For the first time this season, FAU softball lost a series, as North Texas came to town and took the first 2 games of the series, but as the Owls have done all season they bounced back, winning the series finale 8-0 in dominating fashion.
It is tough to be perfect and the Owls were faced with that reality this weekend, but the key was them not getting swept and now having done that the next step will be bouncing back again and defeating ECU in a 3 game series starting Thursday. The Pirates have been scrappy this season and will be no easy series win for FAU, so this will be a valuable opportunity for the Owls to overcome adversity and regain momentum heading into the final few series of the season.
Although the Owls ultimately did lose their first series this past weekend, there were some bright spots in their win on Sunday and now heading into Greenville they will look to capitalize on those Bright Spots.
Below will be some takeaways from the Owls past series, as well as a look ahead at their next opponent, ECU.
Bats struggle in the first 2 games
The Owls only putting up one run in the first 2 games combined was a surprise this past weekend considering how dominant they have been this season, but on Friday and Saturday the Mean Green had their number.
On Friday night, FAU was held to just 3 hits, all singles, while on Saturday they were held to 3 again, although Jesiana Mora had a double and Destiny Johns picked up an RBI in the 5th. Skylar Savage and Anneca Anderson had FAU’s number in the first 2 games of this series, coming into FAU stadium with a purpose and picking up a game on FAU in the AAC standings in the process.
Days like Friday and Saturday are bound to happen throughout the course of a very long season, however the Owls haven’t been plagued by too many slow days at the plate this season and they will look to keep that the case heading into the final few series of AAC play.
Owls bounce back on Sunday
If you thought FAU was going to lie down and get swept for the first time this season, you were mistaken, as the Owls did what they do all season and came into Sunday with a clean slate and found a way to win. After the Owls got run-ruled on Saturday, they flipped the script on North Texas and handed them a run rule of their own, defeating them 8-0 in 5 innings.
The bounce back started in the circle, as Autumn Courtney struck out 4 batters, allowing only 3 hits and walking 1 and she kept the Mean Green at bay while the Owls bats went to work. After Anneca Anderson dominated on Friday evening, the Owls broke through early on Sunday, taking a 2-0 lead after the third inning behind sac flies from Bella Cimino and Destiny Johns and by the 5th it was 5-0, after Jesiana Mora picked up an RBI on an error and Yani Guzman singled one home to start a barrage in the 5th.
The Owls went on to run-rule North Texas in the 5th, scoring 3 on multiple errors by the Mean Green ultimately finishing off the weekend off on a high note. As they have done all year, FAU showed resilience both with their hitting and pitching and now they will head into ECU on a high note, rather than off of a 3 game sweep.
Big series ahead
Although ECU has had an up and down season, they head into this series on a 2 game win streak, having taken the series finale against Wichita last weekend and winning their midweek matchup against Cambell on Tuesday 6-0. AAC play has not been kind to the Pirates, as they’ve won only 2 series against the bottom 2 teams in the conference, however they are just 4 games behind FAU for first place in the AAC and they will be looking to gain traction on them this weekend.
In the circle this season, ECU has mainly relied on Taylor Apple and Kendall Frost, with Apple being the ace with an 11-7 record, 3.06 ERA and 102 strikeouts to only 61 walks. Frost has been solid in her own right, currently with a 10-11 record, 3.79 ERA and 86 strikeouts to only 40 walks and with the Pirates having 2 quality pitchers, that makes the Owls bounce back performance at the plate on Sunday very important.
At the plate the Pirates have been dangerous as well, currently having 6 players batting over .300 and they are led overall by Emma Jackson, who’s batting .343 with 15 homers and 42 RBIS. Kanisha Anderson has been a threat to reach base nearly all season for the Pirates, batting .423 with 10 extra-base hits and if she gets hot at the top of the lineup, the Pirates offense can get hot as a whole.
This is crucial series for FAU, as they hold just a 1 game lead on USF at the top of the AAC standings and there are 4 other teams within 4 games of the Owls overall. Considering the Owls bats bounced back on Sunday, their slump carrying over isn’t a concern and if their offense is performing as they have all season, they have the firepower to breakthrough against ECU’s arms in Apple and Frost, and if Sacco, Martinez and Courtney have strong outings in the circle for FAU, this is a series the Owls should win and potentially sweep.