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Tournament Play Awaits Florida Atlantic
May 19, 2008
The Owls (29-25-1; 15-12-1 SBC) are the No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Conference postseason tournament, drawing No. 5 seed Western Kentucky University in the Championship's opening game in Lafayette, Louisiana. FAU took two-of-three from WKU (29-24; 16-14 SBC) earlier this season. Led by national player of the year finalist Mike McKenna, FAU hits .327 as a team and scores nearly nine runs per game. McKenna has hit .400+ for the second straight season and has become the all-time RBI leader in FAU history. The FAU offense ranks among the best nationally. The pitching staff is led by hard-throwing lefty newcomer Jeff Beliveau, who is limiting opponents to a .209 batting average in 70-plus innings.
Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship THE TOURNAMENT: The eight-team tournament is split into two brackets. FAU has drawn 5th-seeded Western Kentucky in Wednesday's opening game, scheduled for a 9 a.m. CT first pitch. The winner will play either top-seeded Louisiana-Monroe (33-22; 20-10 SBC) or lowest-seed Middle Tennessee State (27-27-1; 13-16 SBC) Thursday. The tournament is double-elimination and an additional game will be played Friday and another if necessary on Saturday morning to determine who advances to Saturday's 2 p.m. CT championship game - facing the winner of the other side of the bracket. It is just the second year for FAU as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Owls lost its opening-round game, 6-1, to Middle Tennessee State a year ago. After beating WKU 7-6 in round two, MTSU ended FAU's 2007 season by taking a 7-4 decision in round three. Earlier this season FAU beat WKU, winning two-of-three against the Hilltoppers in Boca Raton April 25-27. However, WKU projected starter RH Matt Ridings beat FAU in the Saturday game of that series. In turn, Owls' probable starter on Wednesday, LH Jeff Beliveau, was the winning-pitcher for FAU against the Hilltoppers on Sunday, April 27. FAU is 5-1 all-time versus WKU, which includes the SBC Tournament second-round win in 2007. FAU swept Middle Tennessee State in Boca Raton March 21-23, during Mike McKenna's 12-for-22, seven home run, 19-RBI week that earned him national player of the week accolades. Regular season SBC Champs ULM greeted FAU with two one-run losses in the first two games of the series between the two clubs in Monroe March 28-30. The Warhawks went on to sweep that series. If FAU was to win Wednesday and move on to face ULM, RH Michael Obradovich would most likely be FAU's starting pitcher. ULM beat Obradovich, routing the Owls 13-5 in Sunday's series finale between the two clubs on March 30. TV/RADIO/INTERNET: Live play-by-play scoring for all FAU's games at the SBC Tournament will be available for free via GAMETRACKER on Florida Atlantic's official athletics website (FAUSPORTS.com). The league offers live audio and video broadcasts of all the tournament's games through its home page (SUNBELTSPORTS.org) - fees may apply. HEAD COACH Kevin Cooney: ...17 winning seasons in 21 years... Florida Atlantic's Kevin Cooney - now in his 21st and final season at FAU, and 25th overall - owns an 885-528-10 all-time record as a head coach (745-478-5 at FAU). Cooney announced on April 24, 2008 that he will retire after the 2008 season. He ranks 23rd among active Division I coaches for career victories. Cooney has been remarkable in transitioning the FAU program into one of the top Division I-A teams in the country. Since taking over at FAU in 1988 (leading the Owls into Division I play in 1994) FAU has enjoyed 17 winning campaigns in 21 seasons. Under Cooney FAU has posted 9 consecutive winning seasons, averaging an exceptional 41 wins per year since 1999. In just 14 years as a Division I program, Cooney has guided FAU to six NCAA Regional appearances, including an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2002. COONEY ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT: Kevin Cooney, Florida Atlantic University's longtime head baseball coach, announced his retirement April 24, 2008, following 21 years at the helm of one of the country's strongest baseball programs. Cooney will continue to coach the team throughout the 2008 season. "I have enjoyed the friendships made over 21 years with the coaches and staff here at Florida Atlantic. There have been some great people, some interesting personalities, but always a group of people willing to work hard, sometimes against great odds, to provide a positive environment for the student athletes at FAU," said Cooney. "There are so many players for me to thank. Many have stayed in touch throughout the years, and thanks to the anonymity of e-mail, a number have expressed their feelings in very heartfelt ways. Being a part of the lives of so many young men has been the best part of this job." Cooney came to FAU following a four-year stint at Montclair State University in New Jersey, his alma mater. In his final season at MSU, Cooney guided the Red Hawks to the Division III World Series title and a 106-40-5 record. FAU SENDS COONEY OUT IN STYLE: 21-year FAU head coach Kevin Cooney, who is retiring following the season, was recognized prior to FAU's May 10th game against Arkansas State... FAU Athletics Director Craig Angelos and FAU President Frank T. Brogan spoke as part of a brief ceremony in Cooney's honor in which the out-going coach was presented with a commemorative home plate which featured the team's 'Blue-Wave' logo... A commemorative ticket celebrating Cooney's accomplishments was also issued to the fans at the front gate... His former and current players gave Cooney a John Deere tractor, wishing him the best in his future farming endeavors on land he owns in Tennessee. Oh yeah, FAU won the game 20-3. McKENNA TO PARTICIPTATE IN HOME RUN DERBY: Senior power-hitter Mike McKenna will be Florida Atlantic's representative in the Sun Belt Conference student-athlete home run derby, which highlights the SBC's Family Night planned for the Tuesday evening before the league tournament. Each of the tournament's eight teams will be represented by one player... there will be two rounds. The schools will be divided into two competing teams - East and West. The first round will consist of 10 outs, while the second round six outs. McKENNA 'BROOKS WALLACE' FINALIST: FAU's Mike McKenna is a finalist in a list of candidates aiming for the 2008 Brooks Wallace College Player of the Year Award as announced by the College Baseball Foundation in Lubbock, TX. The Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate baseball player and will be nationally televised on Fox College Sports. The selection committee will narrow the "Wallace Watch" throughout the remainder of the season and the three Wallace Award finalists will be announced following NCAA Super Regional play. The 2008 award banquet will be held on Wednesday, July 2, at 7 p.m. in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. KEY RELIEVERS EXPECTED BACK FOR TOURNEY: FAU hopes to have key relievers, Morrison, Troyanowski, back for the SBC Tournament... LH Adam Morrison (2-2; 6.00 ERA) appeared in the sixth inning in Game Two of FAU's regular season ending series with FIU (5/16) Friday... It was Morrison's first appearance in exactly one month due to injury- last pitching in a starting role against #1 Miami (4/16)... Freshman LH Glen Troyanowski (3-1; 2.70 ERA) has put up outstanding numbers: 30 K's in 16 2/3 innings pitched... 2.70 ERA and 3-1 record... Closed out No. 1 Miami (4/9) to allow FAU a historic win over its local rival in Coral Gables... Has allowed just two hits in SBC play... Fanned a season-high 8 in his only start of the season vs. Mount St. Mary's (2/27). COOK RETURNS FROM INJURY: FAU 3B Daniel Cook appeared in both games Tuesday May 6th in a doubleheader with Bethune-Cookman, returning to the field for the first time since suffering a foot injury on March 14... Cook raised average above .300 with a 7-for-13 series against FIU, in which he hit two homers... Cook has hit eight HR's in just 24 games this season... Cook was drafted in the 20th-round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. NATION'S BEST OFFENSE: Four FAU hitters have 10 or more home runs helping the Owls rank 5th nationally in home runs (88) and home runs per game (1.73) as of May 11...FAU is in the nation's top-10 in scoring (9.1 runs p/g), runs (463) and walks drawn (262)... The team's batting average (.324) and slugging % (.516) are also among the nation's best. HARD TO HIT: LH Jeff Beliveau (4-3; 3.71 ERA) has limited opponents to a .209 batting average in 70-plus innings- that ranks him 8th all-time in opponent's batting average FAU single-season pitching history... Beliveau is allowing just 6.4 hits per nine innings, that is 4th-best in FAU single-season history... Beliveau is 4-1 in eight Sun Belt starts... League hitters are batting just .182 against him... He ranks 20th nationally among all Division I pitchers in hits allowed per nine innings (6.4)... Beliveau has allowed just four homers and 15 extra-base hits in 70+ innings. McKENNA SETS ALL-TIME FAU RBI RECORD: Mike McKenna passed Rusty Brown (2001-'04) and Mike Ryan (1982-'84) as FAU's all-time RBI leader, when he hit a go-ahead two-run double down the left field line in the sixth inning on Saturday in the team's regular season finale vs. FIU (5/17)... It was McKenna's 184th career RBI -- establishing a new Owls' record. BLOCK FINISHES SEASON ON TEAR: Since April 5 and FAU's final 28 games to close out the regular season, 2B William Block has 36 RBI and 11 HR's... In FAU's first 27 games Block had yet to homer and had driven in only nine runs... The junior from Pembroke Pines is hitting .344 and is among the national leaders scoring 1.2 times per game. EVERYDAY PLAYERS: RF Mike McKenna and 2B William Block finished the entire 55-game regular season playing and starting every game at their respective positions... DH Tom Hatcher played in all 55 games, starting 54... 1B Travis Ozga is the only other Owl to have appeared in all 55 games. ARATA DOUBLES RBI TOTAL: SS Nick Arata has 49 RBI, 22 better than his total of 27 as a sophomore a year ago...The junior shortstop has been outstanding both offensively and defensively, batting .376 on the year in 52 starts, hitting 12 home runs from the shortstop position. FROSH THROWS COMPLETE GAME: FAU RH Mike Gipson tossed his first career complete game May 6, shutting down perennial NCAA Regional qualifiers Bethune-Cookman University to allow host FAU a 12-2 victory... Gipson, a true freshman from nearby West Palm Beach, struck out seven, economically throwing 104 pitches which upped his record to 4-1... Gipson allowed single runs in the third and fifth, and the game was close, 5-2, until FAU broke it open by batting around in the bottom of the eighth- scoring seven times. FINAL-YEAR PLAYERS HONORED ON 'SENIOR DAY': Ten final-year players were honored before May 11th's game with Arkansas State - FAU's home finale... Mike McKenna, Mickey Storey, Mike Salivar, Daniel Cook, Alex Silversmith, Brett Cannon, Brandon Kloess, Justin Ferreira, Michael Obradovich and Chris Eberhart. NOT EXACTLY THE COMEBACK KIDS: FAU is 3-17 when trailing after five innings, 2-16 when trailing after six, 1-19 after seven and 0-19 when trailing heading into the ninth. HITTING STREAKS: OF Mike McKenna has hit safely in 12 straight games, the team's longest current hitting streak heading into the SBC Tournament... Three other players have enjoyed 16-game hit streaks this season, 2B William Block (Feb 27-March 20); SS Nick Arata (March 29-April 22); DH Tom Hatcher (April 5-April 27). TOUGH AT HOME: FAU went 21-11-1 at home in 2008... The Owls were 10-4-1 against SBC teams at FAU Stadium... The team hit .346 collectively and the pitchers posted an ERA ½ a run lower in Boca Raton. FIRST NUETRAL SITE GAMES: The Owls did not play in any early-season tournaments, making FAU's SBC Tournament opener against WKU Wednesday the first first neutral site game of 2008 for FAU. FAU FINISHES MIDWEEK SCHEDULE 8-8: The Owls were an even 8-8 in its 16 midweek games of 2008... FAU's 6-3 road win over No. 1 Miami (4/9) highlighted its midweek accomplishments... Other notable wins included beating defending BIG EAST Champion Rutgers 10-1 on March 18... FAU also topped perennial NCAA Regional qualifiers and MEAC Champs Bethune-Cookman 12-2 May 6. ARATA CANDIDATE FOR ALL-SUN BELT HONORS: SS Nick Arata has been outstanding both offensively and defensively... Batting .376 on the year with 49 RBI in 52 starts and 12 home runs from the SS position. Sun Belt NCAA Regional Bids Since 2002 (Current & Past Sun Belt members) $ Sun Belt Champion | * Sun Belt Tournament Champion | ^ no longer a Sun Belt Conference member | # then a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference
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