4/3/2026 | Baseball | Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball (15-16, 2-6 American) racked up 15 hits on Friday night but could not out-slug UAB (21-10, 6-2 American) in an 11-8 defeat. The Owls will need a victory in Saturday’s finale to salvage the series.
THE BEGINNING
UAB jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning before the Owls began to chip away in the second. Making his second career start, freshman second baseman Jonathan Lopez delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle to bring in Ian Collier.
The Owls took their first lead of the series in the fourth inning. Brett Patten led off with an opposite-field double down the left field line, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on an infield single by Lopez. Michael Perazza and Nick Romano followed with back-to-back RBI hits to make it a 4-2 FAU lead. Patten added to the lead in the fifth with a solo home run, his second of the season.
THE TURNING POINT
After conceding a pair in the first inning, redshirt sophomore Kide Adetuyi settled in and pitched into the sixth. But after a leadoff walk, a single, and a hit by pitch, the Owls turned to Zach Kilby out of the bullpen. The Blazers ambushed Kilby with five consecutive singles, leading to five runs. A fielder’s choice and a squeeze bunt tacked on two more to put the Owls in a 9-5 hole.
THE FINISH
It was 9-6 in the eighth when Collier teed off on a two-run home run to bring the Owls within one. UAB re-established the three-run lead in the ninth with a two-run homer of their own.
A Marshall Lipsey walk and a single by Romano brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth before a strikeout ended the game.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach John McCormack
“Eight runs is good but, in a game like this, you’ve got to score more. And we had opportunities to score more; we just couldn’t do it. Ultimately, though, it comes down to finding a way to get out of that sixth inning.”
THE BATS
- Eli Small (3-for-5), Romano (3-for-6), and Patten (3-for-4) led the offense.
- Collier’s home run was his team-leading fourth of the season. He also recorded his team-leading sixth double of the season.
- Lopez finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, the first of his career.
- He reached base four times with a pair of walks in addition to his two singles.
THE ARMS
- Adetuyi struck out eight in five innings.
- He walked two and conceded five runs on five hits.
- Kilby pitched the final four innings and allowed six runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked two.
WHAT’S NEXT
The series finale gets underway at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the FAU Baseball Stadium.
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