MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Fraysure
561-430-7148, jfraysur@fau.edu
BOCA RATON, Fla. – (March 9, 2019) – Down 3-0 early, and 5-4 heading into the seventh, the Florida Atlantic University scored five times in their last two at-bats to hold off Northeastern in a 9-6 win Saturday to clinch the weekend set.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“Really proud of the guys, that was a hard-fought win against a good opponent. Had some really good relief pitching, and we had four RBI with two outs … which is huge. I’m proud of the guys, they played great, the emotions stayed throughout the game, and it was a good night for us.”
The Turning Point
Trailing for the second time on the day, after a solo home run in the top of the seventh, the Owls (8-7) had no one on and two outs in the bottom half. Andru Summerall then singled to right, and a walk to Francisco Urbaez put the go-ahead run on the basepaths. Jared DeSantolo singled to tie things, and on an 0-2 pitch, Joe Montes went up the middle for a two-run single to score two and push the FAU lead to 7-5.
The Finish
Northeastern (5-8) scored once in the eighth, but Vince Coletti struck out Jared Dupere, who had homered his previous at-bat, to leave the tying run on second. Two-out offensive magic was replicated in the home eighth, as Summerall lined a single through the right side off lefthanded reliever Andrew Misiaszek, scoring two more for insurance. Closer Zach Schneider then dealt a quick 10-pitch, 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the save.
The Arms/The Gloves
· Reliever Dylan Carter started a key double play against the first batter he faced in the third. Northeastern was leading at that point 3-1 and had two on with one out, when he deftly fielded a comebacker, beginning a 1-4-3 DP
· Coletti (1-2) picked up the win, and was also the beneficiary of a double play, in the seventh (a more customary 6-4-3)
· He threw two innings, giving up two hits and a run
· Schneider’s second save of the season came, in order, strikeout, flyout, groundout
The Bats
· Eric Rivera recorded his fourth straight multi-hit game (and seventh in the last nine), going 2-for-4. He had RBI singles in the third and fourth innings
· In the fourth, his run-scoring single followed back-to-back RBI basehits by true freshmen Mitchell Hartigan and Jacob Josey
· Josey had two hits, as did both Summerall and DeSantolo. For Hartigan, he posted his first collegiate RBI
· Summerall became the sixth Owl to move into double digits in RBI on the season (now at 11) with his two-run single in the eighth
What’s Next
The series finale Sunday is set for noon. Mike Ruff will take the ball for FAU against Northeastern’s Sean Mellen. Buy tickets by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
– FAUSports.com –
Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
