| 5/13/2025 | Baseball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball trailed Florida Gulf Coast by four runs in the bottom of the ninth before mounting a miraculous comeback to win 9-8 on a walk-off single by Marshall Lipsey. The victory clinched the series for the Owls (34-18) over the Eagles (24-27) three games to one. THE BEGINNING Trailing 1-0 in the second, the Owls grabbed the lead for the first time on a two-run homer from Jake Millan. Another run would score later in the inning on a wild pitch with the bases loaded. After that, however, the FAU offense went cold for the next five innings. FGCU tied the game in the fifth and took a 5-3 lead with two runs in the sixth inning. TURNING POINT The Owls cut the deficit to 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth before the Eagles responded with three runs in the ninth to take a seemingly insurmountable 8-4 lead. THE FINISH The ninth inning comeback started with a line drive from John Schroeder off the leg of FGCU pitcher Jordan Vera. Brando Leroux then sent the first pitch he saw to left field for his fourth home run of the season. In the blink of an eye, it was 8-6.With one out, Ayden Garcia lined a base hit through the hole on the right side. Millan nearly tied the game with one swing of the bat. His line drive to right field narrowly missed a home run but ricocheted off the wall for a long single. Danny Baez worked a five-pitch walk to load the bases, still with just one out.With a 1-2 count, pinch-hitter Joey Slattery poked a two-RBI single to the opposite field to tie the game. Lipsey capped the comeback with a high chopper that found a hole into right field. Baez came around to score the winning run. THE BATS The ninth inning rally included six hits – the Owls had six hits in the first eight innings combined. Lipsey reached base four times with three walks in addition to his game-winning single. Schroeder doubled, singled twice, and was hit by a pitch. Millan’s second-inning home run was his eighth of the season. THE ARMS The Owls used nine pitchers. Ryan Buckler made his first start of the season and completed two innings. Junior Cole Frye made his collegiate debut with a scoreless seventh inning. FGCU strung together five hits against Max Martzolf and Steven Andrews in the ninth inning before redshirt freshman Mark Loubier entered and recorded a strikeout to limit the damage. The Eagles out-hit the Owls 16-12. 14 of their 16 hits were singles. FAU pitching walked just one batter and struck out 10. QUOTABLE Postgame with @FAUCoachMac after a walk-off in the home finale #WIP pic.twitter.com/WQ8g35OQ74– Florida Atlantic Baseball (@FAUBaseball) May 13, 2025 WHAT’S NEXT The Owls will look to carry the momentum into the final American Athletic Conference series of the regular season against UAB beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+. |
