What: FAU (0-0) vs. Monmouth (0-0)
When: Fri, Feb 17th @ 6:30 PM
Sat, Feb 18th @ 4:00 PM
Sun, Feb 19th @ 12:00 PM
Where: FAU Baseball Stadium
Video: C-USA TV
Live Stats:Here
Monmouth Team Site: Here
Series: Owls own a massive 39-4 advantage over the Hawks. First matchup since 2019 (9-4 FAU).
Projected Starting Pitchers:
MON- LHP Alex Barker
FAU- LHP Hunter Cooley
MON- RHP Reed Interdonato
FAU- RHP Jacob Josey
MON- RHP Jem Sisco
FAU- RHP Dylan Oborne (Owl debut)
Owl Notables
Head coach John McCormack (478-297-2) enters his 15th year as the Owls' skipper, as the team looks to build on their 35 wins and 4th place finish in Conference USA last season. He will have one 2023 D1 Baseball Preseason All-American returning to assist him with the objective of leaving the conference as winners before entering The American in 2024. C-USA's coaches poll projects them to finish 3rd behind defending champion Louisiana Tech and newcomer Dallas Baptist this year.
Junior outfielder Nolan Schanuel nabbed a spot on the third team of D1 Baseball's All-American list as well as First Team recognition from Baseball America, showcasing spectacular performances throughout the 2022 campaign. C-USA recognized the elite batter as their Preseason Player of the Year, leading FAU with a .369 average and driving in 55 runs with 16 home runs last season. While he will mainly cover the right field, Schanuel will play at first base Friday night and later on during the season depending on changes in the lineup.
Another key player returning to the batting unit is outfielder Dylan Goldstein. The sophomore hopped onto the stage with a strong showcase last year, having the third-best average with .333 while getting the second-most home runs on the team with 18.
FAU will take a unique approach for the opener, playing both Jalen DeBose and Spencer Rich in the outfield. DeBose tied for second alongside Nolan Schanuel in successful stolen bases with 11 last year behind shortstop Armando Albert's 19, while Rich stole an incredible 20 bases in 31 games at Daytona College in 2021. This lineup change indicates a big emphasis on speed when the Owls are batting, so one might expect this team to be aggressive when these players are on base.
On the mound, Preseason All C-USA pick Hunter Cooley will lead the bullpen as the Owls' leading returner. Cooley finished last season ranking 4th with five league wins, and 19th in ERA at 5.15. He saw the most time out of all pitchers in 2022 with 73.1 innings pitched.
The starters (in non-batting order) for game one should be that of the below:
1B Nolan Schanuel
2B Christian Adams
3B Jackson Ross
SS Armando Albert
C Andrew Hernandez
P Hunter Cooley
DH Mitchell Hartigan
LF Jalen DeBose
CF Spencer Rich
RF Dylan Goldstein
Hawk Notables
Monmouth begins their 2023 campaign taking on FAU, Northern Illinois, Maine, and Penn State within a span of a week.
The Hawks had a decent performance last year finishing with a 24-27 overall record (12-10 MAAC). That was their last season in the conference, embarking on a new journey in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The CAA's coaches poll expects them to finish 9th out of 11 teams.
Monmouth took a hit in the bullpen, losing three crucial players in Trey Dombroski (3.13 ERA), Rob Hensey (3.87 ERA), and Dan Klepchick (4.87 ERA). They do return 11 pitchers heading into this season including Stephen Aldrich (37 strikeouts, 4th best) and Alex Barker (34 strikeouts, 5th best), who might see more starting opportunities thanks to their performance on the mound last year.
FAU must do well in containing Hawk infielder James Harmstead. He got a spot on the Preseason All-CAA Team due to his record-breaking performances last season. He batted a program-record 18 home runs, getting a .271 batting average which saw him make 55 hits and drive in 48 runs while being the only player to start every game. This earned him All-MAAC Second Team honors at year's end.
Following the departure of outfielder Jake Catalano, who led the Hawks with a .289 batting average, infielder Casey Caufield returns as their best leading batter at .280. He also put up 51 hits for 40 runs, both of which had him rank 3rd and 2nd on the team last season.
Comments
Starters vs Monmouth
FAU 1 Monmouth 0
Ross converts the first RBI of the season with a sac fly!
Go Owls! 🦉⚾️🧢
FAU 4 Monmouth 0
Owls TAKE ADVANTAGE of a Hawk fielding error, SCORING 3 RUNS to lead by 4! Cooley on a HOT START with 4 STRIKEOUTS AND COUNTING!
Go Owls! 🦉⚾️🧢
FAU 4 Monmouth 0
Cooley continues to SHUT OUT the Hawks after 5 innings, getting his 5TH STRIKEOUT in the process! A GREAT PERFORMANCE ON THE MOUND FOR OUR CAPTAIN!
Go Owls!
FAU 4 Monmouth 0
Owls staying quiet with runs since the 3rd inning, but the fielding has been TOP-NOTCH with 2 FLYOUTS and 1 LINEOUT!
Go Owls!
Still time, let's see if they string something together…
OPENING DAY DUB! FAU Baseball Downs the Hawks 6-2 to open the 2023 slate!
Dylan Goldstein 3-5 3RBI 🔥
Jackson Ross RBI
Spencer Rich RBI SB
WP Hunter Cooley 6.1IP 6H 2ER 0BB 5K
RP Max Martzolf 1.2IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K
RP CJ Williams 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K
NEXT: G2 Sat 4PM Go Owls 🦉⚾️🧢
The Owls lock up the series with a solid offensive showing on Saturday.
With Caleb Pendleton still sidelined due to cuts on his hand, reserve catcher John Schroeder had his moment.
And he certainly took advantage of it leading the way in the hitting department while driving in five runs for FAU (2-0) and netting a homerun as well.
Jackson Ross also added a solo shot to right, as did designated hitter Mitchell Hartigan. In fact, each Owl in the starting line-up registered an RBI on the afternoon.
Seldom used reliever Dawson Ball was roughed up for six runs with two homers in the top of the 7th inning, making the contest appear closer than it actually was.
Starter Jacob Josey fell short of the minimum and finished with a line of 4IP 7H 2R 1BB 2K.
Marc DeGusipe picked up the victory after tossing the fifth frame with no activity and a set down.
Florida Atlantic will go for the clean sweep tomorrow at 12:00 PM.
UPDATED SCHEDULE: HERE
The sweep was on for Sunday with the Owls having another solid offensive output and downing Monmouth 17-2 in the series finale.
Freshman Lucas Phelps (1-3, RBI) got the start at second base, pushing Christian Adams to first base and Schanuel to right field. Dylan Goldstein took over in left and Jalen DeBose had the afternoon off.
Florida Atlantic took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning, and later added a quartet in their half of the fourth.
Then the home runs began.
Schanuel launched his first homerun of the season in the bottom of the 5th, a strong shot to right that bounced off of the scoreboard and pushed the lead to nine runs at 10-1.
More fireworks would come from the bat of Adams when he added a three run shot and put the Owls advantage at double-digits.
Concluding the trio, Goldstein (photo below) launched an opposite field bomb to left for three RBI and the lead ballooned to 14 runs.
With Jacob Josey moving up to the Saturday slot, Nicholas DelPrado earned the start, and was very effective in four innings of action allowing just one hit while striking out three Hawks.
Juco newcomer Brandon Smith got the win, with his only blemish being a homer just after taking the mound. From there he settled in strike out four in just two innings or work.
Collectively, the Owl staff gave up two runs on nine hits while striking out 11.
Six players had multi-hit days for FAU with Goldstein's 4-for-6, 5RBI, 3RS leading the way. All in all they tallied 19 for afternoon, and earned nine free passes for the contest as well.
On the weekend, the Owl offense belted out thirty seven runs.
FAU will next head north to take on Sunshine State foe Central Florida on Tuesday night at 6:00 PM.