The Florida Atlantic University baseball team was eliminated from the Conference USA tournament on Friday night with a 5-0 defeat at the hands of No. 14 Southern Miss. The Owls’ season likely ends with an overall record of 35-23.
The first six innings were a pitcher’s duel between FAU’s Jacob Josey and USM’s Hunter Riggins. Each offense did have opportunities though. For the Owls, the best chance came in the third. With two outs, Riggins issued three straight walks bringing Dylan Goldstein to the plate. Goldstein took an 0-1 pitch to the opposite field and came within inches of a grand slam. USM’s Reece Ewing would make a leaping catch however, denying FAU a 4-0 lead.
Southern Miss loaded the bases in the sixth. A fly ball to right with one out should have been deep enough to score the run from third but Owls’ right fielder Tyler Kelder delivered a seed to home plate and catcher Caleb Pendleton applied the tag with time to spare to complete the double play. The game remained scoreless.
The Golden Eagles finally broke through against Josey in the seventh. After a double and a hit by pitch, USM’s Rodrigo Montenegro singled up the middle. As the runner rounded third, center fielder Gabriel Rincones, Jr. charged it and made the throw home. The ball was just a fraction too high though and caromed out of the glove of Pendleton
Southern Miss. tacked on one more with a bases loaded walk before the seventh was complete. They broke it open in the eighth with three to make it 5-0.
Riggins gave way to Dalton Rogers with one out in the eighth. The sophomore was able to record the final five outs, eliminating the Owls from the tournament.
Head Coach John McCormack said, “Riggins just kind of kept us off balance tonight. We had a rally in that third inning and their left fielder made an unbelievable play. I thought Josey pitched fantastic. That’s a great team over there. They’ve won 40+ games for a reason.”
