fau john mccormack

Skid Row

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BOCA RATON – There are peaks and and valleys in every baseball season.

Six straight losses places FAU clearly in the latter.

It’s been a brutal stretch for the Owls, who started their season undefeated through three games. And pitching is a big reason why their hot start went cold fast.

The Owls are second to last among Conference USA teams in ERA (5.22) and earned runs allowed (47). Opponents are getting on base with little resistance, with FAU allowing a conference-high .302 batting average.

If FAU hopes to prevent its current skid from becoming season defining, pitching must improve dramatically, beginning with this weekend’s three-game series against Monmouth.

Monmouth comes to Boca Raton with only one win in its first six games, being held scoreless in three of those losses. Blake Sanderson (1-0, 2.25), Ryan Sandberg (0-1, 2.89) and Mike Ruff (0-0, 13.50) will take the hill for the three-game set.

Poor pitching has FAU on a six-game losing streak and looking to get well against Monmouth this weekend.

WHO’S HOT?
Outfielder Diamond Johnson is dominating in limited playing time, batting a C-USA-high .500 over his 10 at bats this season. Francisco Urbaez’s two-hit, two-RBI performance against North Florida on Wednesday was a gem, but far from an anomaly. The junior infielder leads FAU with a .407 batting average, adding a homer and two doubles en route to a .630 slugging percentage.

SCHNEIDER A STARTER
Primarily a closer, Zach Schneider made an impromptu start against North Florida on Wednesday, and didn’t fare well. Schneider allowed 11 hits and six runs over 3.2 innings, forcing coach John McCormack to pull him early for Jon Jon Kostansis.



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