Freshman R. J. Alvarez will get the start against Miami on Wednesday. (FAUOwlAccess.com file photo)
Early impressions
An early season road victory against Miami could pay major dividends for FAU when it's time to talk NCAA tournament.
Originally published on
3/30/2010
by
Chuck King
BOCA RATON - Winning the Sun Belt Tournament is FAU's surest road to the NCAA Tournament.
Beating Miami in Coral Gables on Wednesday will certainly help with Plan B.
“For an at-large bid, I think it is important,” FAU coach John McCormack said. “I think at this point every win is important to us, and for the RPI, you go down and beat a good ACC opponent on the road, it’s a huge RPI boost.”
It may be premature to talk RPI - the season isn’t half over. Still, prognostication sources are starting to add the Owls (15-8) to their NCAA tournament projections. Miami, on the other hand, appears to be a foregone inclusion.
The Hurricanes (16-7) are ranked No. 15 in the county by Baseball America and have claimed four College World Series titles, most recently in 2001.
“You take a team the caliber of Miami and their reputation, and their RPI is good – that’s the biggest thing,” said McCormack, whose Owls have already won two Sun Belt road series. “Going down there and winning on the road is a great RPI booster. I think it’s important for the [NCAA Selection] Committee.”
As important as the win could be, McCormack wasn’t willing to shuffle his rotation to give ace Mike Gipson the start. Instead, Gipson will remain the Saturday starter for this weekend’s important Sun Belt series against Middle Tennessee.
On Wednesday, McCormack will give the ball to freshman R. J. Alvarez, who last time out allowed two hits in four scoreless innings against Cornell.
Alvarez said he looked at the game against the Big Red as an audition for the starting spot against the Hurricanes.
“I’m glad they trust me to throw against (Miami) and I’m going to do all I can to try to get the win for the team,” Alvarez said.
Limited by a sore arm at the beginning of the year, Alvarez will be making only his third start of the season. He hopes to last at least five innings, but McCormack intends to keep Alvarez on a pitch count of about 50.
Whether Alvarez lasts that long against a Miami offense that is hitting .297 with a combined 24 home runs will depend greatly on whether he’s able to control his off-speed pitches.
“I’m still trying to locate my curveball,” Alvarez said. “I was alright against Cornell. I threw a few for strikes. My location was good on my fastball. Hopefully I can keep throwing it for strikes.”
FAU (15-8, 6-3 Sun Belt)
at No. 15 Miami (16-7, 7-2 ACC)
Pitching Probables: FAU RHP R. J. Alvarez (1-1, 5.14) vs Miami LHP Steven Ewing (2-2, 6.06)
Scouting the Owls: Former starter Taylor Everist (2-4, 5.67) will likely be the first pitcher out of the pen on Wednesday. …Dan Scheffler leads the Owls with 6 home runs. Nick DelGuidice went 2-for-10 with 1 RBI over the weekend, but still leads the Owls with 25 RBIs…Andy Mee’s four saves is tops in the Sun Belt. … FAU split a two-game series against Rutgers and took 3-of-4 from Boston College.
Scouting the Canes: Catcher Yasmani Grandal leads Miami with a .395 average. …Harold Martinez has six home runs – no other Hurricane has more than three. ..Miami took 2-of-3 from N. C. State over the weekend. …The Hurricanes swept three from Rutgers and won 2-of-3 from Boston College earlier this season.