Wait 'til Saturday
Friday's shutout at the hands of WKU means the Owls will have to face the Hilltoppers again on Saturday for the right to play for the Sun Belt title and trip to the NCAAs.
Originally published on
5/8/2009
by
Chuck King
> Sun Belt Tournament Central
> Box score
Florida Atlantic’s softball team will be playing on Championship Saturday, just not in the game it was hoping for.
At least not yet, anyway.
FAU lost to Western Kentucky 6-0 on Friday night, forcing a rematch on Saturday for the right to play in the Sun Belt Conference championship game later that afternoon.
The Owls had defeated the Hilltoppers in all three regular-season meetings, twice beating Friday’s starter Ryan Rogge by scoring four runs in each game.
Western Kentucky got all the runs it needed in the first inning off FAU starter Rose Gressley. The Hilltoppers put together two singles and a double to take a 2-0.
“I thought we just came out flat,” Joyce said. “It was one of those games where we just didn’t come out to play. It was like we were playing in slow motion in the first inning.”
WKU didn’t score again until the top of the fifth when Terri Ellingsworth homered off Carrie Ann Potter. The Hilltoppers added another run in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
The winner of the FAU vs. WKU game will face the winner of FIU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette game in the title game, with the winner receiving an automatic NCAA tournament bid.
The ULL vs. ULM game will begin at 10 a.m., with FAU’s game beginning 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
GameBrowser: Westerm Kentucky 6, Florida Atlantic 0
Owl-star performance: Becky Brandies went 2-for-3, the only Owl with more than one hit.
Stat download: 2 – hits for FAU entering the seventh inning.
Instant message: “I didn’t say anything because I would just get too mad. I guess I’ll let them think about it, then talk to them before the game tomorrow.”
- FAU coach Joan Joyce detailing her post-game speech.
Up next: FAU gets another shot at Western Kentucky. The game will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of the 10 a.m. contest between Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe.