2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball team

American college baseball season March 2026 August 2023 baseball 2002 Florida Atlantic Owls 155 px Atlantic Sun Conference Atlantic Sun 15 (Collegiate Baseball) 46-21 22-8 Kevin Cooney FAU Baseball Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL Regional Champions The 2002 Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball teamFrom 1981-2006, the FAU baseball team was called the "Blue Wave." 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 schedule and results Date Opponent Location Result Record Notes May 15, 2002 vs. 2002 FIU Golden Panthers FIU Boca Raton, Florida W 17-8 May 17, 2002 vs. 2002 Georgia State Panthers Georgia State Boca Raton, Florida L 3-2 10 innings May 18, 2002 vs. Georgia State Boca Raton, Florida L 5-4 11 innings May 18, 2002 vs. Georgia State Boca Raton, Florida W 11-4 May 22, 2002 vs. 2002 Jacksonville Dolphins Jacksonville DeLand, FL W 4-2 1-0 A-Sun Tournament May 23, 2002 vs. 2002 Stetson Hatters Stetson DeLand, FL L 3-0 1-1 A-Sun Tournament May 24, 2002 vs. Jacksonville DeLand, FL W 6-4 2-1 A-Sun Tournament May 24, 2002 vs. Stetson DeLand, FL W 10-3 3-1 A-Sun Tournament May 25, 2002 vs. 2002 UCF Knights UCF DeLand, FL L 8-6 3-2 A-Sun Tournament Championship May 31, 2002 vs. 2002 Auburn Tigers Auburn Tuscaloosa, AL W 16-11 1-0 NCAA Regional June 1, 2002 vs. 2002 Southeast Missouri State Indians Southeast Missouri State Tuscaloosa, AL W 12-6 2-0 NCAA Regional June 2, 2002 vs. 2002 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL L 7-2 2-1 NCAA Regional June 2, 2002 vs. Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL W 6-5 3-1 NCAA Regional Championship June 7, 2002 vs. 2002 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA L 14-3 0-1 NCAA Super Regional (Best-of-3) June 8, 2002 vs. Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA L 11-5 0-2 NCAA 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 2002 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama 4 4 2002 Southeast Missouri State Indians SE Missouri State 7 3 2002 Auburn Tigers Auburn 11 2 Florida Atlantic 16 1 Alabama 6 3 Auburn 3 4 SE Missouri State 6 2 Florida Atlantic 12 1 Alabama 7 2 SE Missouri State 4 2 Florida Atlantic 2 6 1 Alabama 7 5 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 Blue Wave FAU 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 3 9 1 Yellow Jackets GT 1 0 0 6 5 0 1 1 X 14 18 1 Kyle Bakker (12-2) Danny Core (8-6) none Parker, Remole (4th inning) yes Game 2 Yellow Jackets GT 1 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 3 11 13 1 Blue Wave FAU 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 5 7 2 Chris Goodman (8-1) Chris Pillsbury (10-3) none Fiorentino (9th inning) yes Awards and honors Freshman All-American OF Jeff Fiorentino 2B Derek Hutton 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 OF Jeff Fiorentino 2B Derek Hutton 2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft FAU players selected in the 2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft: Player Class Round Pick Team L.J. Biernbaum Senior 10 San Diego Tom McLane Senior 19 Boston Chris Kroski JC Transfer Signee 19 Seattle Nelson Lopez Senior 22 San Francisco Tim McNab Senior 22 New York Mets David Hayes HS Signee 41 Atlanta Jim Cooney Junior 45 Baltimore Gabe Somarriba Senior 47 Baltimore Notes and references 2 External links Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship Record BookSeptember 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes Category:Florida Atlantic Owls baseball seasons Florida Atlantic Florida Atlantic Blue Wave baseball Florida Atlantic