| 3/8/2025 | Baseball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball rallied in the seventh inning and held on late for a 6-5 victory over FIU (12-4) on Saturday at the FAU Baseball Stadium. The Owls (11-3) evened the weekend series going into the rubber game on Sunday in Miami. THE BEGINNING FIU opened the scoring with a run in the second inning and later tacked on two more in the fourth. The Owls responded with three in the fourth to tie it. Marshall Lipsey and Jake Duer sparked the offense with back-to-back singles, and, after a wild pitch, Nick Romano lined a base hit to right field to score two. A Jake Millan sacrifice fly later in the inning cashed in the tying run. THE TURNING POINT The Panthers loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, and the Owls turned to redshirt freshman Kide Adetuyi. However, before Adetuyi could deliver a pitch, FIU’s Alex Ulloa broke for home from third base. As Adetuyi realized it and threw to the plate, Ulloa slid under the tag of catcher Ayden Garcia.After FIU added another run in the seventh to lead 5-3, the Owls came up with a rally in the bottom of the inning. Patrick Ward ignited the offense with a single, and John Schroeder and Brando Leroux drew walks to load the bases. With two outs, Jake Duer delivered a line drive single to center field to tie the game. Nick Romano followed with his second hit of the day – another single – to score the go-ahead run. THE FINISH Closer MJ Bollinger came on to get the six-out save. He worked around a one-out infield single in the eighth and retired the Panthers in order in the ninth to seal the victory. THE BATS Duer finished 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. The junior outfielder is 30-for-60 at the plate this season – he entered the weekend third in the country in hits. Duer has had multiple hits in 10 of 14 games this season. Romano logged his fourth multi-hit game and tied his season high with three RBI. THE ARMS Tyler Murphy made the start and struck out seven in 4.2 innings. Carter Holjes entered with two runners on in the fifth and retired the only batter he was tasked with. Reilly Witmer recorded the first two outs in the sixth before two walks and a hit. Adetuyi pitched out of trouble after the steal of home – he would allow an unearned run in the seventh. He was credited with his first collegiate win. Bollinger struck out three of the seven batters he faced – he earned his fourth save of the season. QUOTABLE Postgame with @FAUCoachMac #WIP pic.twitter.com/kSVvaPafjt– Florida Atlantic Baseball (@FAUBaseball) March 9, 2025 WHAT’S NEXT The Owls and Panthers are set for a noon first pitch on Sunday in Miami for the series finale. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. |
