BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Florida Atlantic baseball dropped both legs of a doubleheader to Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. After falling 6-4 in game one, the Owls let a 7-1 lead slip away in game two and eventually lost by a 9-8 final in 14 innings.
Doubleheader Game One
The first game of the day was tied at 1-1 entering the fifth when Jalen DeBose led off with a solo home run. Later in the inning, Nolan Schanuel tripled to the gap in right center to make it 3-1.
The Owls had a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh and seemed to be on cruise control with normal Friday night starter Hunter Cooley working in relief on the mound. Cooley got two quick outs in the seventh (his fourth inning in relief) before WKU tagged the lefty for back-to-back singles followed by back-to-back walks. FAU brought Sam Drumheller on to face lefty Tristin Garcia and Drumheller induced a ground ball. But second baseman Daulton Frank’s flip to the bag at second went over the head of shortstop Armando Albert. That tied the game 4-4.
The Hilltoppers would then take the lead when they executed a double steal with runners at first and third. As Garcia took off for second, Drew Reckart broke for home and beat the throw back to the plate from second base. WKU added a solo home run in the eighth and held on to win the first game of the day.
Doubleheader Game Two
The Owls had another sizeable lead in game two. A five-run third inning and another two runs added on in the fifth gave the visitors a 7-1 advantage. Schanuel tripled for the second time, driving in two, and coming home to score himself when the throw to the infield caromed away. John Schroeder homered in the third and then singled home in a run in the fifth.
The scrappy WKU squad once again refused to go away though. A three-RBI double in the sixth cut the FAU lead to 7-4. Jackson Ross drove in Lucas Phelps with a sacrifice fly in the eighth that made it an 8-5 game.
The Hilltoppers scored two runs in the eighth inning and another in the ninth. Robert Wegielnik struck out Ty Crittenberger for what was thought to be the last out of the eighth, but Crittenberger reached first on a wild pitch to the backstop. A run scored on the play. WKU tied the game in the ninth on a single and a throwing error committed by Albert.
Wegielnik and WKU reliever Mason Burns shut the opposing offenses down in extra innings and the game continued all the way into the 14th. In Wegielnik’s sixth inning of work, he allowed a leadoff walk followed by a single. The Owls turned to Evan Waterbor to face lefty Kirk Liebert. Liebert dropped a bunt down the third base line which was fielded by Waterbor. Waterbor attempted the throw to first which pulled the covering second baseman Lucas Phelps off the bag. As the ball rolled away from Phelps, the game-winning run rounded third and scored.
QUOTABLE
“Credit to Western Kentucky. We had leads in both games and we couldn’t put it away. We let them hang around. When you let teams hang around, they have a chance to jump up and get you. That’s exactly what they did. We weren’t good in any facet of the game today, really all day. We had a chance to drive in some insurance runs and we didn’t do it. Couldn’t stop them when it really counted. And we gave them some runs on just not being able to play defense. Very disheartening day. Have to bounce back tomorrow.”
THE ARMS
- Cooley took the loss in game one despite allowing just one earned run 4.2 innings. He struck out four and walked two.
- Jacob Josey made the start in game two and lasted 5.2 inning with four runs. WKU managed just two hits in the first five innings before tagging the righty for two doubles and a single in the sixth.
THE BATS
- Ross finished with five hits in game two. His final line for the day was 6-for-10.
- Schanuel doubled and tripled in game one and singled and tripled in game two. He also walked three times and was hit by a pitch. His reached-base streak is now at 35 games.
WHAT’S NEXT
The series finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on Sunday
