By: Tobey Schulman
Following their sweep over Towson last weekend, the Florida Atlantic Owls welcome in the UCF Golden Knights for a single game matchup. The Golden Knights have been red hot to open up the season with a perfect 5-0 record, featuring a win at Miami. The Owls however, are also hot, taking four out of their last five games for a 4-2 record.
The Owls bats have been great all year, with five players hitting for a batting average over the .300 threshold. Shortstop Brando Leroux looks to lead the Owls to a win over the undefeated Golden Knights, and continue to raise his .417 average and 1.100 OPS. Emilio Gonzalez looks to keep his hot start offensively up as well, as Gonzalez has recorded four doubles for the Owls already this season.
The Golden Knights offense has been off to a great start as well. They currently have six hitters hitting an average of .400 or better through their first five games, and two more not far away from the .300 mark. Catcher Andrew Sundean looks to continue to improve his .524 average and second baseman Andrew Estella looks to tack on more RBIs to his 12 that he’s already obtained, majority due to his two grand slams in the series against Samford.
The Owls will look to Braden Ostrander on the mound Tuesday to bounce back from his performance against Vanderbilt, going 1.2 IP with three earned runs allowed on five hits. The Owls bullpen however, looks to remain dominant after not giving up a single run in any of the games during the Towson series. UCF will give the ball to Cade Boxrucker, who also gave up three runs on five hits in over two innings of work.
The way both of these teams are currently hitting should make for a constant offensive battle in this game. FAU will look to earn their fourth straight victory while UCF looks to preserve their undefeated record. A win against UCF tonight will give the Owls their second win over a power five program this season.
