TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – (Feb. 28, 2020) – Florida Atlantic University baseball fell at the hands of two nationally-ranked teams on Friday at Dick Howser Stadium, 7-1 to No. 2 Texas Tech and 5-1 to No. 9 Florida State. The Owls are now 7-2 on the season.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“Today was a tough day, both Texas Tech and FSU starting pitching were fantastic. We had some opportunities but failed to convert. To win games like these, we have to play a more complete brand of baseball. We will back at it tomorrow.”
The Turning Point – Game One
The Owls and Red Raiders were scoreless through four, with each team scoring in the fifth. FAU’s tally came on three straight Texas Tech errors. In the seventh, an unearned run gave TTU the lead for good, with three more runs providing insurance the next inning.
The Finish – Game One
Down 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Jackson Wenstrom singled and Wilfredo Alvarez walked, with both advancing on a passed ball. But two straight strikeouts ended that threat. A two-run TTU home run in the ninth extended the lead, and a two-out single by Tucker Mitchell was all the Owls could muster in their final at-bat.
The Arms – Game One
· Corey Ireson had a great outing for the Owls. He gave up just a run on three hits in five innings, with five strikeouts
· Adrien Reese was saddled with the loss, and is now 2-1 on the year
The Bats – Game One
· Wenstrom and Mitchell recorded the Owls’ two hits
· The FAU run in the fifth was scored by BJ Murray, with Nicholas Toney getting credit for the RBI
· What would have been the go-ahead run on the same play was called out at the plate and held up on replay
The Turning Point – Game Two
Similarly, in the nightcap, FAU scored their first run without a hit, when Alvarez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the third. What would have been a 2-1 lead was nullified; Bobby Morgensen was subsequently also hit, but it was ruled a strikeout. FSU took the lead in the fifth and added three more in the sixth to extend the advantage.
The Finish – Game Two
After the non-HBP, the only Owl baserunner than reached came via an FSU error in the seventh. Hunter Cooley came on and finished out the night on the mound for FAU, with two scoreless innings, including a 1-2-3 eighth.
The Arms – Game Two
· Jacob Josey (0-1) started, going 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out four
· Cooley did not allow a hit and had two punchouts
The Bats – Game Two
· Francisco Urbaez reached twice, on a single and a walk
· Toney scored the third-inning run
· Alvarez reached in both contests, and has in all nine games this year. All told, his streak is now at 17 and counting when factoring in the final eight games of last season
What’s Next
The Owls and Seminoles are back at it again on Saturday afternoon, a 2 p.m. first pitch. Each side will have a freshman pitcher on to start, FAU’s Dante Visconti against Bryce Hubbart of FSU.
– 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 4-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 52-28 victory over SMU in the 2019 Cheribundi 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.
