The bases were loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning with no outs for FAU infielder Derek Hutton. Florida Atlantic was trailing the University of Central Florida 8-5. Mike Cox and L.J. Biernbaum were on deck and the team looked poised to get their twenty-second come-from-behind victory of the year.
Although the Blue Wave were able to get one run across the plate they eventually lost the game by a score of 8-6. Just like that, FAU was sent home from the Atlantic Sun Tournament for the second year in a row.
Fortunately for them, the team didn’t wait long to get some better news.
Finishing with a 43-18 overall record, they secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals. FAU has been grouped with Alabama, Auburn, and Southeast Missouri State.
Head Coach Kevin Cooney knows the Regional will definitely be easier than the Conference Tournament.
“You need three good pitchers and you can win the Regional. You don’t need anybody else,” said Cooney.
“We have three good starters; we just need to get our bullpen straightened out. If we can get Della Rocco pitching we’ll be okay,” said the confident Blue Wave Coach who has three good starters in Danny Core, Chris Pillsbury, and Nelson Lopez.
Although the team lost in the Conference tournament, the Blue Wave did perform well from both the pitching rubber and at the plate.
Robby Orton, Gabe Somarriba, and Mike Cox were all named to the All-Tournament Team along with starting pitcher Danny Core.
Core started for the Blue Wave in their first game of the tournament versus Jacksonville University. His complete-game effort guided FAU to a 4-2 victory and got them started off on the right foot.
Gabe Somarriba led FAU’s offense throughout the tournament. He ended his 2-14 slump from the previous weekend by going 13-20 with a .650 average.
Robby Orton also gave a stellar offensive performance finishing 11-for-20 at the plate and improved his batting average to .317 for the season. Not too bad for a player Coach Cooney was actually considering not playing the second time they played Stetson.
“We wouldn’t have played him in the second game of the double-header but we had him come in because of his bat because he was so hot,” said Cooney. He was proud to get the performances he did from his players.
“To sit back as their coach, a guy the wants them to be successful, it was a really nice weekend because you saw a lot of people be very successful,” said Cooney. Playing well in the tournament was part of the challenge he and his assistants put to their players in practice.
“We challenged our kids to face the reality of how poorly we finished. [There was also] the challenge of facing all those teams that realized how poorly we finished, and having to then beat them,” said Cooney. He was very impressed with his team’s response.
“We answered that challenge tremendously. We had great performances by a lot of different players,” said Cooney.
One of the unsung heroes of the Tournament was shortstop Bobby Spano. Coach Cooney never has doubts about Spano’s fielding abilities but knows he isn’t the greatest offensive player. However, Spano almost single-handedly kept his team alive in the tournament by generating some offense.
It was late in the evening on May 24 at Melching Field in Deland, Florida. The Blue Wave were trailing Jacksonville in the top of the ninth inning by a score of 4-3. Bobby Spano was down 0-2 in the count and FAU’s season hung in the balance.
If Spano singled, he would score Derek Hutton from second and bring pinch runner Jeremiah Creech to third. That would also bring Gabe Somarriba to the plate.
Spano did single, and so did Somarriba right after him. FAU was able to take a two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning.
Releiver Tim McNab finished off Jacksonville, allowing his team to move on in the tournament and face Stetson University for the second time.
However, Stetson again had their number and Florida Atlantic was sent back to Boca Raton.
Coach Cooney hopes his team can rebound in the Regional Tournament at Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
