BOCA RATON, Fla. – Miami scored 12 runs in the first two innings, and held off a Florida Atlantic University comeback Tuesday night, as the Owls fell to the No. 18 Hurricanes, 14-9 at FAU Baseball Stadium.
QuotableHead Coach John McCormack:
“Not a good night for the Owls. Dug a hole, tried to get out of it, the hole was too deep. We’ve just got to be better. We didn’t pitch well (early) … and we compounded it by making some errors. We did climb back into the game a little bit, made (Miami) think about it. It’s the same thing, giving up big innings, we don’t make the pitch and then we don’t make the play.”
The Beginning / The Turning Point
An FAU (10-9) error in the first extended the inning, and led to a Miami (10-7) grand slam. Then the Hurricanes scored eight more in the second.
The Finish
The Owls scored eight of the game’s next 10 runs, including two home runs in the third (Nolan Schanuel’s team-leading fifth, a solo shot, and a three-run homer by Nicholas Toney). The FAU bullpen recovered well, as from the third through the ninth, six relievers gave up just two solo UM home runs. But the bats were held scoreless for three straight frames, and a ninth inning sac fly by Schanuel ended the scoring as the rally fell short.
The Arms
- TJ Stuart (0-3) took the loss
- Jackson Spiller started the successful reliever run, getting out of the second with three straight outs, two by strikeout. He allowed just one run, in the third
- In his first appearance of the year, Brycen Allen also gave up just one run, retiring six of the eight batters he faced
- Four more Owls each threw a scoreless frame: Brock Helverson, striking out the side in the sixth; Dylan O’Connell, doing the same in the seventh; Braden Ostrander, stranding two in the eighth; and Thomas Haggerty, facing the minimum in the ninth
The Bats
- Four Owl hitters had two hits apiece: Schanuel (a double and the home run), Toney (a single and his third homer this year), Wilfredo Alvarez, and Caleb Pendleton
- Schanuel, Bobby Morgensen, Mitchell Hartigan and Toney all scored twice
- Toney had three RBI; Schanuel and B.J. Murray each plated two
What’s NextFriday night is the 2021 Conference USA opener for the Owls, in the first of four weekend games against Marshall. First pitch that night is 5 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or by logging on to FAU’s baseball tickets website.
