2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team

Last updated

2002 Florida Atlantic Owls baseball
Tuscaloosa, AL Regional Champions
Conference Atlantic Sun Conference
Ranking
APNo. 15 (Collegiate Baseball)
Record46-21 (22-8 Atlantic Sun)
Head coach
Home stadiumFAU Baseball Stadium
Seasons
← 2001
2003 →
2002 Atlantic Sun Conference baseball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
UCF  ‍†‍‡‍y23–7 .76741–22 .651
No. 15 Florida Atlantic  ‍‍‍y22–8 .73346–21 .687
Stetson  ‍‍‍y19–9 .67942–19 .689
Troy State  ‍‍‍16–14 .53328–30 .483
Jacksonville  ‍‍‍15–15 .50027–31 .466
Samford  ‍‍‍13–17 .43327–31 .466
Mercer  ‍‍‍13–17 .43322–32 .407
Georgia State  ‍‍‍13–17 .43324–32 .429
Campbell  ‍‍‍13–17 .43319–38 .333
Jacksonville State  ‍‍‍9–20 .31023–31 .426
Belmont  ‍‍‍9–20 .31022–30 .423
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 2002 [1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team [2] was the intercollegiate baseball team of Florida Atlantic University for the 2002 NCAA baseball season. It competed on the Division I level in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The 2002 team became the first in school history to clinch a Regional championship and earn an appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals, by defeating Alabama in the Regional Championship game, 6-5.

Contents

2002 schedule and results

DateOpponentLocationResultRecordNotes
May 15, 2002vs. FIU Boca Raton, FloridaW 17-8
May 17, 2002vs. Georgia State Boca Raton, FloridaL 3-210 innings
May 18, 2002vs. Georgia StateBoca Raton, FloridaL 5-411 innings
May 18, 2002vs. Georgia StateBoca Raton, FloridaW 11-4
May 22, 2002vs. Jacksonville DeLand, FLW 4-21-0A-Sun Tournament
May 23, 2002vs. Stetson DeLand, FLL 3-01-1A-Sun Tournament
May 24, 2002vs. JacksonvilleDeLand, FLW 6-42-1A-Sun Tournament
May 24, 2002vs. StetsonDeLand, FLW 10-33-1A-Sun Tournament
May 25, 2002vs. UCF DeLand, FLL 8-63-2A-Sun Tournament Championship
May 31, 2002vs. Auburn Tuscaloosa, ALW 16-111-0NCAA Regional
June 1, 2002vs. Southeast Missouri State Tuscaloosa, ALW 12-62-0NCAA Regional
June 2, 2002vs. Alabama Tuscaloosa, ALL 7-22-1NCAA Regional
June 2, 2002vs. AlabamaTuscaloosa, ALW 6-53-1NCAA Regional Championship
June 7, 2002vs. Georgia Tech Atlanta, GAL 14-30-1NCAA Super Regional (Best-of-3)
June 8, 2002vs. Georgia TechAtlanta, GAL 11-50-2NCAA Super Regional (Best-of-3)
* Atlantic Sun Conference games in GREEN. * Regional games in BLUE. * Super Regional games in RED.

Regionals

The 2002 season saw FAU receive its third bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament; its first since 2000. As an at-large selection, FAU was placed in the Regional bracket with the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Auburn Tigers, and the Southeast Missouri State Indians. The top seed of the Regional was the national #3 seed, Alabama, who hosted in Tuscaloosa, AL. FAU pulled off an impressive win in the opening game against Auburn, as both underdogs in FAU and SE Missouri State, won their first games. Beating the Indians of SE Missouri State in the second round allowed FAU to roll right into the Regional championship game free of losses and avoiding the "Loser's Bracket" of the Regional. Host Alabama played itself back into the Regional by defeating Auburn and SE Missouri State, eliminating both en route to the Regional championship game. The Regional Final was set as the FAU Blue Wave and the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. FAU, winning its first two games, dropped the first meeting to Alabama, 7-2, forcing a second game in the Regional Final for the championship. FAU pulled off the upset and clinched its first-ever Regional championship by defeating Alabama, 6-5. The win sent FAU to its first-ever Super Regional appearance, placing FAU in the final 16 teams.

Tuscaloosa, AL RegionalRegionalRegional Final
1 Alabama 4
4 SE Missouri State 7
4SE Missouri State6
2Florida Atlantic12
3 Auburn 11
2Florida Atlantic16
2Florida Atlantic26
1Alabama75
Lower round 1Lower final
1Alabama7
1Alabama62SE Missouri State4
3Auburn3

Super Regionals

After clinching their first-ever Regional championship, FAU moved on to the round of the final 16 - the Super Regionals. The Blue Wave faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the #1 seed in the Super Regional bracket. FAU and Georgia Tech met at Tech's historic Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, GA in a best-of-3 series, with a birth to the 2002 College World Series on the line. Unfortunately for the Blue Wave, the heavily favored and top-ranked Yellow Jackets proved to be too much, pounding the Blue Wave in a two-game sweep.

Game 1
Team123456789 R H E
Blue Wave 000002103391
Yellow Jackets 10065011X14181
WP: Kyle Bakker (12-2)   LP: Danny Core (8-6)
Home runs:
FAU: none
GT: Parker, Remole (4th inning)
Game 2
Team123456789 R H E
Yellow Jackets 10322000311131
Blue Wave 000010004572
WP: Chris Goodman (8-1)   LP: Chris Pillsbury (10-3)
Home runs:
GT: none
FAU: Fiorentino (9th inning)

Awards and honors

Freshman All-American

All-Conference

2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft

FAU players selected in the 2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft:

PlayerClassRoundPickTeam
L.J. BiernbaumSenior10 San Diego
Tom McLaneSenior19 Boston
Chris KroskiJC Transfer Signee19 Seattle
Nelson LopezSenior22 San Francisco
Tim McNabSenior22 New York Mets
David HayesHS Signee41 Atlanta
Jim CooneyJunior45 Baltimore
Gabe SomarribaSenior47 Baltimore

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 2002". boydsworld.com. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  2. ↑ From 1981-2006, the FAU baseball team was called the "Blue Wave."

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