June 6, 2002

By JEFF PRICE
Associated Press

Before Sunday's regional championship game against Alabama, Florida Atlantic coach Kevin Cooney wrote a song lyric on his lineup card for the team to see.

It read,"When you ain't got nothin', you ain't got nothin' to lose."

"It reminded me not to be scared about this, that we have a good chance, and just let it all hang out," Cooney said. The approach worked.

His unheralded Owls held on for a 6-54 win over Southeastern Conference champion Alabama, the No. 3-seeded team in the country, and their first NCAA regional title.

"We did it, winner take all, on the field," Cooney said. "You can't imagine what it was like."

The Owls (46-19) will now face Georgia Tech (49-14) in a best-of-three super regional starting Friday in Atlanta, with a College World Series berth on the line.

Playoff success is something new for a program that has just nine seasons of Division I play under its belt. In two previous post-season appearances, the Owls were forced to play in regionals hosted by powerhouse Miami and failed to advance.

While most teams in the regionals were happy to play opponents they had faced before, Florida Atlantic relished the idea of going into the Tuscaloosa, Ala., regional as a relative unknown.

"All the media over there...just really focused on Auburn and Alabama, and to us, that was great, outfielder Gabe Somarriba said. "We went out there and were not supposed to win that regional, no one expects us to win, so we had nothing to lose."

Cooney embraces that underdog role and has the Owls just two wins from the College World Series. He said a carefree attitude by the coaching staff and a team with no egos has allowed the Owls to play well.

They'll need to be at their best against Georgia Tech, which finished in the top 10 of the college baseball polls and is heavily favored to reach Omaha.

"I love playing that way, you don't have to worry about anything else," said Somarriba. "It makes winning that much sweeter."