Florida Atlantic (9-5)
– No. 20 – D1Baseball
– No. 20 – Perfect Game
– No. 21 – NCBWA
– No. 21 – USA TODAY Coaches
– No. 25 – Baseball America
– No. 27 – Collegiate Baseball
Results from last week (1-3):
· Tuesday, March 9 – Lost at No. 5 Miami, 11-2
· Thursday, March 11 – Lost vs. Indiana State, 7-5
· Friday, March 12 – Lost vs. Indiana State, 10-2
· Saturday, March 13 – WON vs. Indiana State, 7-5
Next week (All times are EST):
· Tuesday, March 16 – at UCF, 6 p.m.
· Friday, March 19 – at USF, 7 p.m.
· Saturday, March 20 – at USF, 6 p.m.
· Sunday, March 21 – at USF, 1 p.m.
HISTORY
On Saturday night, Feb. 20, Florida Atlantic true freshman catcher Caleb Pendleton did what has only been done seven times in recorded NCAA history since 1976 (and only once ever in MLB): hit two grand slams in the same inning. Moreover, Pendleton did it in the first two at-bats of his collegiate career. It was part of a 16-batter, 12-run second inning that eventually turned into a 20-15 FAU win over No. 24 UCF, on a weekend where the Owls took the series over the Knights, 2-1.
Other program notes:
· The Owls head into a four-game road trip at 9-5
· Leadoff hitter and senior shortstop Wilfredo Alvarez has a team-high 19 runs scored, and is batting .379 with a .486 OBP out of the top slot. He has taken over the team BA lead with five straight multi-hit games
· Sophomore leftfielder Mitchell Hartigan is at .333, and true freshman first baseman Nolan Schanuel has posted a .328 average to start his career. The two have combined for 29 RBI, including Schanuel’s team-best 19
· Second on the squad in run production is sophomore third baseman B.J. Murray, with three homers, 13 RBI and a .286 average. He’s reached base in all but one game this season
· Senior rightfielder Bobby Morgensen returned this past weekend after missing five starts due to injury, picking up where he left off with two home runs in the ISU series. He leads the team with four homers, and has 11 RBI in nine starts, with a .286 average
· Following a 10-strikeout performance in his last start, against Seton Hall, Matt Sparling nearly equaled that in Sunday’s win over Indiana State, punching out eight Sycamores in a six-inning stint. He gave up just three hits and one earned run. In 21 2/3 innings, he leads the Owls with 26 strikeouts and a .167 BAA.
