MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Fraysure
561-430-7148, jfraysur@fau.edu
Florida Atlantic (6-6, 0-0 Conference USA)
Results from last week (3-2):
· Tuesday, Feb. 26 – Lost at North Florida, 7-5
· Wednesday, Feb. 27 – Lost at North Florida, 9-8
· Friday, March 1 – Won vs. Monmouth, 8-5
· Saturday, March 2 – Won vs. Monmouth, 11-4
· Sunday, March 3 – Won vs. Monmouth, 9-4
Next week (All times are EST):
· Tuesday, March 5 – vs. Appalachian State, 6:30 p.m.
· Friday, March 8 – vs. Northeastern, 6:30 p.m.
· Saturday, March 9 – vs. Northeastern, 4 p.m.
· Sunday, March 10 – vs. Northeastern, 12 p.m.
Other program notes:
· Offense continues to be the Owls’ calling card, with now 11 of 12 games providing at least eight hits, and a team batting average of .301
· As a team, with two outs, that average skyrockets to .344, with 46 two-out RBI among the total of 82 so far this year
· Six regulars are hitting .294 or higher, led by Francisco Urbaez (.395), along with a .684 slugging percentage and .452 OBP
· Centerfielder Eric Rivera has come alive over the last five games, raising his average 114 points to .340, along with season totals of three home runs and 12 RBI, while scoring 13 times out of the leadoff slot. He remains one of the nation’s toughest batters to strike out, with just two in 61 plate appearances
· Fifth-year first baseman Gunnar Lambert is up to .333 with team highs of four homers and 13 RBI. He and Rivera tie for the team best with 18 hits apiece
· Redshirt sophomore Andru Summerall, who has transitioned from 1B to LF, has handled the position flawlessly in 25 chances, while batting .319 with two home runs and eight RBI
· Newcomer shortstop Wilfredo Alvarez, who reached base in each of his first 10 games as an Owl, is hitting .316, while Johnny Bench Award candidate Pedro Pages is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak and is up to .295, with two homers and 10 RBI
· Pages’ defense at catcher continues to be tremendous, with just one error, on a catcher’s interference call (for a .989 fielding percentage), four runners caught stealing, and a pickoff as well
Player of the Week nomination:
Junior centerfielder Eric Rivera has come alive offensively over his last five games, hitting .500 over that span (11-for-22), including two four-hit games (to match a career high), knocking in a run in each game, and slugging .864 to lead the squad. Home runs came against UNF on the road Wednesday, and again in the first game against Monmouth (and he added a double in the latter game, plus another on Sunday). He also scored in all but one game out of the leadoff spot, including twice in the Friday night win over Monmouth, and three more times in the finale to finish off the sweep of the Hawks. The West Park, Florida native has raised his season average 114 points over the course of the week, from .226 to now .340, and has been perfect all season long in centerfield, with 12 putouts on the week and a flawless 40 chances this season.
Pitcher of the Week nomination:
Junior Mike Ruff recorded his best outing ever as an Owl on Sunday, throwing both the longest stint for him and for an FAU starter this year, seven innings, and notching a career-best nine strikeouts (against just one walk) in the process. At one point, he retired 14 Monmouth Hawks in a row, and he got 16 of the last 17 batters he faced out. Subtracting the second inning, the righthander retired 18 of a possible 19 batters, allowing only an infield single in his final inning (he was perfect in the first, and then third through sixth innings). Righthanded hitters went just 3-for-23 against him, and 68 of the 101 pitches he threw were for strikes, for 67.3 percent.
