| 4/13/2025 | Baseball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball tried to rally from an early deficit on Sunday but ultimately came up short in a 5-4 defeat at the hands of Memphis. The Tigers (14-21, 3-9 AAC) took the series from the Owls (24-11, 6-6 AAC) two games to one. THE BEGINNING Memphis jumped on Owls’ freshman starter James Litman for four runs in the top of the first inning. They added another on a solo home run in the second. Litman and the FAU bullpen locked the Tigers down from that point forward to give the offense a chance to climb back into the game. Litman, Ryan Buckler, Carter Holjes, and MJ Bollinger combined to retire 22 straight Memphis hitters from the second through the ninth inning. TURNING POINT On offense, the Owls got on the board in the fourth. Kyle Boylston and Brando Leroux delivered back-to-back two-out RBI hits to cut the deficit to 5-3. Florida Atlantic drew one closer in the seventh when Pat Ward lined a single through the left side of the infield to score John Schroeder. Ward added his third hit of the day in the ninth inning but was left stranded as the potential game-tying run. THE BATS The Owls out-hit Memphis for the third straight game, though all nine hits were singles. Ward (3-for-3), Boylston (2-for-3), and John Martinez (2-for-5) led the offense. Marshall Lipsey extended his reached-base streak to 33 games. After leaving 13 runners on base on Saturday, the Owls stranded another 12 on Sunday. THE ARMS Litman was charged with the loss despite setting a new career-high with eight strikeouts in four innings of work.Buckler set the Tigers down in order in the fifth and sixth innings; Holjes handled a clean seventh; and Bollinger locked down the eighth and ninth. QUOTABLE Head coach John McCormack “Similar story to yesterday… we couldn’t cash in. Credit to their pitchers. We had chances, and they dug in. It’s disappointing after how well we’ve swung the bats all year. But nothing we can do about it now. We have to move on and get ready for Tuesday.” WHAT’S NEXT The Owls will finish the season series with Miami on Tuesday in Coral Gables. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. |
