at 2:00 p.m.

UPDATED SCHEDULE: HERE
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