Florida Atlantic Baseball will participate in their first AAC Championship on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM when taking the field against Tulane in game four of the day’s action in Clearwater, Florida. FAU arrives in Clearwater with a 12-15 record in AAC Championship play (26-27 overall) and will be seeded 6th. The Owls lost two out of three against the Green Wave in April, losing the last two games despite leading for most of those outings. Tulane wound up winning the scoring battle 17-13 for the entire series. Starting for FAU on Tuesday will be CJ Williams (5-4, 3.39 ERA), who earned Second Team honors from The American this past Monday. Williams (pictured below) pitched his first complete game for FAU against Tulane, striking out five and allowing no earned runs in a 5-0 shutout victory, the program’s first complete game shutout since 2016. Tulane will counter with Chandler Welch (6-3, 4.58 ERA), who allowed three runs over six innings in the team’s win over FAU on April 20. This game marks the first tournament meeting between Florida Atlantic and Tulane. Its also the first year the two teams have played each other in baseball, adding a unique element to the matchup. FAU’s tournament path includes potential matchups against teams that defeated them in their season series. If both FAU and UTSA win or lose their respective games, they could face each other in the next round; UTSA won two out of three games against FAU in the last series of conference play. A showdown with regular season champions East Carolina, who also beat FAU 2-1 in their series, is possible in the championship game. Avenging these series losses against teams who finished in the top two of the standings would serve as additional motivation for the Owls. Key players for FAU include seniors Christian Adams and Jalen DeBose, and junior John Schroeder. Adams boasts a .333 batting average, a .456 on-base percentage, a .518 slugging percentage, 65 hits, 49 runs, 39 walks, and eight home runs. DeBose contributed to the Owls’ offense with 41 hits and 28 RBIs, while Schroeder led the team with 46 RBIs and nine home runs. Freshman infielder Emilio Gonzalez, junior outfielder Carter Brady, and senior outfielder Spencer Rich are other potential contributors. Gonzalez, an All-Freshman honoree, had the second-most RBIs on the team with 38. Brady added 30 RBIs and eight home runs, and Rich excelled in base stealing, successfully completing 17 out of 20 attempts. FAU’s bullpen will be crucial for a deep tournament run. Closer Danny Trehey leads with seven saves, a 1.91 ERA, and 64 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. Other key pitchers include Trey Beard, Tyler Murphy, Sam Drumheller, and Steven Andrews, who will play significant roles as starters or relievers to help contain opposing offenses. This year’s AAC Championship tournament features the top eight teams in regular-season league play. The format is two double-elimination brackets, with four teams each, and the winners of each bracket will meet in a single-elimination championship game. Tulane is the defending champion, and East Carolina enters this tournament as the top seed after winning the regular season title. The tournament is set to begin at 9:00 AM EST on Tuesday with No. 5 seed UAB facing No. 4 seed Wichita State. The Blazers secured the fifth seed by winning four of their last six games. The Shockers, having won seven of their last eight gamesincluding a seven-game winning streakaim to continue their momentum after going 2-1 against UAB in their series matchup. In the second game, No. 1 seed East Carolina will take on No. 8 seed Rice. The Pirates, winners of the AAC regular season title for the fifth straight year, dominated the Owls with a 29-11 scoring advantage in a three-game sweep to conclude conference play. Despite losing four of their last six AAC games, Rice clinched the final tournament spot after USF fell short by losing two out of three to UAB. The 4:00 PM game features No. 3 seed UTSA against No. 7 seed Charlotte. The Roadrunners had a strong first season in the AAC with a 32-22 record (17-10 AAC) and won their April series against the 49ers 2-1. Meanwhile, Charlotte secured the second-to-last tournament spot, managing one win in their final series against Tulane. The 2024 AAC Championship Game will be played on Sunday, May 26th at noon and will be nationally-televised by ESPNEWS, while all other games will be available on ESPN+. Below is the currently available slate for the full five days of action in Houston. Game Schedule – Eastern Standard Times Tuesday, May 21 Game 1: No. 5 UAB 2 vs. No. 4 Wichita State 8 Game 2: No. 8 Rice 4 vs. No. 1 East Carolina 12 Game 3: No. 7 Charlotte 9 vs. No. 2 UTSA 5 Game 4: No. 6 Florida Atlantic 2 vs. No. 3 Tulane 14 Wednesday, May 22 Game 5: No. 5 UAB 0 vs. No. 8 Rice 9 Game 6: No. 2 UTSA 5 vs. No. 6 Florida Atlantic 12 Thursday, May 23 Game 7: No. 4 Wichita State 14 vs. No. 1 East Carolina 4 Game 8: No. 7 Charlotte 5 vs. No. 3 Tulane 7 Friday, May 24 Game 9: No. 1 East Carolina 8 vs. No. 8 Rice 7 Game 10: No. 7 Charlotte 8 vs. No. 6 Florida Atlantic 10 Saturday, May 25 Game 11: No. 4 Wichita State 4 vs. No. 1 East Carolina 5 Game 12: No. 3 Tulane 13 vs. No. 6 Florida Atlantic 1 Game 13: No. 4 Wichita State 12 vs. No. 1 East Carolina 2 Sunday, May 26 Game 14: No. 3 Tulane 11 vs. No. 4 Wichita State 10
