UNIVERSITY PARK, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University baseball took three of four games this weekend in the road Conference USA set against FIU, culminating with Sunday’s 8-7 victory.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“You can’t say enough about Sam Drumheller. It was probably a mistake for us to send him out in ninth, it was his longest outing, but he had been in control the whole game. We talk about it all the time, the last three outs are the toughest. But he was fantastic.
“We showed some resilience, came back a couple of times. Kept chipping away and had the big top of nine, which was really impressive. Ended up getting the win, at this point it’s not about good or bad, it’s just about getting it done and moving on to the next series.”
The Beginning
FIU (16-24, 7-13 C-USA) got on the board first, with two in the first, and after the Owls (21-19, 10-10 C-USA) moved ahead with three in the third – Nolan Schanuel doubling in one, a run in on a passed ball, and a two-out Mitchell Hartigan double – the Panthers regained the advantage with two of their own in the bottom of the third.
The Turning Point
In the fourth, FIU was threatening for more, with runners on the corners and one out. The Owls turned to Sam Drumheller, who got a strikeout looking for the second out, and though he hit a batter to load the bases, he then notched another backwards “K” to strand all three Panthers.
The Finish
Drumheller would then be pretty much flawless until the ninth, retiring 12 of 14 batters (with a double play along the way). FAU scored in the sixth to tie, on Caleb Pendleton’s pinch-hit sac fly; in the seventh to go ahead, on Nicholas Toney’s pinch-hit RBI single; and got three runs’ worth of insurance in the top of the ninth: Steven Loden and Jalen DeBose with RBI singles, and another FIU passed ball to make it 8-4.
The Owls would need every bit of that, as FIU rallied in their last turn. With two outs, a single scored two, a bases-loaded walk another, and with three on, the tying run stood at third base. But Braden Ostrander got a strikeout looking on his third consecutive 3-2 count to earn the save, and the Owls the win.
The Arms
- Javi Rivera started and was relieved in the fourth
- Drumheller (1-1) picked up his first collegiate win, with 5 1/3 innings all told. His final line was four hits, three runs, and a career-best six strikeouts
- Ostrander notched his third save
The Bats
- Hartigan and Loden combined for six hits, of the Owls’ 12
- Loden was 3-for-5, scoring a run and knocking in one. He was 9-for-15 in the series, batting .600, with seven runs scored and six RBI
- Hartigan went 3-for-5 Sunday as well, scoring twice with one RBI
- Not to be outdone, he batted .529 on the weekend, 9-for-17, with five extra-base hits (three doubles and two homers) while scoring 10 runs
- DeBose had two hits and a stolen base, and had an RBI for the third straight game
- Toney’s sixth-inning single makes him 3-for-3 as a pinch-hitter this year, and he’s reached all four times he’s been called upon in that situation
What’s Next
The Owls and Panthers meet for four more, this time at FAU Baseball Stadium, starting Friday. Tickets are available by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or by logging on to FAU’s baseball tickets website.
