2007 Florida Atlantic Owls baseball team

The 2007 Florida Atlantic Owls baseball team was the intercollegiate baseball team of Florida Atlantic University. It competed on the Division I level in the Sun Belt Conference. The 2007 team marked the first season of baseball to compete in the Sun Belt, as last year the Owls played in the Atlantic Sun Conference. After a disappointing 2006 season, FAU looked to bounce back in 2007, hoping to return to Regionals - possibly farther. However, the first season in the Sun Belt did not live up to expectations in Boca Raton, and the Owls finished the regular season at .500 in conference and were bounced from the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in their third game. For a second straight season, FAU would not reach the Regionals.

2007 Florida Atlantic Owls baseball
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record36–22 (15–15 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Home stadiumFAU Baseball Stadium
2007 Sun Belt Conference baseball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Louisiana–Lafayette  ‍†‍‍y 23–7 .76745–17 .726
New Orleans  ‍‍‡‍y 16–14 .53338–26 .594
Middle Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 16–14 .53332–28 .533
Troy  ‍‍‍y 16–14 .53334–27 .557
Louisiana–Monroe  ‍‍‍ 15–14 .51729–28 .509
Florida Atlantic  ‍‍‍ 15–15 .50036–22 .621
Western Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 15–15 .50017–30 .362
South Alabama  ‍‍‍ 13–16 .44831–26 .544
Arkansas State  ‍‍‍ 13–17 .43323–32 .418
FIU  ‍‍‍ 12–17 .41426–29 .473
Arkansas–Little Rock  ‍‍‍ 9–20 .31021–31 .404
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 2007[1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

2007 schedule and results
DateOpponentLocationResultRecordNotes
February 2, 2007vs. Mississippi Valley StateBoca Raton, FLW 8-11-0
February 3, 20071vs. Mississippi Valley StateBoca Raton, FLW 33-32-07 innings
February 3, 20071vs. Mississippi Valley StateBoca Raton, FLW 11-73-0
February 9, 2007vs. CincinnatiBoca Raton, FLW 4-34-0
February 10, 2007vs. CincinnatiBoca Raton, FLW 14-135-012 innings
February 11, 2007vs. CincinnatiBoca Raton, FLW 15-96-08 innings
February 16, 2007vs. Ball StateBoca Raton, FLW 8-37-0
February 17, 2007vs. #17 Oklahoma StateBoca Raton, FLW 9-68-0FAU's 1,500th game
February 18, 2007vs. La SalleBoca Raton, FLW 16-89-0
February 23, 2007vs. #6 RiceHouston, TXL 4-29-1FAU ranked #27 entering
February 24, 2007vs. Texas A&M-Corpus ChristiHouston, TXW 13-1210-1
February 25, 2007vs. #19 NebraskaHouston, TXL 8-710-2
February 26, 2007at St. Louis Cardinals (exh.)2Jupiter, FLL 3-210-2
March 2, 2007vs. VillanovaBoca Raton, FLW 12-311-2
March 3, 2007vs. Boston CollegeBoca Raton, FLL 6-511-3Drops from ranking after loss
March 4, 2007vs. Boston CollegeBoca Raton, FLW 15-312-3
March 6, 2007vs. MaineBoca Raton, FLW 3-113-3
March 9, 2007at Western KentuckyBowling Green, KYW 13-314-3 (1-0)
March 10, 2007at Western KentuckyBowling Green, KYL 12-1114-4 (1-1)
March 11, 2007at Western KentuckyBowling Green, KYW 9-715-4 (2-1)
March 13, 2007vs. RutgersBoca Raton, FLW 9-416-4
March 14, 2007vs. Northern IllinoisBoca Raton, FLW 13-717-4
March 16, 2007vs. TroyBoca Raton, FLL 12-617-5 (2-2)
March 17, 2007vs. TroyBoca Raton, FLL 8-317-6 (2-3)
March 18, 2007vs. TroyBoca Raton, FLL 13-517-7 (2-4)
March 21, 2007vs. DartmouthBoca Raton, FLW 14-618-7
March 23, 2007at Louisiana-LafayetteLafayette, LAL 5-218-8 (2-5)
March 24, 2007at Louisiana-LafayetteLafayette, LAL 5-218-9 (2-6)
March 25, 2007at Louisiana-LafayetteLafayette, LAL 3-218-10 (2-7)
March 27, 2007vs. HarvardBoca Raton, FLW 10-919-10
March 30, 2007vs. Arkansas StateBoca Raton, FLW 5-220-10 (3-7)Cooney's 700th FAU win
March 31, 2007vs. Arkansas StateBoca Raton, FLW 6-521-10 (4-7)
April 1, 2007vs. Arkansas StateBoca Raton, FLL 9-621-11 (4-8)
April 6, 2007at Louisiana-MonroeMonroe, LAW 3-122-11 (5-8)
April 7, 20073at Louisiana-MonroeMonroe, LAW 5-223-11 (6-8)
April 7, 20073at Louisiana-MonroeMonroe, LAL 7-623-12 (6-9)
April 10, 2007at Bethune CookmanDaytona Beach, FLPpd. due to rain
April 13, 2007vs. UALRBoca Raton, FLL 7-623-13 (6-10)
April 14, 2007vs. UALRBoca Raton, FLL 3-223-14 (6-11)
April 15, 2007vs. UALRBoca Raton, FLW 4-224-14 (7-11)
April 17, 2007vs. North FloridaBoca Raton, FLW 4-225-14
April 20, 2007at New OrleansNew Orleans, LAL 8-425-15 (7-12)
April 21, 2007at New OrleansNew Orleans, LAW 10-926-15 (8-12)
April 22, 2007at New OrleansNew Orleans, LAL 11-926-16 (8-13)
April 26, 2007vs. South AlabamaBoca Raton, FLW 9-327-16 (9-13)
April 27, 2007vs. South AlabamaBoca Raton, FLW 6-528-16 (10-13)
April 28, 2007vs. South AlabamaBoca Raton, FLL 11-928-17 (10-14)
May 4, 2007at Middle TennesseeMurfreesboro, TNPpd. due to rain
May 5, 20074at Middle TennesseeMurfreesboro, TNW 16-129-17 (11-14)
May 5, 20074at Middle TennesseeMurfreesboro, TNW 8-430-17 (12-14)
May 6, 2007at Middle TennesseeMurfreesboro, TNL 12-730-18 (12-15)
May 8, 2007vs. Bethune Cookman5Daytona Beach, FLL 5-230-19
May 10, 2007vs. Bethune CookmanBoca Raton, FLL 6-530-20
May 11, 2007vs. Bethune CookmanBoca Raton, FLW 4-231-20
May 12, 2007vs. Bethune CookmanBoca Raton, FLW 14-232-20
May 17, 2007vs. FIUBoca Raton, FLW 17-933-20 (13-15)
May 18, 2007vs. FIUBoca Raton, FLW 5-034-20 (14-15)
May 19, 2007vs. FIUBoca Raton, FLW 11-1035-20 (15-15)
May 23, 2007vs. Middle TennesseeMobile, ALL 6-10-1G1 of SBC Tournament
May 24, 2007vs. Western KentuckyMobile, ALW 7-61-1G5 (Loser Bracket)
May 25, 2007vs. Middle TennesseeMobile, ALL 7-41-2G9 (FAU Eliminated)
* Sun Belt Conference games in GREEN. 1 February 3 was a double-header against MVSU. 2 The exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals does not count against the Owls' record. 3 April 7 was a double-header against ULM. 4 May 5 was a double-header against MTSU, to make up for the rain-out on May 4. 5 May 8 was a make-up against BCC, to make up for the rain-out on April 10.

2007 Roster

Starting lineup

Starters based on number of games started at each position.

  • Center Field: 13 Marion Streptfert (So.)
  • Second Base: 13 Kyle Doherty(Fr.)
  • Right Field: 12 Robbie Widlansky (Jr.)
  • Left Field: 25 Mike McKenna (Jr.)
  • Third Base: 13 Alfonzo Gonzales (So.)
  • Catcher: 11 Justin Martin (Sr.)
  • Designated Hitter: 4 Tyler Stevens (Sr.)
  • First Base: 19 Travis Ozga (So.)
  • Shortstop: 14 Nick Arata (Sr.)

Reserves
  •  5 Ryan Cheatham (Fr.)
  • 22 Billy Degnan (Jr.)
  • 23 Justin Ferreira (Jr.)
  • 44 Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg (Fr.)

Pitchers
  •  7 Mickey Storey (Jr.)
  • 16 Mike Obradovich (Jr.)
  • 17 Joel Schmal (Sr.)
  • 18 Brett Cannon (Jr.)
  • 24 Alex Pepe (So.)
  • 26 Lou Morey (Fr.)
  • 27 Chris Eberhart (Jr.)
  • 30 Brandon Cooney (Sr.)
  • 31 Andrew Tomlin (Sr.)
  • 32 Justin Phillabaum (Jr.)
  • 33 Anthony Bradley (Sr.)
  • 34 Chris Salberg (Sr.)
  • 36 Mike Salivar (Jr.)
  • 49 Brandon Kloess (Sr.)

Team leaders

Minimum to qualify in statistics: 1.0 inning/game played or game pitched.

Offense
  • Average: Robbie Widlansky (.433)
  • Runs batted in: Robbie Widlansky (69)
  • Home runs: Williams Block (18)
  • Hits: Robbie Widlansky (104)
  • Doubles: Robbie Widlansky (24)
  • Triples: Williams Block / Daniel Bomback (3)
  • Runs: Daniel Bomback (67)
  • Walks: Mike McKenna (36)
  • Stolen bases: Daniel Cook (15)
  • On-base percentage: Robbie Widlansky (.498)
  • Slugging percentage: Robbie Widlansky (.729)

Pitching
  • Wins: Mike Obradovich (9)
  • Earned run average: Chris Salberg (3.05)
  • Innings pitched: Chris Salberg (100.1)
  • Saves: Mike Obradovich (3)
  • Appearances: Chris Salberg (25)
  • Games started: Mike Obradovich (13)
  • Complete games: Mike Obradovich / Chris Salberg (2)
  • Earned runs: Alex Pepe (18)
  • Strikeouts: Chris Salberg (124)

Defense
  • Percentage: Travis Ozga (.990)
  • Putouts: Travia Ozga (365)
  • Assists: Daniel Bomback (158)
  • Chances: Travis Ozga (405)
  • Errors: Chris Salberg (1)
  • Double-plays: Daniel Bomback (27)

Awards and honors

All-American

Junior outfielder Robbie Widlansky was named a 2007 Louisville Slugger All-American, becoming the 11th FAU baseball player to be honored as an All-American.[2]

Conference Player of the Year

Robbie Widlansky was named the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. Widlansky finished the 2007 season with a .433 batting average, 15 home runs, 69 RBIs, and started all 55 games for the Owls. Widlansky broke FAU single season records for: hits (101) and total bases (170).

All-Conference
  • First Team All-Conference Honors
  • Second Team All-Conference Honors
    • SP Chris Salberg (Senior)
    • OF Mike McKenna (Junior)
    • OF Daniel Cook (Junior)

Batting Champion

Robbie Widlansky won the Sun Belt Conference Batting Title (.433).

Records broken in 2007

2007 saw a handful of school records broken.

  • Junior outfielder Robbie Widlansky broke the single-season batting record (.430).
  • Junior outfielder Mike McKenna joined Widlansky to mark the first time two Owls would bat over .400 in a single-season (.414).
  • Widlansky broke the single-season school record for hits (101) and total bases (170).

2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft

Owls selected in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft:

PlayerClassRoundPickTeam
Anthony RizzoHS Signee6204Boston
Robbie WidlanskyJunior11339Baltimore
Daniel CookJunior20610Washington
Mickey StoreyJunior22692Minnesota
Stephen VentoHS Signee23697Chicago NL
Justin PhillabaumJunior29880Washington
Brandon CooneySenior30909Baltimore
Daniel BombackJunior421427Pittsburgh

Notes and references
  1. Baseball Record Book All-Time Standings (PDF). Sun Belt Conference. p. 417. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  2. "Widlansky Named Louisville Slugger All-American". FAUSports.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
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