The dark days of USF football are over and last season ushered in a new, fun era of football brought by USF Coach Alex Golesh and led on the field by first year starter Byrum Brown.
After a 4-8 season in 2023 that was plagued with an inconsistent defense but highlighted with a high-powered offense, UAB went into the offseason looking to find a way to get both sides of the ball to gel, they have done that and now head into the 2024 season with a chip on their shoulder.
FAU came to Clearwater looking to take a first round win over Tulane to start a possible run to a conference championship. However, the Green Wave dominated the Owls the entire game, defeating them 14-2 by run-rule in seven innings. A disappointing loss for the Owls but they still have a chance to advance further into the tournament with a win over UTSA.
After taking the series finale against UTSA, FAU got into the AAC tournament as the six seed. They’ll take on the four seeded Tulane Green Wave, a team that FAU lost a series at home to not too long ago. After a tough final stretch of the regular season for the Owls, they’ll need to turn things around in Clearwater if they want a bid into the NCAA tournament.
FAU entered their regular season finale at home on Saturday looking to avoid being swept by the UTSA Roadrunners. After losing by run-rule in game one, and in heartbreaking extra inning fashion in game two, the Owls grinded out a game three win that secured them a spot in the AAC tournament in Clearwater.
After taking back to back losses by the run-rule, FAU looked to get in the win column and still have a chance to take the series against UTSA. Trey Beard delivered another very solid pitching outing, and the Owls played a solid game as a whole. However, a catcher’s interference call in the tenth inning gave UTSA the game winning run.
FAU welcomed in the UTSA Roadrunners for a three game set this weekend to cap off the regular season schedule. The Roadrunners were dominant from the start, taking a commanding lead right from the jump, and putting the game out of reach early. FAU’s offense struggled to plate runs and keep the Roadrunners off the board in each inning. They’ll look to bounce back after being run-ruled for the second consecutive game.
FAU came into the series opener against Rice on Friday hoping to cover some ground in the conference standings. With Rice a game behind them, a series opening win would’ve been big for their momentum throughout the rest of the series. Both Rice and FAU would battle all game, but Rice would ultimately come out on top 5-4 for the game one victory.
After an 8-1 record to finish off the season, the FAU Owls were soaring with momentum heading into the semi-finals round of the AAC tournament against Wichita State, but unfortunately for the Owls they got shocked by a shockers squad who is playing with a whole different level of momentum.