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2020 OPENING SERIES THREAD: Delaware vs FAU Feb 14-16, 2020

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FAU will open their 40th year of competition against a relatively familiar foe in that of Delaware, who they hosted in 2018.


What:      Delaware (0-0) at Florida Atlantic (0-0)

When:     Fri, Feb 14th at 6:30 PM
               Sat, Feb 15th at 4:00 PM
               Sun, Feb 16th at 12:00 PM


Where:    FAU Baseball Stadium

Stream:   CUSA.tv *FEE

Stats:      Here


Series:

The Owls own a 3-0 mark having swept the Blue Hens in Boca Raton back in 2018.


Projected Starting Pitchers

Sat:       DEL - RHP Chris Ludman (3-8, 5.82 ERA)
             FAU - RHP Jacob Josey (2-0, 3.38 ERA, 2019)

Sat:       DEL - RHP Joey Silan (3-5, 5.53 ERA)
             FAU - LHP Matt Sparling (1st Appearance, RS 2019)

Sun:      DEL - TBA
             FAU - RHP Corey Ireson  (1st Appearance, 8-2, 1.85 ERA 2019 SFC)


Notes

Owls

FAU will open their 40th year of competition against a relatively familiar foe in that of Delaware, who they hosted in 2018.

The Owls were ultimately victorious with a sweep of the Blue Hens, but it was not without a challenge - particularly in the 2nd game of the trifecta where just a 2-1 result was the winning difference.

Fortunately for the Owls, they will not be seeing Delaware hurler Billy Sullivan, or his 99 MPH fastball, as he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. Nonetheless, Head Coach John McCormack has respect for the Blue Hens and their ability to be competitive.

"They're gonna' play hard, and be into it", McCormack said. "We've got to be ready to face their initial surge of energy…and just play our game and be prepared for the nine innings for three days."

He also acknowledges that the rotation assigned this week may or may not hold as the season progresses.

"In Florida Atlantic's history, we've always had some guys returning who are going to graduate from pitching on Tuesdays, to Sunday's, to Saturdays, to Fridays, and we don't really have that this year", said McCormack. "We've got to get guys on the mound, we've got to get them comfortable, and then we've got to figure out roles for everybody."

Offensively, he is expecting to see seasoned production, with a vast amount of experience coming back to the plate.

"I don't think we're going to start anybody opening day…except for maybe B.J. Murray…that doesn't have a lot of collegiate at-bats whether it be here or at community college."

Six starting position players return for the 2020 campaign, three of which were named Preseason All-C-USA: First baseman Andru Summerall, second baseman Francisco Urbaez and rightfielder Bobby Morgensen.

League coaches picked the Owls second in the preseason poll.


Blue Hens

The Blue Hens travel to FAU for the second time in three seasons and Delaware's fourth trip to the Sunshine State in five years.

The 2020 season marks head coach Jim Sherman’s 20th year at the helm of the Blue Hen baseball program, following in the footsteps of legendary head coach Bob Hannah whose stint lasted 36 seasons.

The duo of redshirt senior CF Kyle Baker and sophomore 1B Joseph Carpenter were named to the Preseason All-CAA Team while redshirt junior IF Jordan Hutchins and senior RHP Derek Wakeley received honorable mentions.

Baker was the CAA’s leader in batting average in 2018 before being sidelined for the majority of 2019. Baker hit .354 with 39 RBIs, starting all 52 games as a junior.

Carpenter was named the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2019 to make it back-to-back honors for the Blue Hens as Billy Sullivan IV was the winner in 2018. Hutchins earned a first.

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association have also recognized Wakeley on their 2020 Stopper of the Year Award watch list.
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6:30 start. Unfortunately rain in the forecast.
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Opening day lineup is out and it looks like runs!!!!



                                         ROLL OWLS
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Owls are off to a hot start against the Blue Hens  :cool:

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And RAIN!

NJOWL said

Opening day lineup is out and it looks like runs!!!!
Posted On: Feb 14th 2020, 5:54 PM #394105

And RAIN!

So much for .01 inches!

DOWNPOUR CITY.

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The Owls call it a night due to the downpour, and will be back at it tomorrow!

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First impression of the team. Defensively, infield looked and is solid. Very strong arms.  Third baseman had two difficult,  long put outs with no problem. Outfield covers a lot of ground. . My biggest concern  was catcher. . So far, so good. Also, could the new catcher produce offensively (losing Pages was a production loss).  The new catcher looked confident  last night with a hard hit single early in the game. This 2020 line up starts with a great hitter and  almost does not drop off as you go down the order. My unknown….the new arms. IF FAU can  find consistency  on the mound, we will have a very good year. It looks like we will be an exciting offensive team .  Can't wait to watch Coach Mac form this team into the 2020 champion
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Despite rain in the area, looks like we're still on for today's 1:30 first pitch!


When I'm not in school, I'm schooling the CUSA Twitter game; Follow Me Here
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LOL You can't make this up folks… We've entered another rain delay after FAU bags in another run.


When I'm not in school, I'm schooling the CUSA Twitter game; Follow Me Here
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Thankfully, this delay took less than an hour. So we're back to playing ball!


When I'm not in school, I'm schooling the CUSA Twitter game; Follow Me Here
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