ATHENS, Ga. – (May 31, 2019) – Florida Atlantic University’s opener at the Athens Regional was a slugfest, featuring nine combined home runs, and unfortunately the Owls were outslugged by Florida State, in a 13-7 final at Foley Field.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“You know, it’s an offensive game. It’s no secret we needed to pitch better. Credit to Florida State hitters, they did a really nice job. The wind, they used the elements, we used the elements. We just have to pitch better. … I thought the turning point in the game was bottom of the sixth, bases loaded and we had nobody out. Throughout the year, we’ve been able to put up a crooked number, three, four. We were in a really good count, 3-1, and ground ball to first base, then the ball hit off (Chase) Haney’s foot and they were able to get an out out of it. We only scored two runs, and they got out of the inning. That really gave them some breathing room and kind of put us on our heels a little bit.”
The Turning Point
Florida State (37-21) got the scoring started with three homers in a five-run second, and never trailed in the win. The Owls (40-20) cut it to 5-2 (on a Bobby Morgensen home run), and 6-3 (a solo homer by Joe Montes), but FSU got their fourth round-tripper for an 8-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the sixth. FAU responded by loading the bases with no outs, but FSU was able to wriggle out of it, giving up just two run-scoring groundouts and getting a strikeout to end the threat.
The Finish
After both teams scored twice in the seventh, making it 10-7 (on FAU’s side, it was another two-run shot by Morgensen), the eighth was a rare scoreless frame on each side. Up three, the Seminoles tacked on three more in the top half of the ninth for the final margin. The Owls were retired in order in their final turn.
The Arms
· Blake Sanderson (8-3) got the loss
· Hunter Cooley had the only scoreless line of six FAU pitchers, in a 1 1/3-inning stint
· In the eighth, Michael Schuler got a big strikeout to strand two
· Eric Keating finished it out, giving up a tough-luck unearned run on a two-out error in the ninth
The Bats
· Morgensen’s seventh inning blast was, like his first, an opposite-field shot. He now has nine on the season
· All told, he had a three-hit day, with three runs scored and four RBI
· The only other multi-hit Owl was Francisco Urbaez, going 2-for-4 with a single, double and run scored
· Montes’ homer was his ninth of the year as well
· Pedro Pages reached twice (a double and a walk) and scored twice
What’s Next
The Owls will face either Georgia or Mercer in a must-win game on Saturday, at 1 p.m.
– 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.
