| ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University baseball fell victim to five runs late by UCF, losing 8-3 on Tuesday night. QuotableHead Coach John McCormack: “It was a great baseball game until the bottom of the eighth. Their guys pitched well, our guys pitched enough … (but) we’ve been through this before, we get off to a hot start, (UCF makes) an adjustment pitching and we don’t adjust back. We put six straight zeroes up (offensively). “And then we get into the eighth. There’s just been no consistency in coming out of the pen and doing our job. We’ve got to figure out a way to get the guys into better spots and make them better.” The Beginning The Owls (9-6) needed just two pitches for a 2-0 lead. Wilfredo Alvarez singled up the middle, and B.J. Murray immediately jumped on the next offering, depositing an opposite-field home run to left. Another run came across in the third, on a two-out Nicholas Toney single to center. The Turning Point The Knights (7-9) used a two-run home run in the third, and bases-loaded walk in the fourth, to tie things up. They threatened in the fifth as well – putting runners at second and third with no outs, and having the bases loaded with one out. But Thomas Haggerty’s three outs in the inning all came via strikeout to keep it square. A similar jam was escaped by Mike Entenza in the seventh (runner at third with one out, then two strikeouts), but couldn’t be replicated in the eighth. The Finish UCF took their first lead on without benefit of a hit, loading the bases on a walk, sacrifice bunt, IBB and HBP, then moving ahead on another bases-loaded walk. Then a grand slam proved to be the backbreaker, and the Owls went down in order in the ninth. The Arms Dante Visconti, in his first start of the season, went three innings. He gave up only two hits, but three runs, and had four strikeouts All told, Haggerty would end up pitching a season-high 2 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out four as well Entenza (1-1) suffered the loss The Bats Jared DeSantolo had a 3-for-4 night, his most hits in a game this year Alvarez’s six-game hitting streak, all with two or more hits, continued with a 2-for-4 showing Murray’s home run was his fourth of the season, tying for the team lead Nolan Schanuel added two hits as well What’s Next The Owls remain on the road for the next three, a weekend series in Tampa at USF starting Friday night. The next home game is next Tuesday, March 23, hosting Miami. No tickets are available that night. Tickets can be purchased for all other future home games – including next weekend’s Conference USA opening series versus Marshall, March 26-28 – by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or by logging on to FAU’s baseball tickets website. |
