Posts from May 2010

We’re about to make our return trip from Murfreesboro, but first there is the unscheduled matter this Sunday morning of deciding the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship.

It’s Troy vs. FIU, in a battle that proves what this tournament is all about – an utter and unequivocable crapshoot. The winner of the trophy can say with pride: Our fifth pitcher and others on two days rest and lightly-used bullpen staff is not as bad as anyone else’s for these five days in May.

Thanks to a disappointing 18-16 loss to FIU on Friday, the Owls now have a loss in the Sun Belt Tournament and will be sent home with their next loss.

Florida Atlantic’s season-opening football game at UAB, originally scheduled for Sept. 4, will be moved to Thursday Sept. 2.

Florida International defeated South Alabama 10-9 in an elimination game today and will face FAU at 5 p.m.

For the Owls that means a chance at ending FIU’s season for the fourth consecutive year.

• 2009: FAU defeats FIU in two-out of-three games in the final series of the regular season to qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament. In the tournament, FAU defeats FIU 16-6 in a game called early by the 10-run rule to end the season for the Golden Panthers.
• 2008: New coach, but same results. FAU defeats FIU two-out-of- three games in the final series of the regular season to keep the Golden Panthers out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament under new coach Henry “Turtle” Thomas.
• 2007: FAU sweeps the Golden Panthers in three games and FIU misses the Sun Belt tournament by a game.  For missing the tournament FIU fires long-time coach Danny Price (who we hear has landed on his feet and will be the next coach at junior college powerhouse Miami-Dade State College, but probably won’t be sending too many players to FIU)
• And even going back a few years, in a game that longtime FAU and FIU fans remember it was FAU eliminating FIU in the 1999 NCAA Regionals before the Owls lost to Miami 3-2. 

While South Alabama and FIU are duking it under the hot Murfreesboro sun, the Owls will be kicking back and relaxing with the AC cranked.

• Here's the recap on the game from the Mobile Press-Register

Regardless of the outcome of FAU’s game vs. Western Kentucky on Wednesday, the Owls were going to need a solid outing out of starting pitcher Mike Gipson today.

When FAU coach John McCormack was thinking about which player was going to participate in Tuesday’s  Sun Belt Conference Home Run Derby at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro, Tenn. it’s unlikely catcher Mike Albaladejo was high on his list.

In case you didn’t see Tuesday night's of FAU SS Nick DelGuidice in the home run derby or wondered how we could get that footage – there is an easy answer. Chuck King and I are in Murfreesboro, Tenn.  for the tournament and will be providing coverage of FAU’s games for the rest of the week.

• FAU coach John McCormack is an excellent and deserving choice for the Sun Belt Coach of the Year. In just his second season he took the Owls from the eighth seed in the SBC Tourney to the SBC champion. Congratulations to McCormack.
• I have seen Middle Tennessee’s Reese Smith Jr. Stadium from the outside before, but never from the inside. It’s quite impressive and really gets you thinking about just how far behind FAU is in the facilities war. At MTSU, it’s a brick façade with plenty of suites and a modern press box. At FAU its Port-O-Lets, racoons and chain link fences. We’ve been told improvements are coming to the baseball stadium – and that’s good. It’s long overdue.   
• We haven’t forgotten that today could have been a big day in Boca Raton for the on-campus football stadium. However, today instead of the trustees voting on approval for the stadium, FAU VP David Kian will instead just update the trustees on the progress of the project. I talked to Kian on Monday and the trustees will likely hear plenty about the changes in rules by Division of Bond Finance. However, Kian re-iterated the stadium is still on track to open by 2011, although likely a few weeks later into the season.

• The Palm Beach Post looks at the Owls' NCAA Regional chances
• The Daily News Journal has a preview and their own capsules of the SBC Tourney.
• ESPN.com's Graham Watson reports on the lack of expansion talk at the Sun Belt meetings
• TCPalm.com saysSouth Fork linebacker Blake Nehls will try and walk-on to the FAU football team.

Owl Cal: Your calendar to FAU events

1:30 p.m. Baseball, FAU vs. Western Kentucky, Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

FAU coach John McCormack is among those coaches who think too much emphasis is placed on conference tournaments.

“To me the regular season is a big deal,” said McCormack, who celebrated the regular season title with his father and son on the field (photo). “It would be like, after 162 games, the American League East now all meets in New York and has a round robin tournament.”

The Owls, of course, have more to lose than gain from the tournament this year. Winning the regular season title in a conference that holds the No. 6 RPI in the country should be enough to merit an NCAA tournament at-large bid even if they fail to take the tourney title in Murfreesboro.

Still, it’s a little disconcerting that the Owls could play so well through the course of the season then have to sweat out a bid should they drop two straight.

“Conference tournaments are set up for financial reasons in a lot of leagues,” McCormack said. “You telling me after 30 [conference] games you don’t know who the best teams in the league are? You’re telling me after the 55 to 56 games that most people have played that you don’t know who the best teams are?”

Coaches of all sports like to bemoan the conference tournament, believing the teams that win them are frequently more lucky than good. Baseball tournaments are not like regular season series.

The teams that win them tend do so because their fourth and fifth starters throw their best games of the year. It’s a war of pitching attrition.  And while pitching is an important – perhaps the most important – factor in baseball, it should be the front line pitchers who determine a champion.

Still, the Owls have to play the schedule in front of them. Winning the tournament title will be another trophy and what has already been a fantastic year. And I’m interested to see how they celebrate another title.

The one positive McCormack and the Owls should be able to take from this year’s Sun Belt Tournament is that it should serve as good preparation for the NCAA tournament the following week.

Owl Links: Your daily guide to what is being written about FAU

FAUOwlAccess.com looked at why the stadium is once again delayed in our Monday Morning Quarterback segment.

Check back later today for a preview of the conference tournament.
 

Other linkage...

• The Murfreesboro Daily News Journal looks at which teams are up for at-large bids
• The Lafayette Daily Advertiser reports on the Ragin' Cajuns celebrating their Sun Belt Championship

Owl Cal: A calendar of FAU events

Wednesday
1:30 p.m. Baseball, FAU vs. Western Kentucky, Sun Belt Conference Tournament

FAU is proposing a 15 percent increase in the student athletic fee, which would require FAU students to pay the highest athletic fee rate in the state.

Here’s a bit of a surprise: FAU coach John McCormack said he’s going to have Nick DelGuidice, not Dan Scheffler, represent the Owls in Tuesday’s Sun Belt Conference home run derby.

Scheffler’s 14 home runs led the Owls and tied for eighth best in the conference. DelGuidice (photo) finished second on the Owls with nine round trippers.

McCormack said the primary reason he’s choosing his shortstop over his first baseman is that the ballpark in Murfreesboro, Tenn. features a short leftfield fence.

“Scheffler’s power is the other way, where Del’s is pull,” McCormack said. “He’s really good between the third baseman and the line.”

Scheffler also struggled at the plate near the end of the season, which McCormack said contributed to the decision. A single in the eighth inning of Saturday’s season finale broke Scheffler’s 0-14 slump – a streak that included nine strikeouts. He hasn’t homered since May 9 against South Alabama.

“They’ve been awful,” Scheffler said of his recent at-bats. “They’ve been really bad, but as long as I keep getting at-bats and swinging at good pitches I think I will be fine.”

Part of Scheffler’s issue has been pitch selection. McCormack added that he didn’t want to risk having the already struggling slugger alter his swing for the contest then not get it back to normal for the post-season.

“That came into play a little bit because Scheffler’s swing path is not a pull home run,” McCormack said.

Despite his recent struggles, Scheffler’s .376 regular-season batting average trailed only Andy Mee’s .390 for tops on the team.

On Sunday, DelGuidice said he is looking forward to hitting at Reese Smith Jr. Field.

“It’s a launching pad,” he said. “It’s fun to hit there.”

Owl Links: Your daily guide to what is being written about FAU
At FAUOwlAccess.com we took a look at how the Owls’ baseball team spent Sunday – the day after claiming their first Sun Belt Conference regular season title.

Check back later today for our Monday Morning Quarterback feature a weekly report on the Owls' football program.

Other linkage...

• Aaron Fitt over at Baseball America likes the way the Owls celebrated their Sun Belt Title and called FAU “one of the most lovable teams in college baseball in 2010” as part of this review of Saturday’s college baseball scene.
• For those that missed the Bowling Green Daily News’ recap of Western Kentucky’s final game of the season, here’s a link. WKU coach Chris Finwood had some interesting comments about the Sun Belt tourney and FAU. The Owls face the Hilltoppers in Wednesday’s opening game.

Owl Cal: A calendar of FAU events
Wednesday
1:30 p.m. Baseball, FAU vs. Western Kentucky , Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The official ballots are due soon for the All-Sun Belt team and the other awards the league office will announce this week.

One can expect a few FAU players to be recognized on the team, but also John McCormack to be named the Coach of the Year.

• The Sun-Sentinel had this story on the Owls winning the title
• The Miami Herald had this account of Wittels' hit streak continuing before letting FIU fans know the bad news that FAU won the SBC championship

After three hectic nights and days at FAU Stadium, most of the fans who were out there for a tense FIU-FAU series got what they wanted – to see the Owls celebrate winning the Sun Belt Conference title.

BOCA GRATTON - FAU third baseman Sean Bukovich figures he knows why teammate Colby Gratton has been so hot lately.

“He finally switched to a big boy bat and he’s been hitting,” Bukovich joked following Gratton’s walk-off home run against FIU last night. “It’s about time. I taught him good.”

There is plenty of truth in Bukovich’s ribbing,

Gratton’s early-season struggles at the plate prompted the leftfielder to switch from a 34-inch bat to a lighter 33-incher. The switch provided an initial boost, but Gratton’s at-bats over the last few weeks didn’t feel right.

“I swung a 34 last year and hit .340 – that’s not the problem,” Gratton said. “I’m not weak. A 34 is not that much heavier.”

Gratton actually made the switch back to a 34 for Thursday’s game and promptly hit two home runs.

“In BP it’s been awesome – so much more barrel,” he said.

Gratton and the rest of the Owls will try to win their first Sun Belt Conference regular season baseball title today. A victory over FIU and the championship is theirs. A loss by Louisiana-Lafayette later in the day would also put FAU on top.

You know FAUOwlAccess.com will be at the ballpark from the first pitch to the final out. The game, which is also the regular season finale, starts at 1 p.m. Stop by the Trashcan Café and say hi.

Owl Links: Your daily guide to what's being written about the Owls

FAUOwlAccess.com had our usual team coverage of the game. You can check out our recap, breakdown, video highlights and all the extras that we usually provide by clicking here.

The Miami Herald breaks the news to Golden Panthers fans - they are eliminated from the title chase

The Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post were also at the game

Here's the account of ULL's doubleheader sweep of ULM that has the Ragin' Cajuns in first place from the Daily Advertiser.

Owl Cal: Your calendar to FAU events

1 p.m. Baseball, FIU at FAU

FAU hitters may not have been too successful on the diamond last night, but there were some big hitters on the course earlier in the day.

Traveled up to the Trump International course yesterday prior to the ballgame to check out the FAU Golf Tournament. Unlike last year when rain was a factor, yesterday’s conditions were perfect.

The course was in immaculate condition and everyone I talked to in the sold-out field seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The first hole and the 17th were the biggest hits. FAU Athletic Director Craig Angelos schmoozed with each foursome as they passed the first tee, hitting a fifth drive that the groups had the option of using.

That’s Angelos in the second photo. It may not be picture perfect, but his swing provided a few useful shots.

Defensive Coordinator Kurt Van Valkenburgh split his time between the first and 17th. He even let Jesse Sun take a gander at his championship bling.

Many FAU sports were represented. Football radio analyst lucked into a foursome that included ringer Joan Joyce.

A couple of girls from the Blue Martini manned the cosmo station on the first.

Hooters girls monitored the tequila and cigars at the 17th.

The tournament is one of the biggest fundraisers for the Owls every year. Broadcaster Roger Twibell played this year and also emceed.

After Thursday’s 12-4 loss to Florida International, FAU players and coaches left the dugout preparing to put the difficult loss behind them.

It’s easy to think that one of FAU’s main goals during the weekend series against FIU is to end Garrett Wittels’ 45-game hitting streak. It would also be wrong.

Most of the players seem to share FAU coach John McCormack’s view on the topic.

“If we win the game and he gets his hits, it doesn’t matter to me either way,” McCormack said following Tuesday’s washout at UCF. “Our job is to win the game and however that is accomplished is fine. The hitting streak has nothing to do with us. That’s good for him. We recruited him. He’s a nice kid. I’m happy for him.”

Wittels’ 45-game hitting streak is tied for the third longest in college baseball history. Robin Ventura’s 58-game streak in 1987 stands as college baseball’s best. (In his professional career, Ventura allowed Nolan Ryan to get in almost as many hits in one game.)

The record is even more impressive considering Wittels has only batted in 45 games this year. His 78 hits (eight less than Andy Mee) have propelled the sophomore to a .408 average on the season.

“It’s a great streak and he can get three more hits for all I care as long as we win the conference,” Friday’s starting pitcher Ryan Garton said. “He can have the spotlight with the streak, I just want the spotlight by winning the rings.”

If Wittels’ streak lasts through the series he will be alone in second place on the all-time list.

Sunday starter R. J. Alvarez admits he feels a little different than some of his teammates. He wouldn’t mind ending the streak.

“It would be awesome for sure, but hopefully it happens Friday night,” the freshman said. “I’m just going to try to do what I do all the time - try to get him out.”

Owl Links: A guide to what is being written about FAU

The big series is here. If FAU takes two of three from FIU, the Owls are the Sun Belt’s regular season champs. Here’s our look at the series.

Other linkage:

• The Sun-Sentinel says Dan Scheffler has made an impact
• The Miami Herald examines the post-season chances for the Golden Panthers
• The Palm Beach Post looks at Wittels' streak

Owl Cal: A calendar of FAU events

Thursday
6:30 p.m. Baseball, FIU at FAU.

A quick check of the calendar shows that we are less than 24 hours from the FAU Golf Tournament at Trump International.

Was thinking about putting together a photo gallery from Tuesday’s three inning affair at UCF, but decided the pictures actually enhanced this story.

Let me congratulate UCF on that facility. As many of you know my younger brother Brad played baseball for UCF in the mid-1990s. During that time we looked forward to his games at FAU because the Owls actually had the better stadium. Far better. Not so much anymore. The Knights have a wonderful place to see a ballgame and I would go see another game there regardless of their opponent.

By the way, that's their football stadium beyond the right field wall in the second photo.

To their credit, many FAU fans took advantage of the Orlando trip. The Owls have a half dozen players from the Orlando area, and their families and friends were at the game in force.

The biggest contingent probably belonged to catcher Mike Albaladejo. That’s his sister Ariana holding the sign. Below her is the grandmother of Albaladejo’s girlfriend, who, for 19 years has kept her own scorebook at the baseball games she attends as a means of keeping her heart from racing. That whole group had plenty of fun for the three-plus innings that played.

Nathan Pittman had a good-sized fan club. They saw him recover nicely from a ball that took an unfriendly carom off the fence in the left field foul territory to throw out the runner at third.

Chase Vergason’s family was well represented as was Eddie Cassidy’s. There was also a surprising amount of FAU students who live in Orlando and decided the ball game was a good way to spend a summer night.

The UCF side of the ballpark was also full - something that didn’t happed at the old ballpark even when school was still in session. Well, at least it was full until the bad weather assaulted the ballpark. Check out the bottom photo. How’s that for a storm cloud?

It’s well known that FAU has made building a football stadium one of its top priorities. The Owls are also working on a much smaller plan to upgrade the baseball ballpark. It’s unlikely that project will receive the go ahead before the Boards of Trustees and Governors approve the football stadium.

Despite the delay, summer construction on the first couple phases of the baseball upgrades could still produce significant improvements for the start of the 2011 season.

Historically, the baseball team has played at a high level without much university support. With the Owls currently battling for the Sun Belt title, they are once again at the top of their game.

UCF’s facility has helped build a fan base, thereby making baseball a financial asset. It’s hard to believe upgrades to FAU’s stadium won’t have a similar effect.

Owl Links:  A guide to what is being written about FAU

As you’ve already realized, FAUOwlAccess.com braved the kamikaze love bugs (they gave their lives so I  couldn't see out my windshield) to get to the game in Orlando. The game wasn’t a total washout for FAU coach John McCormack, as this story shows.

Owl Cal – A calendar of FAU events
Thursday
Baseball – vs. FIU, 6:30 p.m.
 

Just got a note from Scott Grosky, who does a great job with the FAU hockey team.

Florida Atlantic University Ice Hockey is pleased to introduce their new Head Coach; Peter Worrell.

Beginning this season, Peter Worrell will assume the role of Head Coach. Coach Worrell, a native of Quebec, Canada played in the NHL over 7 seasons. He brings his wealth of knowledge and experience to the nationally recognized hockey team at Florida Atlantic University. Coach Worrell has been active in coaching for the past several years in South Florida.
 
Florida Atlantic University (based in Boca Raton, Florida) competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men’s Division 3 – South region. Last season the team was a top-ranked team throughout the season and was narrowly edged-out of playoff contention during the regular season’s last weekend of play.

ACHA guidelines offer degree seeking undergraduates taking at least 9 semester hours and graduate students taking at least 6 semester hours to qualify for participation. This is an excellent opportunity to play competitive ice hockey in an exciting and fast paced environment.

All interested players are encouraged to tryout. We hope to offer a position on the team to every player that attends tryouts.
FAU Ice Hockey offers excellent co-operative marketing opportunities. Non-player positions also exist for FAU students and others without ever lacing up the skates. All interested parties and prospective sponsors are strongly encouraged to contact: Assistant Coach Scott Grosky at GroskyS@aol.com  or 954-275-3275. Check our website for continual updates. www.fauicehockey.org

Just when it looked like the Rain Delay Theatre video might be fading into posterity, Pete Montalbano over at Owl TV has given it new life.

When not advising FAU’s student television station, Pete can frequently be found at his day job, which this time of year is in a production truck under the stands of whatever they call Joe Robbie Stadium these days.

Pete has a copy of the video and oddly enough, the video aired last night during the Marlins rain delay. If you ask me, the video was better than the actual game. I think if you asked Fredi Gonzalez, he’d agree.

Fox Sports Florida went to a half hour poker show to kill time, but still had a little time left while the grounds crew prepared the field. Broadcasters Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton (whose son, Derek, played for the Owls a few years ago)  discussed their favorite clips from the video, settling on the Shake Weight spoof and the wrestling re-enactment (philosophy question: can you spoof something that is already of itself a spoof?)

Pete expects the network to air at least parts of the video throughout the summer during rain delays and blowouts.

So congrats again goes out to the FAU baseball team for raising the profile of the university. Some of the guys may not ever make it to the major leagues, but they can say they were featured during a big league game.

By the way, FAU may find itself in another wet situation today. There is a 30 percent chance of rain in Orlando, where the Owls will play UCF. The Knights may be itching to make a video, but I don’t think FAU players will bite.

Owl Links: A guide to what is being written about FAU

On FAUOwlAccess.com we offered this preview of the game in Orlando. We also told our subscribers about a local wide receiver who received a scholarship offer and was impressed with his visit to FAU’s campus.

Owl Cal: Your daily calendar of FAU events

Tuesday
6:30 p.m. Baseball, FAU at UCF

Early in the season when FAU received a couple weekends worth of solid starting pitching, FAU coach John McCormack joked that he was upset that he couldn’t use the bullpen more.

That joke has taken on a new edge heading into the final week of the regular season.

FAU’s pitching, especially the back end of the bullpen, is a major reason the Owls are on the cusp of the Sun Belt regular season title. The long relief situation is every bit as suspect, if not more so, as it was at the start of the season.

Make no mistake, if there is going to be an area of concern on a pitching staff, long relief is where you want it. It’s also to some extent a weakness on all but those teams with extremely deep staffs. By this time of year the best long relievers have usually been converted to starters – like FAU did with R. J. Alvarez.

Teams can get by without using long relievers during the regular season (see South Alabama), but the nature of baseball tournaments dictates that to be successful FAU will need more out of the bullpen than set-up man Ryan Bernal and closer Andy Mee. The Owls will be looking for a reliable long reliever during these final four games of the regular season.

“It hasn’t been used enough,” FAU pitching coach Jason Jackson said. “When you get good starting pitching it’s a good thing and a bad thing. Mike (Gipson) and Ryan (Garton), and even R. J. until Sunday, have gone so deep into games that we haven’t been able to use them much”

Yesterday’s story on FAUOwlAccess.com highlighted the recent performance of Lou Morey, who’s 2.12 ERA is now third best on the team. FAU coaches have considered Morey mostly as a groundball specialist against righthanded hitters. Morey’s four shutout inning performance against Florida Gulf Coast has Jackson considering using Morey more down the stretch.

“Sometimes we overlook him for guys who have a little more fancy stuff, but he’s certainly earned the right to be in there,” Jackson said.

Taylor Everist, Hugh Adams and Kevin Alexander (photo) are three pitchers who fit into the category of having fancier stuff. Everist was the opening day starter and Adams began the 2009 season as the Owls’ closer.

Everist will likely get the chance to prove he can be effective against Central Florida. Adams looked like he might step into the role of long reliever when he picked up the win in the crucial Sunday game at South Alabama. Two days later he allowed four runs in one inning against FGCU.

Alexander may be the hurler best suited to pitch in long relief, but the Owls will likely try to save the former Sunday starter to be their fourth starter in a deep tournament run.

The situations these four players are place in this week and how they respond will likely dictate who McCormack turns to if Garton, Gipson or Alvarez gets in early trouble at next week’s Sun Belt Conference tournament. No joke.

Owl Links: A guide to what is being written about FAU

Didn’t feel like clicking on the above link to the Lou Morey story that ran on FAUOwlAccess.com yesterday? Well, here is another chance.

Ckeck back later today for our Monday Morning Quarterback - where we bring you a weekly report on FAU football during the off-season.

Owl Cal: A calendar of FAU events

Tuesday
6:30 p.m. Baseball, FAU at UCF 

Taylor Everist hasn’t taken the mound in a game since allowing three earned runs while walking five in two innings against UCF on May 4.

FAU coaches, though, aren’t ready to write off the righthander. In fact, there is still a possibility he will start on Tuesday at UCF.

Even if Kevin Alexander once again draws the midweek start, the Knights are still likely to see Everist.

“We believe in our guys,” FAU pitching coach Jason Jackson said. “Just because they have a couple of bad starts we’re not going to tuck tail on them and throw them out with the garbage.”

Jackson was pleased with the way Everist threw in Friday’s intra-squad game. The problem is, those performances are nothing new.

Coaches have been talking about Everist’s good bullpen sessions throughout his struggles. But over the last two months almost every time he’s taken the mound it’s been difficult to watch.

His 6.91 ERA and 2-7 record certainly doesn’t inspire confidence. Neither does watching the relievers sprint to the bullpen three batters into the game, as has happened during Everist starts. As Jackson admits, “When it’s bad, it’s bad.”

FAU coaches are having trouble forgetting the Taylor Everist they saw in the fall and the first few weeks of the season. Remember those early weeks? The Owls’ opening day starter, Everist lost the first two Friday games of the season despite only allowing three earned runs in 13 innings. Since then he’s allowed 29 runs in 28 2/3 innings.

“You want to keep running him out there because you’ve seen the good,” Jackson said. “You know that it’s in there. You just hope that you can get him back on track.”

Everist did look good early in those early games. He even looked like he might be regaining that form after allowing two earned runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings against Florida Gulf Coast on April 20.

The first UCF game suggests he’s still hit or miss (or hit really hard). If Everist throws like he did at the beginning of the season, he will be a huge asset in the coming weeks. It’s worth routing for, if only because Everist is one of the nicer guys on the team.

But more often than not his outings are ending in disaster. Will there come a point where coaches simply say, Let’s fix this over the summer and start fresh next season?

The unsettling answer to that question appears to be: No.

“For us to get through the conference tournament, for us to get through a regional – hopefully we get there – he’s going to have to pitch some big innings for us,” Jackson said. “Maybe that’s two innings, maybe that’s 10 innings, I don’t know. But he’s going to have to be on that mound at some point.”

FAU doesn't have many choices other than relying on Everist should it need a fifth starter come tournament time. If the Owls don't want to use Ryan Garton, Mike Gipson, R. J. Alvarez or Alexander for a second start that weekend,  Everist, Barry Rooks (1-0, 9.82) and Kenny Gray (0-1, 12.15) are the lone remaining Owls who have started this season.

If Everist somehow regains that early-season form, FAU will have a pitching staff primed for deep runs in the Sun Belt and NCAA tournaments. If not? Well, FAU coaches might do well to remember that the NCAA berth isn’t locked up yet…

Owl Links: Your daily guide to what is being written about FAU
Sure there weren’t any baseball games, but there are still baseball stories out there. On Saturday FAUOwlAccess.com examined the recent struggles of catcher Mike Albaladejo.

Owl Cal:A daily calendar of FAU events
6:3- p.m. Baseball, FAU at UCF
 

Florida Atlantic’s basketball team is going international - again.
 

The newest overseas player is guard Pablo Bertone, a native of Argentina.

Per FAU, Bertone has signed with the Owls out of Philadelphia’s Rise Academy.

The Owls have quite a history of international players, such as Motiejus Reimeris (Lithuania), Phillp Huyler (Bahamas), Seydou Kone (France),  Eni Cuka (Albania), Bjorn Sjolund (Norway), Ingo Wolf (Germany) and, of course, my favorite - Gary Durrant, a native of Canada
 

Owls coach Mike Jarvis has recruited international players and was recently quoted in an ESPN.com article on foreign players. As coach of George Washington, Jarvis fielded teams “with a Brazilian, a Dutchman, an Israeli, a Spaniard, a Brazilian and three Belarussians, among other nationalities,” according to the story.

According to his ESPN profile, Bertone, has only been in the United States for less than a year and is still developing as a player.

“He is an outstanding person who will add class, dignity and extreme work ethic to the FAU program,” coach Vin Sparacio wrote when Rise Academy announced the signing last month on its Facebook page.

Even with the baseball team off, the Owls still bettered themselves Friday night.

Keeping up with the RPI, watching the projections and trying to figure out where the Owls will be sent in their regionals have really made me pine for what I consider the good old days of  FAU baseball.

It was in 1999 when the Owls kicked the door down on the national scene by winning 34 games in a row and were nationally ranked in the Top 10. That was the beginning of some heady days for the program that lasted a few years.

There won’t be any games at FAU Stadium this weekend, but I’m guessing there will be plenty of activity there over the next 72 hours.

How bad does FAU want to win tonight's game at Florida? Bad enough to make a change in pitching plans as the Owls will start ace Mike Gipson for the game against the Gators. Ryan Garton was originally going to start - and will still throw vs. UF - but it will be Gipson to take the hill on a day where he would be throwing a scheduled bullpen session.

The move makes sense. After last night's loss to Florida Gulf Coast, this game is a bit more important to the Owls. 

FAU had a chance to be driving up to Gainesville today feeling good about themselves, but after falling to FGCU, players and coaches may be squirming in their seats a bit.

FAU is taking a wait and see attitude toward upcoming realignment among conferences, but says it will be ready if it happens.

• Baseball America says FAU probably would have made the Top 25 excpet for a loss to UCF last week

From time to time around the Oxley Center people will grumble that the Sun Belt likes to snub FAU when it comes to awards.

While those musings can frequently be filed in the “Home Team Bias” folder, this week’s Sun Belt baseball awards give conspiracy theorists some ammo.

Consider the weekend stats of these two players:

Player A: 8-for-13 (.615), 7 RBI, 0 HR, 3 doubles 1R
Player B: 7-for-11 (.636), 7 RBI, 1 HR, 2 R

Player A is Louisiana’s Alex Fuselier, the Sun Belt Player of the Week as voted on by members of each conference institution. Player B is FAU’s Andy Mee.

To me, the numbers put up by Mee are slightly better than those of Fuselier, but if the award was Hitter of the Week, you could make a case for either player. (Although if you add Mee’s 2-for-4, RBI, run scored performance on Tuesday, while ULL didn’t have a midweek game, it really pushes the stats in favor of Mee.)

The award, however, is Player of the Week, which means a player’s entire body of work should be considered. Mee played right field, gunning down a runner at home that allowed the Owls to stay within reach on Sunday.

He also earned a save in Sunday’s game, and even though that is a pitching stat, it can still at least be considered as part of a player’s accomplishments.

Fuselier is a DH, which means his own coach finds his defensive skills to be poor enough that he doesn’t deserve to be on the field.

Mee also produced his stats against South Alabama – the Sun Belt leader entering the weekend. Fuselier countered against the batting practice machine that is New Orleans pitching.

That should have made the decision easy.

Look, in the grand scheme of the season this award is nice, but it really doesn’t mean too much. And should they choose to try to counter conspiracy theorists, Sun Belt officials can point to FAU’s Mike Gipson winning Pitcher of the Week honors a week ago and softball player Blair Bodenmiller taking the Player of the Week award during the same period.

However, if the purpose of the award to recognize the best player, the conference that chose to televise the FIU/Arkansas State game instead of the battle between two first place schools allowed its members to choose poorly again.

Mee’s stats weren’t monumental, but his performance was far better than Fuselier’s. Andy Mee got jobbed. 

That Andy Mee delivered the decisive hit in Sunday’s pivotal game of FAU’s weekend series at South Alabama isn’t surprising. That it cleared the fence is far more noteworthy.

Mee started the season going homer-for-homer with Dan Scheffler in a battle for the team lead. Scheffler’s pace remained fairly constant throughout the season. When Mee pounded D.D. Hanks' hanging slider in the eighth inning on Sunday, he delivered his first home run since April 16 against Western Kentucky. Mee now has seven on the season.

The power drought had slipped into batting practice, too, but Mee saw a precursor of things to come in the hours prior to the series finale.

“This is the first time in a while I hit them out in BP,” Mee said following the win. “Then it finally happened in the game.”

Didn’t notice the power outage? Well, it’s not as if the junior’s overall production has been slumping.

With five hits on Sunday Mee pushed his average above .400 - .404 to be exact. His 84 hits are far and away the most by an Owl and has some thinking he could reach 100 if FAU makes a strong post-season run.

Mee’s 44 RBI trails Nick DelGuidice by one for second on the team, his 46 runs scored is second behind Scheffler and with one more home run he’ll tie DeGuidice for second on the club.

“I never worry about Andy Mee at the plate,” FAU coach John McCormack said.

Way to stay RJ: It wasn’t the best outing for R.J. Alvarez, but he pitched well enough to keep FAU in the game. He allowed a run in the second and two more in the third, but got out of trouble without allowing a run in the first, fourth and fifth innings. He gave FAU a chance to win despite lacking his best command. That’s what a Sunday starter needs to do.

Owl Links – Your daily guide to what is being written about FAU

FAUOwlAccess.com kept fans updated during the Owls’ critical victory and talked with Mee and McCormack immediately following the victory as part of the game story.

Other linkage...

• The Mobile Press-Register's account of the game

Owl Cal – A calendar of FAU events

Tuesday
6 p.m. Baseball, Florida Gulf Coast at FAU

It’s hard to over state the importance of FAU’s 6-3 victory at South Alabama today.

The win, highlighted by back-to-back homers by Andy Mee and Dan Scheffler (photo) in the eighth, vaulted FAU back into first place in the Sun Belt Conference – and the Owls will be there for a while.

FAU, South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette all have eight losses, but the Owls’ 19 conference wins are three more than either Jags or Cajuns.

The Owls don’t play a Sun Belt series this weekend – the odd number of teams in the Belt dictates that one team will be off each weekend – so they can’t be passed for a while.

The best South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette can do is tie FAU with weekend sweeps of FIU and Western Kentucky respectively – no small task either one.

Even then, though, the Owls still hold the tiebreaker, taking two-of-three from each team during the regular season.

“This is a good position to be in,” FAU coach John McCormack said. “But as I told the guys, put it on hold - league play is on hold. There’s still a lot of things going on.”

FAU’s next three games may not count toward the Belt, but they will have heavy RPI implications. The Owls host Florida Gulf Coast (No. 57 RPI) on Tuesday, travel to Gainesville to play Florida (No. 2 RPI) on Wednesday and have a re-match with Central Florida (No. 89 RPI) on May 18 before ending the regular season with three games against FIU.

The Owls needed extra innings to beat FGCU a couple weeks ago and lost to UCF on Tuesday. The Gators also figure to be pretty good.

Had the Owls lost two-of-three to South Alabama this weekend, they might have been fighting for their NCAA tourney lives in those three games.

Thanks to Sunday’s win, a rejuvenated Owl squad enters these non-conference games with a sizeable cushion and controls their destiny in the Belt - weather permitting.

We were all thinking FAU’s series this weekend against South Alabama with first place in the Sun Belt Conference on the line was essentially a playoff series.

• The Mobile Press-Register reports how South Alabama re-took the lead in the Sun Belt.

Owl Cal: Your daily calendar of FAU events

I really wish better records were kept on things like this, but this morning’s standings in the Sun Belt Conference shows something that probably hasn’t happened in quite some time.

With Florida Atlantic heading into a series among the top two teams in the Sun Belt Conference it’s worth a few minutes and look back at where the Owls baseball program was just one short year ago.

The Florida Atlantic basketball team didn’t have any seniors on the team last season, but that doesn’t mean the Owls won’t be bringing in any new players.

Howard Schnellenberger continues to come up roses. Well, orchids actually.

From the I Wouldn’t Believe It If There Wasn’t A Photo category comes this story:

Barbara DeRusso’s fourth grade class at Candil Jacaranda School in Plantation is conducting a science project with two orchids. The girls in the class are taking care of one plant – the boys the other.

DeRusso decided the plants should have names. When she called on Cade Fergus to name the boys’ plant, he promptly exclaimed, “Howard Schnellenberger.”

Now, Cade (pictured with Howard) is not yet an FAU fan even though his uncle covers the Owls for a fast-growing web site. Both his parents are Miami grads and he’s been a regular at Hurricane games.

He’d recently finished watching ESPN’s "The U" on the University of Miami and Schnellenberger’s name stuck with him.

When the coach heard the story, he smiled - then wondered whether the teacher had any idea how to spell the name.  (They got it right.)

I also relayed the story to Schnellenberger’s wife Beverlee and took the opportunity to ask whether the coach possesses a green thumb.

“We have about 250 orchids at our house,” Beverlee said smiling. “He looks at them everyday and when he walks by, he hasn’t killed any.”

Word is that the class is doing a very good job taking care of Howard Schnellenberger. There is apparently no truth to the rumor that students who come to school early are finding diagrammed plays on their desks.

Now if they could just teach the plant to do that famous Schnellenberger whistle, they might get out of class early.
 

Owl Links: Your daily guide to what is being written about FAU

With the latest installment of its weekly update on the football program, FAUOwlAccess.com found out about the Owls' strategy as they head out for the May recruiting period.

We also had a look at Dan Scheffler's improvement on defense and a preview of Tuesday's game vs. UCF.

Owl Cal: Your daily calendar of FAU events
Tuesday
6:30 p.m. Baseball, UCF at FAU

With its three-game sweep of Arkansas State over the weekend, FAU has a chance at receiving some attention for its efforts.

Tuesday

6:30 p.m. Baseball, Central Florida at FAU

FAU will try and do something it has yet to do this season when the Owls face Arkansas State at noon.

That’s arrive at the ballpark on Sunday and go out and finish off the sweep of a Sun Belt opponent.

• The El Paso Times raises an interesting point in this article on conference expansion. If Central Florida were to leave Conference USA, that league could keep its Florida presence by looking at FAU and FIU.
• The article doesn't have much from Rusty Smith, but the Titans home page this morning has a cool, big picture of Smith with the rest of the Tennessee draftees.

FAU has only had one walk-off hit this season, but have had plenty of dramatic endings.

For the second time in two weeks, the Owls won a game by gunning down a runner who made a bad decision of rounding third – and both times it was leftfielder Colby Gratton who did the gunning.

• In his first workout as a Titan, QB Rusty Smith gives props to Howard Schnellenberger, Bernie Kosar and Jim Kelly.
• FAU lands a defensive lineman from Ridgeview who will be a preferred walk-on.
• Florida Tech President Anthony Catanese is at it again. FIT is adding football.

Owl Cal: Your calendar to FAU events
Saturday
4 p.m. Baseball, Arkansas State at FAU
Sunday
1 p.m. Baseball, Arkansas State at FAU