| BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Despite scoring five unanswered runs late to tie and then take the lead, the Florida Atlantic University baseball team fell on a 10th-inning walkoff at the hands of UAB in the two teams’ series opener Friday night, 7-6. Quotable Head Coach John McCormack: “Tough loss, but it wasn’t lost in the 10th. We had plenty of opportunities earlier that we must capitalize on. We have got to be better in all facets of the game. We will be back at it tomorrow.” The Beginning FAU (16-17, 5-8 Conference USA) took an early lead on B.J. Murray’s two-out single in the third, and meanwhile, starter Hunter Cooley had set the first nine Blazers (11-21, 4-9 C-USA) down in order. The Turning Point UAB’s 10th hitter hit a solo home run to break up the shutout, and the Blazers would go on to score another run in the fourth, plus three in the fifth. The Owls chipped away with single runs in the sixth (a Bobby Morgensen sacrifice fly) and eighth (Steven Loden’s RBI single) and tied it with two more in the ninth. Walks to start the inning, to Wilfredo Alvarez and Jackson Wenstrom, saw them both score, on successive sac flies by Nolan Schanuel and Murray. The Finish With international tiebreaker rules in effect (placing a runner at second base to start extra innings), FAU took the lead in the 10th with their fourth sac fly of the night, Victor Castillo’s scoring Cade Parker, made it 6-5. But UAB did the same, a flyout to tie in the bottom half, before a two-out walkoff single walked it off. The Arms Coming on in relief of Cooley, Jackson Spiller had his finest outing as an OwlHe retired the first 10 batters he faced, hit one Blazer, and got the next two outAfter a single, he closed out the ninth with two more outs. His final total was 4 2/3 innings, one hit, no runs, no walks and two strikeoutsBraden Ostrander (1-2) took the lossAt first base, Schanuel had 17 putouts, with at least one in every inning, except the 10th. Five were on groundouts to him unassisted (3U), nine on throws from fellow infielders (including one to complete a strikeout), and three on popouts The Bats Four Owls had two-hit efforts: Alvarez, Schanuel and Murray, along with Loden off the benchAlvarez scored two runs; Murray knocked in two for 40 on the season. He’s one behind Schanuel’s team-high 41 RBI after one for him Friday as well What’s Next A Saturday doubleheader awaits these two teams, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern. |
