After a dominating weekend which saw FAU softball finish the Paradise Classic 6-0 with wins over Clemson, Ole Miss and Kansas, Softball America has ranked them 19th in their first regular season rankings. It is the first top 25 ranking for the Owls since they were ranked 25th in March of last season and the 6-0 start is their best since 2016 when they started 12-0.
After a 2024 campaign which saw this squad return to the success it had under legendary coach Joan Joyce, Jordan Clark has re-tooled this squad and through one weekend they look like a team ready to build on their accomplishments from a year ago. New additions and veterans have combined to make this a dangerous team, with no shortage of pitching and different styles of hitting.
The Owls were able to win in a variety of ways, forcing a ferocious comeback with timely hitting against Ole Miss, getting a solid performance out of the pen from Ainsley Lambert to shut the door against Clemson, a pair dominating pitching performances from Autumn Courtney to defeat Kansas and Georgia State, also getting a no-hitter from Gabby Sacco, combined with an offensive barrage to run-rule Missouri State 11-0. If this squad is able to get consistent hitting and dominating pitching as they did all weekend going forward, it is very possible we see them continue to climb the top 25 rankings as the season goes on.
Below will be some takeaways from the weekend series, as well as a look at this weekends upcoming opponents.
Takeaways
The pitching staff may have 3 Aces and possibly more:
Following Thursday’s wins over Clemson and Georgia State, FAU Head Coach Jordan Clark was left with the possibility that she may have 3 aces amongst her pitching staff. She was left with that possibility after seeing Jaden Martinez and Ainsley Lambert combine to strike out 12 batters in a 6-2 win over Clemson and Autumn Courtney throw her second complete game in as many days, striking out 12 in a 6-2 win over Georgia State.
Gabby Sacco must have heard her comments about having 3 aces, as just a day later she got the start against Missouri state and pitched a complete game no-hitter, striking out 5 in an 11-0 victory which ended after 5 innings due to run rule. After a 10 strikeout performance from Martinez against Clemson, a pair of double digit strikeout complete games from Courtney and a no-hitter from Sacco, Clark’s comments about 3 aces looks to be spot on.
Outside of those 3 and Lambert, the only other pitcher to see time this weekend was Kelsey Endress, who pitched a scoreless 7th inning in the Owls 8-1 victory over Georgia State. Endress relieved Autumn Courtney, who came on in relief of Jaden Martinez in the 3rd inning, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 5 across 4 innings, showing her versatility to both start and come out of the bullpen.
The only pitcher who didn’t see time this weekend was freshman Emma Grace Williams who dominated the high school level during her time at Buford (GA) and although Williams may be talented enough to pitch right away, it can’t hurt for her to learn behind some pretty talented Owls arms.
Overall it has worked out as good as possible for the Owls, as Autumn Courtney has shown no problems adjusting to FAU following a 200+ strikeout season at Queens, Jaden Martinez looks to have taken the step-up that Coach Clark was hoping for, while Ainsley Lambert and Gabby Sacco both look like their dominating selves from a year ago. It is a long season, so there is no guarantee that their dominating start continues, however the pitching has been a major positive so far and they will look to build on it.
Stats:
Autumn Courtney: 3 APP 2 GS, 3-0, 0.39 ERA, 30 K’s, 5 BB’s, 3 hits.
Gabby Sacco: 2 APP 2 GS, 1-0, 1.20 ERA, 5 K’s, 5 BB’s, 5 hits.
Jaden Martinez: 3 APP 2 GS, 1-0, 1.45 ERA, 14 K’s, 6 BB’s, 8 hits.
Ainsley Lambert: 2 APP, 1-0, 1.25 ERA, 4 K’s, 1 BB, 4 hits.
Kelsey Endress: 1 APP, no decisions, 0.00 era, 0 K’s, 0 BB, 1 Hit.
New Owls finding success at the dish:
When a team brings in new players during the offseason, there are guarantees to how quickly they find success, if at all, however for most of the Owls bats that has not been an issue. Chloe Yeatts, Bella Foran, Kiley Shelton and Ciara Gibson were either on different collegiate teams a year ago, or in high school, however after one series at FAU they are all batting above .300 and occupy 4 out of the top 5 batting averages on the team.
It started right away against Ole Miss, as Liberty transfer Ciara Gibson recorded the teams first run batted in with a groundout in the first inning to score another freshman in Destiny Johns and with the game on the line in extra innings, the new Owls were ready to save the day. After Gibson drew a walk to start the bottom of the 8th with the Owls trailing 4-2, 2 batters later New Mexico transfer Chloe Yeatts singled up the middle to score Gibson, bringing it within one, next up was Colgate transfer Kiley Shelton, who ripped a single to left which scored pinch runner Abby Ota to even the game at 4 and in the following at bat, 9 hole hitter and freshman Bella Moran stepped up and sent a slapper over the third baseman’s head, scoring another freshman in pinch runner Sophia Camacho, sealing the deal for a walk-off 5-4 victory.
Their success at the plate continued from there, as against Kansas, Foran went 1/1 at the dish with 2 walks, scoring a pair of runs, against Clemson Yeatts, Shelton and Gibson each recorded a hit, while Foran recorded 2 hits including a double and RBI and in the nightcap against Georgia State Chloe Yeatts went 2/2 with an RBI. Nothing changed during the weekend games, as on Saturday against Missouri State Yeatts and Shelton each recorded multi hit games, with Yeatts recording 2 RBI’s and Shelton also notching an RBI and on Sunday against Georgia State for the second time, Foran recorded a multi-hit game, while Chloe Yeatts drove home a run with a groundout in the 4th inning.
There wasn’t a single game this weekend where the Owls’ new pieces didn’t contribute and it’s safe to say without their contributions, the Owls wouldn’t be 6-0 to start the year. Confidence is something that radiates through this FAU softball squad and through the first 6 games that aura has been spread to the new Owls and going forward they will look for that to continue.
Stats:
Chloe Yeatts: 6 GS .529/.579/.588, 5 RBIs, 1 XBH
Bella Foran: 6 GS .500/.526/.556, 4 RBIs, 1 XBH
Kiley Shelton: 6 GS .357/.471/.429, 2 RBIs, 1 XBH
Ciara Gibson: 6 GS .333/.529/.333, RBI
Veteran Owls doing their part at the plate:
It’s not just the new Owls getting the job done, as a trio of experienced Owls in Jesiana Mora, Kiley Channell and Kylie Hammonds have all made significant contributions at the plate. Mora and Channell were 2 of the Owls biggest pieces a season ago, as Mora led the Owls in multiple hitting statistics, while Channell won AAC rookie of the year, and Hammonds was a spark plug off of the bench.
The trio’s solid weekend started in the first game against Ole Miss, as Kiley Channell recorded an RBI fielder’s choice and Jesiana Mora singled and stole a bag and in the nightcap against Kansas it was all Channell, as she accounted for all 3 of FAU’s runs, singling home 2 in the first and scoring another in the third with a triple. On Friday against Clemson, all 3 recorded a hit, with Channell picking up her 4th RBI of the season with a single up the middle in the 3rd and in the second half of the double header against Georgia State, Mora and Hammonds each picked up RBI singles. In the Saturday game against Missouri State, Mora and Hammonds found success again, both stealing a base, with Mora picking up a hit and 2 RBIs, while Hammonds recorded 2 knocks, also driving in a run and on Sunday, Mora went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs in the second matchup against Georgia State.
The Owl’s veterans have been extremely dependable so far this season, accounting for a majority of FAU’s extra base hits and coming through numerous times with runners in scoring position. Although all 3 had success last year, their solid start to this season is still impressive, as Mora and Channell haven’t let being 2 of the most productive returning hitters phase them, while Hammonds has had no problems adjusting into being a starter.
With the departures of Kam Jackson and multiple other seniors, Mora, Channell and Hammonds were going to be called upon to carry the load at the plate and through 6 games all 3 have come up clutch at different times. Look for them to continue to lead this squad both on and off of the field as the season goes on.
Stats:
Jesiana Mora: 6 GS, .350/.364/.500, 6 RBIs, 3 XBHs
Kylie Hammonds: 6 GS, .250/.400/.375, 3 RBIs, 2 XBHs
Kiley Channell: 6 GS, .211/.250,.474, 1 HR 5 RBIs, 2 XBHs
Up next: Joan Joyce Classic
Thursday 6pm vs Minnesota:
Record: 1-3, L’s to: Utah 2x, Cal, Win over: Miami Ohio
Offensive Key contributor: Nani Valencia, .500 1 HR 2 RBIs
Key pitcher: Presley Hosick: 3 APP, 2GS, 1-1 5.14 ERA, 11SO-7BB
Friday 1:30pm vs Villanova:
Record: 2-3, L’s to: Purdue, Baylor, Texas A&M, Wins over: Utah State, Abilene Christian
Offensive Key Contributor: Maranda Runco, .583, 1 HR 6 RBIs
Key Pitcher: Lexi Kobryn, 3 APP, 1 GS, 1-0 4.74 ERA, 7SO-3BB
Saturday 3:45pm vs NC State:
Record: 3-2, L’s to: Georgia, UCF Wins over: CSU Bakersfield, JMU 2X
Offensive Key Contributor: Tori Ensley, .500 2 RBIs
Key Pitcher: Rylee Wyman, 2 APP, 2 GS, 1-1 2.10 ERA, 9SO-3BB
Saturday 8:30pm vs Dartmouth:
Record: No games played
Returning Key Contributor: Cwen Wilson, .284 2 HR 13 RBIs
Returning Key Pitcher: Jensin Hall, 24 APP, 17 GS, 11-7, 2.38 ERA, 176SO-62BB
Sunday: 4pm vs Louisville:
Record: 3-2, L’s to: Liberty, Radford, Wins over:Cleveland State, Rutgers, Middle Tennessee
Offensive Key Contributor: Char Lorenz, .412, 2HRs 9RBIs
Key Pitcher: Alyssa Zabala, 2 APP, 2 GS, 1-0, 2.90 ERA, 3SO-1BB