The baseball season has not gone exactly to plan so far for FAU, but at 15-9 the team is not in terrible shape. “We are good, but not as good as we can be,” Junior Will Mann said of the team. “We are not bad. We have not done as well as we have hoped but a couple of wins here and there and we would be right where we want,” added sophomore Mike McBryde. The team as it stands is 5-4 in conference play and is not in terrible shape, but the team expects more from themselves. “As soon as everybody is going at the same time we will be hard to beat,” said Mann confidently of his team.
According to the statistics Mann is probably right. The team’s pitching, which is an obvious strongpoint, has a team ERA of only 3.64 while their opponents have a higher 4.22. “Mickey Storey has been incredible closing for us” said teammate McBryde. Mann also added, “Storey has done just as well as anybody right now.” Storey who is only a freshman has posted some amazing numbers thus far, with an ERA of only 1.14 in 12 appearances and 23.2 innings, making him perfect for the closer role.
Storey is not the only freshman stepping up to the plate this season for FAU. Freshman Mike McKenna is leading the team in average (.373), home runs (3), and is tied for the lead in RBI’s with sixteen. McKenna also leads the team in slugging with a percentage of .608. “McKenna has been doing a great job as a freshman. He is a good RBI guy” complemented McBryde.
The teams real shining spot this season has been McBryde. The sophomore is reluctant to blow his own horn saying “There is a bunch of guys stepping up all over the place,” but Mann has no problem of doing it for him replying “Right now our MVP has to be Mike McBryde.” The humble McBryde has been the team’s star so far this season. He leads the team with 35 hits, he is second in batting average hitting .357, he has more at bats than everyone else on the team with 98, and he leads the team in steals with 19. McBryde not only shines on the offensive side of the ball and in the outfield but he is also one of the teams closing pitchers. McBryde, whose fastball is in the low 90’s, has appeared in 6 games and pitched 9.2 innings, racking up an incredible 18 strikeouts and also has 3 saves. McBryde incredibly is still yet to let in a single run earning he a ERA of 0.00.
To get to McBryde the team needs good starting pitching and Will Mann has been providing that. Mann has started 8 games so far and has pitched 41.1 innings so far, only three innings short of his entire total for last year. Mann whose fastball is not what gets the outs said of his pitching “I’m not a flame thrower so speed isn’t a concern to me, movement on my pitches is much more important.”
Both Mann and McBryde still have high expectations of the season. “I expect tthat we win the conference for the season,” said Mann. McBryde expected even more saying that “We are trying to win fourty games and get the bid into the regional tournament.” The talented FAU squad has a shot at both players’ goals and looks to be coming together.
