What: FAU (22-12, 7-5) vs. #21 Dallas Baptist (24-9, 9-3)

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

Where: FAU Baseball Stadium

Video: C-USA TV

Live Stats:Here

Dallas Baptist Team Site: Here

Series: First Matchup

Projected Starting Pitchers:
DBU - RHP Ryan Johnson (3-2, 3.25 ERA)
FAU - LHP Hunter Cooley (3-4, 4.94 ERA)

DBU - RHP Braxton Bragg (3-1, 3.95 ERA)
FAU - RHP Jacob Josey (4-2, 3.12 ERA)

DBU - RHP Zach Heaton (3-1, 2.12 ERA)
FAU - TBD


FAU Notables

Getting John McCormack his 500th win as head coach was always going to be special.

The Owls made it even better by taking down No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast 5-4 to achieve the milestone Tuesday night. Junior outfielder Armando Albert and senior designated hitter Mitchell Hartigan brought in two RBI each to lead the Owls to victory.

The bullpen also ensured FAU's win by keeping the Eagles scoreless for six consecutive innings thanks to freshman Tyler Murphy, senior Evan Waterbor, and redshirt junior Robert Wegielnik. Murphy got his first win of the season after striking out three batters and allowing just one hit after four innings, Waterbor had a solid outing after taking part in 2.2 innings and conceding one run, and Wegielnik closed out the contest with three crucial strikeouts after 1.1 innings.

Junior outfielder Nolan Schanuel continues to fire up the bats whenever he steps up to the plate. Not only does his .939 slugging percentage top the country, his .474 batting average also ties him alongside ETSU's Nick Iannantone as the second best behind LSU's Dylan Crews' .505 average. His 13 home runs also ties him for 15th in the nation.



John Schroeder (pictured) has been productive for the Owls this past week. The sophomore catcher went 4-11 in his at-bats against FIU, with Saturday's matchup being his best as he got three hits with one of them going out of the park for a three-run homer to have FAU secure the 7-3 win to clinch the series tiebreaker.

Redshirt junior pitcher Jacob Josey is also worth mentioning with how solid he has been recently. He pitched six innings while striking out batters and allowing just one hit against the Panthers last Saturday. His 3.12 ERA is the best among FAU's starting pitchers, ranking 120th in the nation with his consistent performances during his Saturday starts.

The starters (in non-batting order) for game one should be that of the below:

RF John Schroeder
CF Jalen DeBose
LF Dylan Goldstein
1B Nolan Schanuel
2B Daulton Frank
3B Jackson Ross
DH Mitchell Hartigan
SS Armando Albert
C Caleb Pendleton
P Hunter Cooley


Patriot Notables

Dallas Baptist is riding a seven-game winning streak heading into their first-ever matchup with FAU.

The Patriots completed a three-game sweep over UAB at home, outscoring the Blazers 12-5. They followed that up with a tight 6-5 win against Baylor.

With their convincing performances throughout their first season in Conference USA, Dallas Baptist is getting some eyes on them from the national polls. Voters amongst the various outlets have combined to place the Patriots anywhere from 33rd to as high as 21st.

• Perfect Game 21
• NCBWA 29
• Coaches Poll 33

Keeping up with what their sports information department is claiming, we're putting them at #21 which is where Perfect Game currently has them in their rankings.

Dallas Baptist has a solid batting unit with four of their players hitting .300 or above. Of those players, Miguel Santos leads the team in hits with 45 and RBI with 39 on a .333 batting average.

FAU batters have to be careful when Patriot pitcher Ryan Johnson comes onto the mound Friday night. He is one of the best in the country when it comes to striking out batters, having 65 for the season which ties hims for 15th. His .176 batting average allowed also makes him a tough pitcher to get hits against, so the Owls need to time their swings with excellent precision and strength.

After this series, the Patriots will return home to Dallas to host UT Arlington on Tuesday and a three-game series against Louisiana Tech over the weekend.