FAU’s Softball team could very well be the best kept secret in the school. The Lady Owls are picked in the pre-season conference polls to win their ninth straight Atlantic Sun Title. The Lady Owls are also ranked 30 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and ranked 36 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.

Coming off of a 56-18 record last year, including a disappointing 1-0 loss against Creighton in the NCAA Regionals, the team is looking forward to playing tougher opponents this season. With 11 of the 25 teams the Lady Owls will play this year either ranked in the Top 25 or receiving votes, FAU is certainly not going to be a secret anymore. With teams like Michigan, Alabama, Oregon, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Florida, Texas A&M, Massachusetts, Michigan State, Hofstra and Tulsa set to take on FAU, the Lady Owls will gain national recognition by having a very tough schedule.

2004 team captain Candice Freel is coming off on an outstanding season. She finished sixth in the nation last year with a 0.67 earned run average, which brought her a record of 28-9 overall. She earned conference honors last year, earning A-Sun Pitcher-of-the-Year and A-Sun Tournament MVP.

If Freel can keep her ERA low, then FAU won’t have to put up big offensive numbers to secure a victory. Pam Mazzarella finished out 2004 with a .339 batting average. Jessica Braggins is an All-Region selection and led FAU in RBI’s last year. Jessica Sachs batted .310 last year and led FAU with hits. All three are back this year and are ready for some tough competition.

One addition to the team that will certainly help is junior transfer shortstop Danielle Arriaga. Arriage, originally from Miami, Florida, transferred into FAU from Tennessee. In 2004, Arriaga played in only 25 games, batting .167 with four RBI’s with the Lady Volunteers.

For more softball coverage, see page 16.