BOCA RATON, Fla. – (April 14, 2019) – The No. 24 Florida Atlantic University baseball team broke through on Sunday against Louisiana Tech and snapped the Bulldogs’ 10-game winning streak in the process, in an 11-3 victory at FAU Baseball Stadium.
The win keeps the Owls (24-11, 12-3 Conference USA) a game ahead in the C-USA standings, as Southern Miss defeated FIU on Sunday, 15-7, to go to 11-4 in league play. FAU has also won 21 of their last 26 games.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“I thought (today) was a really good win after some tough losses, 5-3 and 2-1. I thought the guys came out today and did what they needed to do, won the game. It gives us an opportunity to stay in front of the conference, which is important. I thought it was a good win, the guys battled through some adversity the last two days. Some of those freshmen are coming alive, 24 of the 27 outs were from freshman pitchers, that was encouraging to see. Just proud of the way the guys played, these things are never easy, backs against the wall, so it was good.”
The Turning Point
For the third straight game, the Bulldogs took the early lead, scoring once in the first and again in the third. A run-scoring single in the home third by Eric Rivera cut the deficit to 2-1, and the Owls went ahead for good in the next inning, on an RBI groundout by Richie Nizza, and with two outs, Jacob Josey deposited a single to right-center for the team’s first lead of the series.
The Finish
FAU would add three in the fifth (two coming on a Joe Montes double), another run in the sixth, and though LA Tech scraped one across in the eighth, put it away with a four-spot in the bottom half of that inning for the final margin. Three freshmen – Jon Jon Kostantis, Hunter Cooley and Michael Schuler – gave up just three runs in eight innings, and another newcomer, Ryan Sandberg, dealt a perfect ninth to wrap the win.
The Arms
· Kostantis (3-0) went a career-high four innings, striking out three and allowing two runs on three hits while picking up the victory
· Pitching a scoreless fourth was fellow frosh Cooley
· Schuler gave up only a hit and a run, matching his career best with four K’s, in three innings
· In the ninth, Sandberg needed only 14 pitches for a quick and easy 1-2-3, capping it on a strikeout to finish the series
The Bats
· All nine Owl starters reached base in the win
· Eric Rivera and Montes each had three hits. Rivera scored a run and had an RBI; Montes scored once with three runs knocked in
· With two hits apiece were Francisco Urbaez and Andru Summerall. Urbaez scored twice and Summerall three times, while the latter had a two-run single in the eighth
· Nizza had two RBI; Pedro Pages walked three times
What’s Next
The Owls go on the road for the next five, starting Tuesday night in Orlando at UCF. The next home series is April 26-28 versus Old Dominion, with tickets available 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.
