Owls Visit Charlotte in Pivotal C-USA Matchup

Florida Atlantic (26-19-15, 10-11 C-USA) at Charlotte (23-21, 12-8 C-USA) | Hayes Stadium I Charlotte, N.C.
Series DetailsCharlotte, N.C. | Friday, May 5, 6 p.m. | Saturday, May 6, 3 p.m. | Sunday, May 7, 1 p.m.
Game CoverageLive Stats HERE; Listen Live HERE  Watch ESPN+                            
Friday May 5, 6 p.m.FAU — C.J. Williams (RHP) vs.CLT — Wyatt Hudepohl (RHP)
Saturday May 6, 3 p.m.FAU – Jacob Josey (RHP) vs. CLT — Paxton Thompson (RHP)
Sunday May 7, 1 p.m.FAU — Nicholas Del Prado vs. CLT — Cameron Hansen (RHP)
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Florida Atlantic baseball (26-19) heads back on the road this weekend for a three-game series with Charlotte (23-21). With three weekends remaining in the regular season, the Owls (10-11 C-USA) are one game behind Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech for fourth and two games behind Charlotte for third in Conference USA.

OWLS IN REVIEW

The Owls swept FIU at home last weekend to get back on track in league play. The recent return of outfielder Spencer Rich and second baseman Christian Adams paid immediate dividends. FAU outscored its rivals from the south by a 31-8 margin.

WHO’S HOT

Nolan Schanuel went 9-for-13 across four games last week and is now hitting .473 for the season. With 17 home runs this season, the Boynton Bomber has 44 for his career. The career record is 47. Schanuel has reached base at least once in 40 straight games.

C.J. Williams is expected to make the start on Friday night. The 5-10 righty was electric in game one against FIU with seven strikeouts in five innings. The Panthers lone hit off Williams didn’t occur until the fifth inning.

Christian Adams and Spencer Rich each returned from long injury absences last week and transitioned back into the lineup seamlessly. Adams totaled four RBIs in the FIU series including a tiebreaking two-run homer on Saturday. Rich racked up two doubles and four RBIs in four games. He had multi-hit games on both Friday and Saturday.

THE OPPONENT

Charlotte snapped a four-game slide in a big way on Tuesday night. The 49ers knocked off No. 7 Coastal Carolina 7-3 on the road. CLT traveled to Western Kentucky last weekend and met the same fate the Owls did two weeks ago – they were swept.  

Offensively, outfielder Cam Fisher is the catalyst for a potent 49ers’ offense. The sophomore is third in the country with 21 home runs. He’s racked up 46 RBIs and holds a .344 average.

On the mound, Kentucky transfer Wyatt Hudepohl has been the ace of the CLT staff. Prior to last weekend’s start against WKU, the Cincinnati, Ohio product went eight innings in back-to-back starts against Rice and UAB. He allowed just one run combined in the two wins.

OPPONENT HISTORY

The Owls are 18-10 all-time against Charlotte. The 49ers won two of three in Boca Raton last season. The highlight of last season’s matchup was a 15-inning contest that started on Saturday afternoon and ended more than 24 hours later on Sunday due to weather delays. After Mitchell Hartigan launched a game-tying three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, Dylan Goldstein eventually lined a walk-off double to right field to give the Owls a 10-9 victory.

FOLLOW ALONG

All three games will be streamed on ESPN+. For a free audio-only broadcast, tune in to the FAU Athletics YouTube channel.

UPCOMING

The Owls will head to Fort Myers on Tuesday hoping to clinch the season series with Florida Gulf Coast. They return home on May 12 to begin the final home C-USA series of the season against Louisiana Tech.

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