May 31, 2002

By TED HUTTON
STAFF WRITER
Sun Sentinel

Florida Atlantic's Rusty Brown will be on the field for his first college regional tournament today as FAU faces Auburn in a first-round game.

But Brown, a sophomore, has a lot of experience as a fan watching NCAA tournament games.

His older brother, Kevin, played for Miami, and Rusty Brown went to Omaha last year after FAU failed to get a tournament bid and watched Kevin help the Hurricanes to the World Series title.

Kevin is now in the minor leagues, and Rusty said he is looking forward to playing rather than watching.

"This is what I came to FAU for," he said. "I knew we'd have good teams, and now we just have to get to Omaha."

Brown, who has played third and first for FAU this season and is fourth on the team in hitting with a .340 average and eight home runs, is part of a sophomore class that already has coach Kevin Cooney worrying about how many of them he may be lost to the major league draft.

"You have six guys (Brown, catcher Robbie Orton and pitchers Travis NeSmith, Chris Pillsbury, Chris Della Rocco and Matt O'Brien) that could be legitimate draft choices as juniors," Cooney said.

Those sophomores just finished contributing to FAU's season that earned them an at-large bid to the tournament, the third in four years and first for the sophomores.

The improvement the group made between their freshmen and sophomore seasons has given the Owls a boost.

Brown, from Fort Myers, started 45 games in 2001 and hit .256 with four home runs.

While Brown's 84-point improvement in batting average is impressive, it pales compared with the jump Orton has made.

Cast as a defensive catcher after starting 39 games last season but hitting .207, Orton is hitting .317 in 47 starts.

Orton, who played for Wellington, was 11-for-20 in the Atlantic Sun Tournament to push his average over .300.

"I've made some adjustments, and I'm seeing the ball a lot better," he said.

They are also solid defensive players.

"Brown can get to a lot of balls," Cooney said, citing his height (6-foot-3) and long arms, "and Robbie just doesn't let anything get past him."

On the mound, Pillsbury (9-2, 4.03 ERA) is the No. 2 starter, and NeSmith (7-2, 4.17 ERA) is No. 3, Della Rocco (3-3, 4.38) and O'Brien (5-2, 5.59) both are long relievers out of the bullpen.

SENIOR LEADERS
Gabe Somarriba and L.J. Biernbaum will be playing in their third and final regional after being part of FAU's first qualifier in 1999.

The pair didn't play much that year, with center fielder Somarriba becoming a regular in 2000, followed by Biernbaum in 2001.

Both are having their best seasons as seniors, with Somarriba's .350 average best on the team, and Biernbaum fifth at .336 and second in home runs with 12.

Somarriba has been hit by a pitch 27 times this season, tying his own record. He has been hit 81 times in his career, third on the NCAA career list.

MOUND STRATEGY Cooney will send NeSmith to the mound for today's game vs. Auburn.

"He'll have to pitch a game, and every game will be big," Cooney said while explaining his strategy for the double-elimination format.

"If we win, then I have my No. 1 (Core) and No. 2 (Pillsbury) to get us to the championship. If we lose (to Auburn), then I have my 1 and 2 for the elimination games."

The risk is that FAU could lose its first two games, meaning Pillsbury or Core would not have had a chance to pitch.

Auburn coach Steve Renfroe said he will start his No. 1 pitcher Lavele Speigner (7-5, 4.65 ERA). "We have to win that first game, " Renfroe said.