RUSTON, La.– The postseason has arrived for the 2023 Florida Atlantic University softball team. The Owls will have their final go-around in Conference USA in Ruston, Louisiana. The Conference USA Tournament, hosted by Louisiana Tech, begins on May 10 and runs through the championship game on May 13.
The Owls clinched the No. 4 seed in the C-USA Tournament with a record of 15-9 in conference action to go with a 33-18 overall mark in head coach Jordan Clark‘s first season. FAU will await the winner of the No. 5 seed WKU and the No. 8 seed FIU and play on Wednesday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m. eastern. The tournament is a double elimination format after WKU & FIU’s play-in games on Wednesday. The Owls’ game can be found on ESPN+.
STATS & NOTES
- Florida Atlantic is riding the momentum of a decisive sweep against UTSA to end the regular season
- The Owls clubbed their way to the sweep with 29 runs, three grand slams and seven home runs on the weekend
- Riley Ennis remarkably hit grand slams in back-to-back days, while Sommer Baker recorded the grand slam on Sunday
- Gabby Sacco was honored as Conference USA Pitcher of the Year on Tuesday. Sacco put forward a sensational sophomore season, pitching to an 18-6 record and a 1.56 ERA
- Sacco leads the conference and ranks 32 in ERA while ranking second in C-USA and 31 in the nation in wins
- Sacco’s battery mate, Olivia Peterson was named Second Team All-C-USA
- Peterson leads the Owls in home runs (7) RBI (32) doubles (11) slugging percentage (.493) and walks (20)
- Peterson has caught 341 out of a possible 359 innings for the Owls, with only three errors behind the plate for a fielding percentage of .987
- Scoring first has been a recipe for success for Florida Atlantic, as the Owls own a record of 28-3 when scoring first
- The Owls also have a 36-16 edge in the first inning
- Florida Atlantic as a staff has pitched to an efficient 2.09 ERA, which ranks first in the conference and 18th in the nation
- In addition to Sacco’s 1.56, Ainsley Lambert owns a mark of 1.75 in 80 innings pitched, and Lynn Gardner has pitched to a 2.79 ERA in 100.1 innings pitched
- Florida Atlantic swept FIU and dropped two games out of three to WKU in the regular-season series this season
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