| 5/17/2024 | Baseball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball battled back in the late innings on Friday night but ultimately dropped its fourth consecutive contest by a 3-2 final to UTSA. THE BEGINNING For the second straight night, UTSA got on the board in the first inning. A single followed by a double opened the scoring but Trey Beard dug in and held the Roadrunners to just one run.Beard conceded two singles in the third inning, the second of which would be UTSA’s last hit of the night. An error, a walk, and two hit batters in fifth inning would lead to one more run before the freshman’s night came to a close. THE TURNING POINT The Florida Atlantic offense, meanwhile, struggled mightily for seven innings. The Owls had just one hit before Emilio Gonzalez and Brando Leroux logged back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the eighth. Jalen DeBose drove in Gonzalez with another single and John Schroeder cashed in Leroux with a sac fly to tie the game at 2-2. THE FINISH After a scoreless ninth, UTSA took the lead without a hit in the 10th. Another FAU error (the fourth of the night) followed by two walks loaded the bases. On a 2-1 pitch from Danny Trehey, the umpires deemed Owls’ catcher Andrew McKenna interfered with the swing of UTSA’s Tye Odom. Odom was awarded first base and the go-ahead run crossed home.Leroux led off the bottom of the 10th with another single, moved to second on a bunt, and third on a deep fly ball before a strikeout of Schroeder ended the game with the tying run 90 feet away. QUOTABLE Head coach John McCormack “We have to play better defense. We battled back. We had a chance to win it, couldn’t do it. Credit to UTSA.” THE BATSThe Owls outhit UTSA 5-4 led by two singles from Leroux. In addition to Leroux, Gonzalez, and DeBose in the eighth, Jake Millan also had a single in bottom of the third. THE ARMS Beard battled through five innings with four hits and two runs, one of which was earned. He struck out five and walked two. Sam Drumheller became the first pitcher in program history to appear in 100 games. Drumheller did not allow a hit in three inning and tied a career high with six strikeouts. Danny Trehey walked three and struck out three in two innings. The catcher’s interference run went down as an unearned run. WHAT’S NEXT The Owls will need a win or a USF loss on Saturday to claim a spot in the AAC Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. THE TICKETS To purchase FAU tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE. Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com, or through the baseball’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUBaseball. |
