UNIVERSITY PRESS FAU’S FINEST NEWS SOURCE FEBRUARY 18, 2014 | VOL. 15 # 19
Baseball Special Issue
99
problems BUT A PITCH AIN’T ONE The most successful athletic program at FAU faces some real challenges heading into this season like a lack of funding and inadequate facilities.
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All photos by Michelle Friswell
SPECIAL ISSUE EDITOR:
Wesley Wright SPECIAL ISSUE DESIGNER:
Michelle Friswell EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Lulu Ramadan MANAGING EDITOR - Michelle Friswell ASSOCIATE EDITOR - Chris Hamann CREATIVE DIRECTOR - Brendon Lies BUSINESS MANAGER - Ryan Murphy COPY DESK CHIEF - Carissa Giard ASSISTANT COPY DESK CHIEF - Cristina Solorzano FEATURES EDITOR - Jamie Vaughn REVIEWS EDITOR - Maddy Mesa SPORTS EDITOR - Wesley Wright SCIENCE EDITOR - Andrew Fraieli PHOTO EDITORS - Max Jackson, Kiki Baxter MULTIMEDIA EDITOR - Miranda Schumes SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR - Cealia Brannan SENIOR EDITORS - Emily Bloch, Austen Erblat CONTRIBUTOR - Cyrus Smith COPY EDITOR - Michael Chandek, Lynette Perez DISTRIBUTION MANAGER - Jake Stuart ADVISERS Dan Sweeney Michael Koretzky COVER - Junior pitcher Austin Gomber. Photo by Michelle Friswell
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Meet the remaining seniors on this year’s team and a look back at their contributions to last year’s historic season.
By Wesley Wright
Last season was the first in which the Owls totaled more than 40 wins. Take a look at a few highlights from last year.
By Cyrus Smith
The FAU baseball stadium is in a state of disrepair and won’t be fixed anytime soon because of a tight athletics budget.
By Wesley Wright
Meet three standout players looking to take this season even further than last year.
By Wesley Wright
FAU baseball will have very little trouble adjusting to Conference USA. Head coach John McCormack and preseason All-Conference USA selection Austin Gomber provide some insight.
By Cyrus Smith
February 18, 2014 Upressonline.com 3
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Ignored, Underappreciated.
But for how how much longer? The way the baseball team is tended to at this university may make you assume that they are a run-of-the-mill team, a mere afterthought. But no— this program is the best on campus, no thanks to an athletic director who seems to have his hands tied. By Wesley Wright
6 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
I
have no interest in baseball. What does interest me is the FAU baseball team. The program has played well amid a lack of financial support from the university. The FAU baseball team has convinced me that they are worth watching this season because as great as they have been in the past few years, no one seems to care. Not students, not faculty and not even Athletic Director Patrick Chun—who can wield his influence to bring the program more visibility. What else could the baseball program possibly do to attract attention from the university? They won two-thirds of their games last year including the conference championship, a claim no other major sport at FAU can make. This is a team that came just two outs away from defeating the number oneseeded North Carolina Tar Heels and reached the regionals of the College World Series last year. Fourteen consecutive winning seasons. Nine players drafted in John McCormack’s six year tenure. Two Sun Belt titles in the past three seasons. And the dugout at the practice field has no ceiling. The players are expected to cut the grass and groom the field. They are responsible not only for blow drying the field and setting out the tarp when rain comes (which is all the time!), but also for setting out every piece of piece of equipment before
every game. There aren’t even any bathrooms for players and coaches to use. Bees are right outside of the press box, which houses an AC that only works half the time. This isn’t some club baseball team in the middle of nowhere. This is a Division 1 baseball program that has won games year after year and has proven that they can compete with any team in the country. They deserve amenities suitable to that of a program that has proven itself at the highest level of college baseball. According to Chun, getting better facilities depends on the athletic budget, and the programs we’re pouring money into — football and basketball — aren’t generating much revenue. In other words, if the football and basketball programs can win (an unproven concept) and attract more fans, it will not only benefit their respective programs, but it will help FAU baseball’s budget as well. The players deal with shoddy facilities and do field maintenance themselves. They could easily use that as an excuse if they were losing, but head coach McCormack doesn’t let them do that. They win instead. You don’t have to like the sport. You don’t even have to care about it to support this team. The players and the coaching staff just need to play, win and the rest will (hopefully) take care of itself. Here’s to an excellent 30th season for FAU baseball.
Fourteen consecutive winning seasons. Nine players drafted in John McCormack’s six year tenure. Two Sun Belt titles in the past three seasons. And the dugout in the practice field has no ceiling.
7
Going, Going, Almost Gone McCormack and his staff will say goodbye to these six men after this year, along with team captains Kevin Alexander and Levi Meyer. By Wesley Wright
H
eading into the final season of college baseball, this year’s group of seniors is one looking to bring the program to even more prominence after last year’s never before seen postseason run. Take a look at six of the eight seniors on this year’s team (meet the other two captains on page 24), all of whom will need to contribute for the team to excel this year.
Andrew Archer From: Davie, Fla. Last season: Appeared in 11 games last season.
Robert Buckley From: Boca Raton, Fla. Last season: Made 16 starts at second base.
Alex Koji From: Lake Worth, Fla. Last season: Made 12 appearances as a bullpen reliever. Recorded five strikeouts versus Florida A&M.
Tyler Rocklein From: Bradenton, Fla. Last season: Made 62 starts, second on the team in stolen bases, .281 batting average ranked Top 50 in Sun Belt.
Jeremy Strawn From: Bradenton, Fla. Last season: 17 starts, fifth best earned run average in the Sun Belt (3.46). Pitched a complete game shutout versus South Alabama on March 31.
Jimmy Tornabene From: Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Last season: Recorded a strikeout in six of his seven appearances during the year. 8 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
Jeremy Strawn Jimmy Tornabene
Tyler Rocklein
Robert Buckley
Andrew Archer
Alex Koji
ne
February 18, 2014 Upressonline.com 9
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TOP MOMENTS FROM THE 2012-2013 SEASON BY CYRUS SMITH
T
he 2012-2013 season was a very successful one for head coach John McCormack and company. McCormack led the Owls to their first 40+ win season, secured their second Sun Belt title in three years and saw his team come just a few outs from downing a powerful North Carolina baseball program. Here are 10 of the most significant moments from last season, inarguably the best in school history.
12 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
February 16
Making his return from a shoulder injury that kept him out during all of the 2011-2012 season, senior reliever Hugh Adams got his first save of the year in a 9-2 win over Cincinnati, the first win of the year for his team. Four months later, the Bethesda, Md. native was named an All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
March 13 Tyler Rocklein, 2013 outfielder, had the best game of his career in the first game of the series against Maine. Rocklein had five hits, batted in three runs, scored three times and hit a home run in the 15-6 victory. The win was part of what became three consecutive wins for the team, and Rocklein ended the season as the team leader in RBIs with 49.
March 29-31 After a three-game sweep of the then-ranked South Alabama Jaguars, FAU broke into the Baseball America’s Top 25 themselves. In the final game, Jeremy Strawn threw a complete game shutout in a what was the sixth consecutive win for the Owls. Strawn ended the year with a 3.46 earned run average, good for fifth best in the Sun Belt.
Continued on page 14
April 1 Strawn pitched eight scoreless innings,
striking out six in a 1-0 victory over the Troy Trojans, a win that ended a threegame losing streak. Hugh Adams recorded his 13th save of the year.
May 16-18
The Owls swept their three-game series with rival Florida International University. In what became their last meeting as Sun Belt Conference members, FAU outscored the Panthers 19-3.
May 22 Hugh Adams set the Sun Belt record for career saves after a 5-4 win over Western Kentucky in the very last regular season game. The save gave Adams 29 for his career.
May 24 A home run by Rocklein in the top of the 10th inning gave the Owls a 3-1 victory over the Troy Trojans, who finished the regular season 42-20 and were the top seed in the Sun Belt conference tournament.
May 26 FAU brought home their first tournament championship in the final year as a Sun Belt member after a 16-8 triumph over the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. Infielder Brendon Sanger took the distinction of most outstanding player of the tournament.
June 2 Going against the number one seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in the Chapel Hill region of the College World Series, Ricky Santiago hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, the deciding play in a 3-2 win by the Owls. The win set up a winner-takes-all matchup with UNC.
June 4 Catcher Levi Meyer knocked in a threerun homer in the top of the 12th inning, and the FAU Owls were poised to advance over the mighty Tar Heels. UNC would come back to win 12-11 in 13 innings, ending the Owls’ season.
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Hugh Adams
2014 HOME S 2/15 2/16 2/21 2/22 2/23 2/28 3/1
vs. Notre Dame vs. Notre Dame vs. Notre Dame vs. Monmouth N.J. vs. Monmouth N.J. vs. Monmouth N.J. vs. St. Johns vs. St. John’s
16 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
1:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m.
3/2 3/4 3/5 3/11 3/12 3/14 3/15 3/16
vs. St. John’s vs. Boston College vs. Boston College vs. Maine vs. Maine vs. Louisiana Tech vs. Louisiana Tech vs. Louisiana Tech
1:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m.
E SCHEDULE 3/28 3/29 3/30 4/8 4/11 4/12 4/13 4/23
vs. Southern Miss vs. Southern Miss vs. Southern Miss vs. Florida Gulf Coast vs. Charlotte vs. Charlotte vs. Charlotte vs. Miami
6:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m.
4/25 4/26 4/27 4/29 5/7 5/13 5/15 5/16 5/17
vs. East Carolina 6:30 p.m. vs. East Carolina 4:00 p.m. vs. East Carolina 12:00 p.m. vs. Bethune Cookman 6:30 p.m. vs. UCF 6:30 p.m. vs. FIU 6:30 p.m. vs. UAB 6:30 p.m. vs. UAB 6:30 p.m. vs. UAB February 18, 201411:00 a.m. Upressonline.com
17
Foul
Facilities The lack of funding for FAU baseball has resulted in a program forced to win without many of the luxuries a Division 1 baseball program should have. By Wesley Wright
18 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
P
atrick Chun is strapped. After working at Ohio State University for 15 years, Chun replaced Craig Angelos as the athletic director at Florida Atlantic University. Since arriving in Boca Raton in July 2012, the stark contrast between the circumstances of the two programs is painfully evident. Quite simply, Florida Atlantic does not have the type of financial freedom that an esteemed, longstanding university like Ohio State does. “Completely different,” said Chun, when asked how the financial situation was at Ohio State. “You’re talking a $130 million operating budget. We have a $24 million operating budget, with a chunk of that going to our football stadium. Because we don’t have the operating dollars to assist them, we have got to go in the community and see who would like to help us support that baseball program, and we’re actively doing it.” More financial support is sorely needed. The paucity of funding is evident as soon as you see the stadium in which the Owls play. Players pull out a weather-beaten tarp onto the field when rain is expected. Many of the worn down seats (which are all behind home plate) have lost their original color. Wood rots in the dugout. Bees are frequent outside of the press box. If spectators want to use the restroom—and many will, since games regularly last three to four hours—they have to walk out of the baseball complex to do so. Chun made it a point to mention that the success of the school’s two most significant sports directly correlates to the baseball program, its most successful one. “Our major revenue sports— football and men’s basketball— aren’t bringing in the revenue they need to bring in right now,” he said. “There’s an effect that
Continued on page 20
has on the rest of the campus. Baseball is our marquee sport, based on historical wins and losses. It’s the one that consistently goes furthest in the postseason and it’s one that we prioritize significantly in this department. If there was a quick answer, it would have been answered by now.” Everything comes back to finances. The bad news: The same failed method of gaining funding is the one that FAU baseball will lean on going into this season. There is no reason to think that people who did not pour money into the program will do so this coming season. For whatever reason, the support has never really been there. Even equipped with that knowledge, Chun still believes that the clout that coach John McCormack carries in the Boca community could benefit the program. “We’re fortunate to have a baseball coach who was raised here in Boca and is respected in the Boca community. We are just trying to meet people, make friends and see who would like to help us with the program.”
20 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
The athletics budget will not grow overnight and the baseball team will continue to have to scrape by with what little resources they have. Chun seems to have put the onus on the other major athletics programs to succeed so that the revenue can trickle down to help out everyone else. Unfortunately, baseball will have to wait and see if Mike Jarvis can turn basketball around and if Charlie Partridge is the man who can start a culture of winning within the football program. Regardless of what goes on with the baseball program, Chun has vowed to be at many of the Owls’ home games this coming year, and not just because he is obligated to. “I go to as many [games] as I can. I’ll actually go to more baseball this year because I’m on the NCAA Baseball Committee now, which will require me to go to more games, which is good. My first job in athletics was traveling with the baseball team, so it kind of takes me back to my first love in college athletics.”
Sophomore pitcher Seth McGarry folds a tarp up to prepare the field for the upcoming game.
By The Numbers: FAU baseball has racked up the most wins compared to the other two major sports — football and basketball. But the baseball team has a significantly lower budget.
Baseball total budget $524,409
Basketball total budget
$1,215,450 Football total budget
$3,429,418 Source: FAU 2013-14 Operating Budget
“Our major revenue sports — football and men’s basketball — aren’t bringing in the revenue they need to bring in right now, there’s an effect that has on the rest of the campus.” Athletic Director Patrick Chun
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Meet the two team captains and the standout pitcher ready to contribute to the success of this season. By Wesley Wright
22 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
Continued on page 24
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KEVIN ALEXANDER 24 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
edshirt senior pitcher Kevin Alexander believes that the camaraderie of this year’s team will pay dividends as his team heads into the upcoming season. “I think it’s how the team interacts with each other. We get along so well that it helps everything overall on the field,” Alexander said when asked about the strongest facet of this year’s team. Alexander’s teammates showed their trust in him after voting him team captain in January. Even so, Alexander does not feel his personal success is particularly vital to the good of the team. Instead, he spoke of sophomore Billy Endris, who he feels must step into the starting center fielder position and play well for this team to have a prolific season. “We lost a big center fielder in Nathan Pittman and I think Billy needs to really step it up this year. If he performs well, I think this team could go really far.” Pitching is Alexander’s craft, and he mentioned that Conference USA is a league that has developed a reputation for very strong pitching. Of the 22 C-USA players selected in the 2013 MLB Draft, 14 were pitchers. “They are two different leagues,” he said. “The Sun Belt is mainly a hitting league and Conference USA is known for their pitching. I’m looking forward to the new competition.” As for the other positions on the field, Alexander has seen encouraging signs from some new Owls, men he predicts will be key components to the success of this year’s team. “There are a couple of freshmen that have made a big impact. We have Stephen Kerr and CJ [Chatham] that are looking to start in the infield, hopefully,” he said. Kerr and Chatham were teammates on the South Florida Elite, a club team that won the Perfect Game National Championship this past summer. Alexander also spoke of one his partners in the pitching rotation, Drew Jackson. “Drew Jackson will probably be the Sunday starter. There are a couple transfers that are making some big impacts on pitching, too.” Jackson transferred to FAU by way of Seminole State College in Sanford, Fla., same as right-handed pitcher Reily Monkman. Perhaps Monkman is one of the noteworthy transfers that Alexander referred to. Part of moving to a new conference means new opportunities and new opponents. Alexander mentioned East Carolina, Charlotte and Tulane as other solid programs within Conference USA, but also made it clear that the team is focusing on taking each new challenge as it comes. “We’re not looking forward to any one team. We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”
PTAINS A
native of Wichita, Levi Meyer is quite familiar with many of the new programs FAU will now face as a part of Conference USA, and he is ready to begin his final year with the program. “I’m excited for [the upcoming season],” Meyer said. “I grew up knowing all the Conference USA teams, they are very prestigious.” The senior catcher recognizes his team is not yet playing at the level of last year’s squad, but he does feel that they are prepared to embark on the upcoming season. “I think we’re ready. We definitely have a long way to go to get back [to] where we were last year, but I think everybody is excited to start.” Good news: Meyer also believes that this team may be even better than the previous one, a team that at one point triumphed in 11 consecutive games and came within two outs of beating the number-one team in the nation, the mighty Tar Heels of North Carolina, in the NCAA Regionals of last year’s College World Series. The balance and closeness of this team is especially enticing to Meyer, who himself was a big reason the Owls went as far as they did (Meyer hit .300 last year, fourth highest on the team). “I don’t know if there is one [facet of the team] that stands out,” said Meyer. “This year’s team, more than last year, meshes really well. We’re strong in all areas, so I think just our overall game is better this year.” Meyer feels that the youth of this year’s team looks to be a talented group, which is an encouraging sign for the future of the program. “All the guys that came in, all of our freshmen and our transfers, they’ve impressed me. They’ve impressed the coaches, they all have a really good chance to start, and they are all fighting for their spots.” Meyer and Alexander agreed on one aspect of this year’s team: Billy Endris could serve as a barometer to the success of the team. Meyer, also mentioned sophomore Ricky Santiago as an important cog. “I think Ricky might play first [base] for us, and that was one spot that was vacated with Mark Nelson leaving. If Ricky has a good year, I think the whole team will do the same.” Nelson was considered an MLB prospect this past year but went undrafted. The soft-spoken defensive stalwart committed just five errors last season. Santiago started all 64 games for the Owls last year, and if he can become a viable contributor and take the next step in his progression as a player, the team will undoubtedly benefit. Continued on page 28
LEVI MEYER February 18, 2014 Upressonline.com 25
THE A
ACE
ustin Gomber has set his expectations very high for the 2013-2014 season. The junior pitcher was a preseason All-Conference selection, but would not say with conviction that the pitching staff is the strongest facet of the current team. Gomber would say, though, that the balance of this team and their versatility is the most impressive aspect of the group—a group he feels could be the best since he arrived in Boca Raton. “This year, more than any other year I’ve been here, we don’t really rely on one side. This year, we have the perfect mix, we have a really good offensive lineup combined with a great staff. That’s why we have big expectations this year, and we’re ready to go.” Gomber is also encouraged by what he has seen from a few newcomers, namely Chatham, Jose Bonilla and Kerr. “We have a really good freshmen class. They’re all talented. Kerr at second base, CJ Chatham too, they’ve both stepped in and played big roles. So has Jose Bonilla in center.” Gomber went on to mention some of his fellow pitchers as standouts, an encouraging sign for a rotation that lost both career-saves leader Hugh Adams and reliever Mike Sylvestri to graduation. Sylvestri was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 29th round of the 2013 MLB draft. “Cody Mizelle, Reily Monkman, guys like Kyle Miller are coming about strong after an injury last year,” he said. “We have a lot of newcomers, a lot of talent all over the field, which makes it fun because days of practice are always competitive and the starting lineup isn’t set every day. People are competing for jobs, which makes it a lot more fun to be out here.” That talent will be sorely needed as FAU baseball begins their first season as a member of C-USA, meaning better opponents day in and day out. Gomber made an interesting comparison between his team and another set of Owls—those of fellow C-USA member Rice University. “We were the Rice in the Sun Belt. To have guys like Rice, East Carolina, Southern Miss, teams that have been to the College World Series, teams that have won national titles, it’s a little bit of a step up. We’re going to start playing teams that have a little higher expectations every year.” Gomber spoke with conviction when asked if he thought his teammates were prepared for the increased level of competition this year. “We got picked [to finish] second and we’ve never even played in the league before. I think everybody knows we are, we have a target on our back because of what we did last year and all the preseason polls, so we’re ready to go.”
26 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
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Spring is in the air Omaha! Omaha! After a wild tournament run and a transition to a new conference, the owls have their eyes set on Nebraska for the College World Series. By Cyrus Smith
Head Coach John McCormack
I
guess big time players not only make big time plays, but also big time statements. FAU ace pitcher junior Austin Gomber has set the bar for where the Owls expect to be at the end of the year. “Obviously we want to win a conference championship and have a great regular season but at the end of the day we want to go to Omaha and win a national title.” said Gomber. Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series. After capturing their first ever Sun Belt Tournament title and coming just an inning away from upsetting the top seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in the Regionals, the Owls are approaching this year as a chance to finally breakthrough to the College World Series. “The ultimate goal is always Omaha,” said coach John McCormack, who is now entering his sixth season as head baseball coach. “But the expectation is to get better each day.” After being a member of the Sun Belt Conference
for eight years, the Owls, ranked 24th according to PerfectGame.com, will play this season as a member of Conference USA for the first time. The coaches within the conference predicted FAU to finish second in the preseason poll behind the Owls of Rice University. Although the FAU Owls are now in a new conference, the team is not intimidated by the challenge of playing new opponents. “Regardless of what conference we’re in, we just have to play our baseball and do what we’re capable of,” said coach McCormack. If the Owls are to win consecutive conference championships in two different conferences, they will have to do so by besting Rice, a national powerhouse who has appeared in every NCAA baseball tournament since 1995 and won the College World Series in 2003. “Rice is a very well-known program, all the respect goes out to them, but we’re not going to roll over
“The ultimate goal is always Omaha.” Coach John McCormack
28 Upressonline.com February 18, 2014
for them,” said Gomber, who was named to the preseason All-Conference team. “The competition will probably be tougher but I don’t think we’re really intimidated by it.” With the exact same mascot and being tabbed by Conference USA coaches to be the best two teams within the league, it is hard to not compare the two programs. “I don’t worry about comparisons,” quipped coach McCormack.
Brendon Sanger
“The last 15 years the baseball program has really put itself on the map,” continued coach McCormack, who was part of the 1997 team that tied the record for most wins in a season with 54. If the Owls are to live up to preseason expectations, it will have to be because of their pitching rotation. Headlined by Gomber, the staff features senior Jeremy Strawn, who was second on the team in strikeouts last season with 64, and senior Kevin Alexander, who steps in as a closer this year. “Alexander is the gold standard for the pitchers,” said a smiling coach McCormack. “He does everything correctly. Pitching on paper is gonna be fine.” “Our pitching staff is going to be better. We know we’re the strength of this team and the team will go as far as we go but we have some great offensive players,” said Gomber. Seniors Tyler Rocklein and Levi Meyer will be key components at the plate this year. Rocklein led the team with 49 RBIs last season and Meyer had 10 multiple-RBI games. The center-field position is the team’s biggest liability, and right now it is up for grabs. Sophomore Billy Endris and freshman Jose Bonilla Traverso from Puerto Rico are competing for the spot. “If we have to ham and egg it all year between those two, we will,” said coach McCormack on the idea of switching Endris and Traverson on a game-to-game basis. “But its a good problem for us, they are good players.” After last year’s experience in the regionals, the FAU Owls are excited to get back on the diamond. “Getting that close last year and being two wins away gives you that itch and makes you ready,” said Gomber. “But right now we’re just focused on Notre Dame.” February 18, 2014 Upressonline.com 29
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