FAU softball started their season off with 2 major wins in the Paradise Classic on Thursday afternoon, defeating a pair of high major opponents behind a walk-off hit and dominating pitching performance. Both games were played in front of a fairly packed crowd at Joan Joyce field and the raucous atmosphere made for some fireworks on the field.
After a 2024 season which ended with a NCAA regional appearance, Coach Jordan Clark and Co. wasted no time in putting the Owls in a position to get back there, picking up 2 wins they could potentially be looking back on at the end of the season should they need an at-large bid as they did last year. According to Clark, wins like these were what she envisioned when drawing up the schedule this season and the fan support made it that much better.
“Yeah, when you make a schedule and you envision what it could be, and you envision two wins on opening night, new uniforms, packed out stands, new team coming off of a really awesome season last year. It’s everything you dream of and everything that you practice for in the fall, and when those hard days and the girls struggle with, you know, all the time and all the things they put in, you do it for those moments. And so it’s really cool because we get to continue to put FAU on the map. My phone and my text messages have been blowing up from everybody supporting us, and so I’m just really proud,” Clark said.
Proud is definitely a correct emotion to be feeling after 2 victories that both came down to the wire and in game one it was a back and forth battle which saw the Owls come out on top thanks to a late game rally. FAU jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first few innings, scoring thanks to 3 straight walks and that lead held for a few innings, however in the top of the forth, Ole Miss was able to even it at 2 and the game remained deadlocked until Extra innings, thanks to strong work out of the bullpen from Ainsley Lambert and Jaden Martinez.
After Ole Miss was able to capitalize on the free runner in the top of the 8th they took a 4-2 lead over FAU into the bottom-half, which meant the Owls would need to force a comeback against touted freshman recruit Miali Guachino, who in their first game of the doubleheader, pitched multiple shutout innings against Clemson. The Owls took it one base at a time, getting their first 2 batters of the inning on in Ciara Gibson and Kylie Channell via a walk and botched fielder’s choice and from there the Owls went to work, as Chloe Yeatts knocked in Gibson on the next at bat, Kiley Shelton followed her up with a single to score Channell and with the game tied at 4, Bella Foran slapped a single over the 3rd baseman’s head, scoring pinch runner Sophia Camacho and sealing the Owls 5-4 comeback victory.
It was 3 new Owls who pushed across all 3 runs as Yeatts and Shelton transferred in, while Foran is a freshman and Coach Clark isn’t surprised by their instant success, noting that FAU recruited them for a reason and their success may shock other people, but not her.
“Yeah, you know, we recruit them for a reason. We get them out of the portal for a reason. And so it’s for moments like that. When they say yes to Paradise, it’s, you know, you are selling them on big moments like that, like you get to be the underdog and you get to put the powerhouses in The Lost column. And so it’s fun, because a lot of them have friends on other teams, or, you know, in their recruiting journey, they maybe didn’t get chosen by those schools. And so I always say, we’re gonna treat this thing like a power five, and we’re gonna shock a lot of people,” Clark said.
After Sacco ran into some trouble in the 4th inning, the Owls had to make an earlier than expected call to the bullpen, calling on Jaden Martinez to steady the ship in the middle innings and she answered. Martinez retired the final 2 batters of the 4th before going on to pitch a 1-2-3 top of the 5th, striking out a batter and keeping the game even at 2. Coach Clark mentioned in her season opening press conference that Martinez was going to be a key piece for this pitching staff and in game 1 of the season her efforts on the mound in the middle innings kept this game even when it looked like Ole Miss was grabbing momentum, which is something Clark knew she was capable of doing.
“Jaden is going to be a key piece of the puzzle, right? Like she is going to help us sandwich games and start games. And so for her to give Ainsley a chance to get comfortable at the end, we knew that Ainsley is good for two to four innings. And so for Jaden to come in and be able to close the door for two innings and to help us out was huge in that win,” Clark said.
Game 2 for the Owls against Kansas marked the debut of Autumn Courtney, a highly regarded transfer portal pickup this offseason who is fresh off a season at Queens (NC) where she struck out over 200 batters. It also marked another opportunity for the Owls to make a statement on the first night of the season and that is exactly what they did.
Right from the get-go it was all Owls, as after a relatively quiet game one, Kiley Channell provided all the offense against Kansas, plating 3 across the first 3 innings with a 2 RBI single in the first and a RBI triple in the 3rd. After the game, Coach Clark mentioned that Channell’s bat was actually a bit quiet over the past month of practice, but according to Clark big time players step up in big moments.
“She’s (Channell) kind of been quiet the past month, and so we’ve scrimmaged and she hasn’t had what we know Kylie Chanel can do, but big time players step up in big moments, and that’s what Kylie did, is when we needed her, she was able to put the ball back side, right center gap. And there’s nothing better than a Kylie Chanel celebration when she hits that ground, slides the dirt, and everybody goes crazy for her,” Clark said.
While Channell handled the offense, Courtney dominated in the circle, mowing down Jayhawks bats all evening long, ultimately finishing with a complete game 1-hitter, striking out 12 batters on the day to only 3 walks and allowing only 2 unearned runs after an error caused some brief trouble in the 5th. After the Jayhawks scored 2 in the 5th, they had a bit of momentum, however they were unable to record a hit the rest of the game as Courtney made them look foolish at the plate at times.
Coach Clark and Co. challenged Courtney this offseason to make sure she was up to the test of facing the difficult opponents the Owls had scheduled this season and after game one, she has left an impression that she is not only ready for the challenge, but embracing it. Coach Clark knew she was a good softball player, that is why she wanted to bring her to Boca out of the transfer portal, but after one game she walked away impressed with Courtney’s ability to generate whiffs.
“Autumn was one of our ones that we wanted, and to see her do what she did from her previous school, just where she left off, is pretty special. I knew she was good, but seeing that version of her in a game looks so different than practice. And so those are big time hitters. That’s a big time program. Credit to Kansas. But she went in and just dominated. And the number of swing and misses and the strikeouts she got was pretty impressive,” Clark said.
Next up for the Owls will be another double header, as they will take on Clemson and Georgia State, 2 programs with different stories, but a common goal of defeating FAU. According to Clark, the Owls will prepare heavily for both Clemson and Georgia State, however in the back half of a double header she hopes momentum will be able to carry them through.
“Once again, it’s two programs, one that has a lot of tradition, one has a new coach, and so it’s a completely new look to that team as well. And so for us, we focus on one game at a time, and then we worry about what’s next. And, you know, I was really excited for our girls because we didn’t really prep a lot for Kansas tonight. And so it’s the same thing with tomorrow, you prep for Clemson, and you know, when the Georgia State comes around, you just hope that momentum can carry you through,” Clark said.
It has been a solid start to the 2025 campaign for FAU and they will have more opportunities to pick up quality wins throughout this weekend and next and should they capitalize they will be setting themselves to be an NCAA regional team once again.