What: Florida Atlantic vs Wichita State
When: April 17th @ 6:30 PM | April 18th @ 6:30 PM | April 19th @ 1:00 PM
Where: FAU Baseball Stadium
Video: ESPN+
Stats: Stats Broadcast
FAU – LHP Trey Beard (6-0, 2.92 ERA)
Wichita State – RHP Grant Adler (3-3, 5.90 ERA)
FAU – RHP Tyler Murphy (3-2, 4.69 ERA)
Wichita State – RHP Aaron Arnold (4-2, 5.40 ERA)
FAU – RHP James Litman (2-1, 4.82 ERA)
Wichita State – Brady Hamilton (1-4, 5.82 ERA)
Owls Notables
After winning five-in-a-row, including a series sweep over ECU, Florida Atlantic (24-12, 6-6 AAC) finds themselves in a slump. FAU has lost three-straight, all by one run.
The Owls currently sit middle of the pack in the AAC as they are sixth, although within a game of fourth.
Despite the losses recently, FAU still sits second in the American in batting average as the Owls are hitting .310%. Florida Atlantic’s OBP is .414 and their slugging percentage is .481. The power is still there for FAU as they still lead the AAC in 44 home runs.
The arms have been consistent, as the Owls still lead the conference in ERA, 4.17, but opponents are averaging a .335 OBP. The pitching has found itself many times in high stress situations, which in turn causes more opportunities for opponents.
Since the beginning of conference play, a couple of bullpen arms have stood out. MJ Bollinger is tied for first in the conference in saves, but another reliever has shined in his many appearances.
RHP Carter Holjes has appeared eight times in the 15 games played since AAC play started. He has produced a 1.12 ERA and has allowed an OBA of .185 in his eight innings of work. In the graduate senior’s previous four appearances he has allowed only one hit. Expect him to come in late in a game this upcoming series before Bollinger is brought in.
In the batters box, multiple batters have an on-base percentage over .350. Compared to the overall season, FAU is batting just under .300 at a .293 clip since the start of conference play.
A certain batter has been on fire since the start of AAC play, that is INF Brando Leroux. In the 15 games played since March 21st, the Senior has a slash line of .440/.509/.660. He has been on another level compared to last season as he went from a .245 BA to .358 BA in the span of a year.
Coach McCormack’s going to be without the Owls leading hitter as OF Jake Duer will be out indefinitely. Stepping up will could be Kyle Boylston who has filled in numerous times in the outfield, but will now see an increased role in the outfield. The injury has caused a shift in the lineup as multiple players are in a different position than normally played this season.
Projected Starters
C Ayden Garcia/Dylan LaPointe (Alternating Starts)
1B Pat Ward
2B John Martinez
SS Brando Leroux
3B Nick Romano
RF Jake Millan
CF Marshall Lipsey
LF John Schroeder
After the series ends on Saturday, Florida Atlantic will host UCF on Tuesday night before traveling to Charlotte.
Wichita State Notables
Entering the weekend, the Shockers are 12-24 and 4-8 in AAC play as they are riding a four-game skid. WSU has only won two series this season with their victories coming against Missouri State and UAB.
Currently sitting in 8th in conference standings, the Shockers will look to distance themselves from the bottom as they want to start securing a spot in the conference tournament next month.
As a team, Wichita State is slashing .267/.382/.394. Clearly, the Shockers have underperformed in slugging performance; they rank last in home runs in the conference but lead in triples (11) and sit fourth in doubles (70). Overall, WSU is middle of the pack in offensive numbers.
On the mound, the Shockers own a 6.66 ERA, second worst in the conference. Opponents are also batting .281; which is the third highest opponent average in the AAC. Clearly, pitching has been the downfall for Wichita State so expect high scoring contests.
INFs Camden Johnson and Josh Livingston are the two players bats to watch for. Johnson leads the Shockers in BA (.358) and has been a standout for WSU the past two seasons. That includes being named to the AAC All-Freshman team as well last year for the sophomore.
Livingston on the other hand is the team’s leading RBI getter (28) and has hit nine of the 20 home runs that WSU has hit this season.