By: Tobey Schulman
College Baseball Preview: FAU Owls vs Tulane Green Wave
FAU welcomes in the 20-17 Tulane Green Wave for a three game series this weekend in Boca Raton. After going 1-4 on their last road trip, the Owls look to get back on track after losing three straight, two to Wichita State, and one to old Conference USA rival FIU. After being shutout in a 1-0 loss against FIU in a midweek game on Tuesday, the Owls look to plate some runs and get the bats going again in this series against Tulane.
The Owls bats are highlighted by the usual suspects. Despite the losing streak, John Schroeder has been amazing at the plate for the Owls, tallying two of the four Owls hits in their loss against the Panthers, and recording two home runs in the only win of the road trip at Wichita State. Jalen DeBose since coming back from injury has consistently raked at the plate, despite not recording a hit in Tuesday night’s game. Spencer Rich will also be relied upon in this series, not only to hit but to swipe bags as well, as he’s gone 12-12 in stolen base attempts this season.
On the mound, it’ll more than likely be the core three starters C.J. Williams, Tyler Murphy, and Trey Beard to get the starts for FAU. After tough starts against teams like ECU and Wichita State, the three look to put together dominant outings. Out of the bullpen, Danny Trehey looks to get back to his dominant ways. Trehey struggled against Wichita State, and his ERA has gone up to 2.36. If Trehey can get back to his early season ways, it should spell out good fortune for FAU.
On the opposing side, Tulane currently sits behind FAU in the AAC standings with a 5-7 conference record compared to FAU’s 6-6 conference record. The Green Wave will need all the help they can get offensively to take the series in Boca, and they’ll look towards their three hitters currently hitting over .300 through all 37 games to boost their ranking in the AAC standings.
Brady Marget, Connor Rasmussen, and Gavin Schulz will be those previously mentioned hitters that will need to have a big series against the Owls if they want to leave South Florida with a series win. Coming off of two straight losses from South Florida and South Alabama, the Green Wave look to get back on track as well.
With series against USF and UTSA in the near future for FAU, these three games are crucial towards moving up in the AAC standings, and if the Owls want to set themselves up for the most success possible come postseason, winning two of three at least this weekend would be huge.