Florida Atlantic Owls
Overall Rank: #43
Conference Rank: #2 Conference USA
Florida Atlantic was so close to pulling off a massive upset in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Owls were placed as a three seed in the Gainesville Regional and lost their opener to Jacksonville. But after that they beat Columbia and the Dolphins to get a shot at Florida in the Regional Final. And they beat the Gators once by a score of 7-4, but lost 5-2 with a trip to the Super Regional on the line.
2018: 43-19-1, 19-8-1
2018 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: John McCormack
Key Departed Players:
David Miranda, OF, .326 BA, 9 HR, 49 RBI
Tyler Frank, IF, .300 BA, 13 HR, 35 RBI
Cody Wilson, OF, .285 BA, 14 HR, 41 RBI, 19 SB
Jake Miednik, P, 3.31 ERA, 8-1 W/L, 81.2 IP, 91 SO
Key Returning Players:
Pedro Pages, C, .309 BA, 4 HR, 31 RBI
Joe Montes, IF, .293 BA, 40 RBI
Eric Rivera, OF/IF, .277 BA, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 10 SB
Gunnar Lambert, IF/C, .246 BA, 12 HR, 32 RBI
Vince Coletti, P, 4.83 ERA, 2-4 W/L, 78.1 IP, 51 SO
Zach Schneider, P, 2.61 ERA, 7-1 W/L, 31.0 IP, 21 SO, 15 SV
Projection:
FAU never found a consistent third starter to team up with Jake Miednik and Vince Coletti last season. And now they will have to get by without Miednik, who went 8-1 with a 3.31 ERA. Coletti went just 2-4, but the team was 10-5 in his starts. The Owls will not have to worry about their bullpen too much with closer Zach Schneider back. He was 7-1 in 24 appearances and recorded 15 saves. If Coletti and the new pitching staff can get a lead, Schneider has proven to be nearly unstoppable at finishing the job. And this group should be able to put some points on the board. Pedro Pages is a very good hitting catcher who batted .309 and drove in 31 RBIs as a sophomore. Eric Rivera is the most versatile hitter. He hit .277 with six homeruns and 50 RBIs. He also stole ten bases. Gunnar Lambert belted a dozen homeruns as a junior and could turn into one of the better hitters in Conference USA if he can boost his batting average.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
