| 3/24/2024 | Baseball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – Charlotte defeated Florida Atlantic baseball 13-1 in Sunday’s series finale, denying the Owls a three-game sweep to open conference play. THE BEGINNING The Owls and the 49ers combined for one hit through the first four innings. CLT’s Chase Carson was perfect while FAU freshman Trey Beard racked up six strikeouts. THE TURNING POINT The pendulum swung Charlotte’s way in the fifth. A walk, a single, and a double opened the floodgates for the visitors and signaled the end of Beard’s day. Brandon Smith was first out of the bullpen but could not find the strike zone, issuing three straight walks before turning it over to Justin Gay. Charlotte’s Juan Correa greeted the Owls’ 6’7″ righty with a grand slam to left field. When the dust settled, it was 7-0 49ers. THE FINISH CLT added two runs in the sixth and another four in the eighth. The Owls managed just two hits on the day, one of which was a solo homer off the bat of Patrick Ward in the sixth inning to spoil Carson’s perfect game. Charlotte went on to close the game out in eight innings via the run rule. QUOTABLE Head coach John McCormack “Their guy [Carson] threw great and we just blinked first. They had their back against the wall and he was fantastic. We’ve got to be better though. When you have a chance to sweep you’ve got to take advantage of it. It doesn’t happen that often especially in a good league like this.” THE ARMS Beard recorded a new career high with six strikeouts in his four innings. He walked three and allowed three hits and three runs. The Owls used five relievers behind Beard. Only Ben Gilbert produced a scoreless frame. THE BATS In addition to Ward’s home run, Emilio Gonzalez provided the Owls’ only other hit. The Owls did not have another base runner either. WHAT’S NEXT The Owls will host Florida Gulf Coast in midweek non-conference action on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. FAU will then head to Memphis for a Thursday-Saturday AAC series. 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. |
