2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team

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.

2002 Florida Atlantic Owls baseball
Tuscaloosa, AL Regional Champions
ConferenceAtlantic Sun Conference
Ranking
APNo. 15 (Collegiate Baseball)
2002 record46-21 (22-8 Atlantic Sun)
Head coachKevin Cooney
Home stadiumFAU Baseball Stadium
2002 Atlantic Sun Conference baseball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
UCF  ‍†‍‡‍y 23–7 .767  41–22 .651
No. 15 Florida Atlantic  ‍‍‍y 22–8 .733  46–21 .687
Stetson  ‍‍‍y 19–9 .679  42–19 .689
Troy State  ‍‍‍ 16–14 .533  28–30 .483
Jacksonville  ‍‍‍ 15–15 .500  27–31 .466
Samford  ‍‍‍ 13–17 .433  27–31 .466
Mercer  ‍‍‍ 13–17 .433  22–32 .407
Georgia State  ‍‍‍ 13–17 .433  24–32 .429
Campbell  ‍‍‍ 13–17 .433  19–38 .333
Jacksonville State  ‍‍‍ 9–20 .310  23–31 .426
Belmont  ‍‍‍ 9–20 .310  22–30 .423
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of June 30, 2002[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

2002 schedule and results
DateOpponentLocationResultRecordNotes
May 15, 2002vs. FIUBoca Raton, FloridaW 17-8
May 17, 2002vs. Georgia StateBoca 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. JacksonvilleDeLand, FLW 4-21-0A-Sun Tournament
May 23, 2002vs. StetsonDeLand, 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. UCFDeLand, FLL 8-63-2A-Sun Tournament Championship
May 31, 2002vs. AuburnTuscaloosa, ALW 16-111-0NCAA Regional
June 1, 2002vs. Southeast Missouri StateTuscaloosa, ALW 12-62-0NCAA Regional
June 2, 2002vs. AlabamaTuscaloosa, ALL 7-22-1NCAA Regional
June 2, 2002vs. AlabamaTuscaloosa, ALW 6-53-1NCAA Regional Championship
June 7, 2002vs. Georgia TechAtlanta, 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 Regional Regional Regional Final
                             
1 Alabama 4  
4 SE Missouri State 7  
  4 SE Missouri State 6  
  2 Florida Atlantic 12  
3 Auburn 11
2 Florida Atlantic 16  
  2 Florida Atlantic 2 6
  1 Alabama 7 5
1 Alabama 6  
3 Auburn 3  
  1 Alabama 7
  2 SE Missouri State 4  

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
Team123456789RHE
Blue Wave000002103391
Yellow Jackets10065011X14181
WP: Kyle Bakker (12-2)   LP: Danny Core (8-6)
Home runs:
FAU: none
GT: Parker, Remole (4th inning)
Game 2
Team123456789RHE
Yellow Jackets10322000311131
Blue Wave000010004572
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
  • First Team All-Atlantic Sun Honors
    • RP Tim McNab (Senior)
    • SP Danny Core (Junior)
    • SP Chris Pillsbury (Sophomore)
    • SP L.J. Biernbaum (Senior)
  • Second Team All-Atlantic Sun Honors
    • 3B Mike Cox (Junior)
    • SS Bobby Spano (Senior)
  • Freshman Team All-Atlantic Sun Honors

2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft

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

PlayerClassRoundPickTeam
L.J. BiernbaumSenior10San Diego
Tom McLaneSenior19Boston
Chris KroskiJC Transfer Signee19Seattle
Nelson LopezSenior22San Francisco
Tim McNabSenior22New York Mets
David HayesHS Signee41Atlanta
Jim CooneyJunior45Baltimore
Gabe SomarribaSenior47Baltimore

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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