BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – (April 20, 2019) – The No. 27 Florida Atlantic University baseball team split with WKU on Saturday, winning the completion of Friday’s suspended game, 8-5, and falling to the Hilltoppers in the nightcap, 11-4.
GAME ONE
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“Really good game. I thought that, especially from the point that (WKU) tied it up, our guys really really played well. Scored two the next inning, then added a couple more after. We had some really nice pitching performances out of the pen. (Michael) Schuler did another good job, Zach (Schneider) comes in and gets a 1-2-3 save. Offensively, it was a good day. We get eight runs on 14 hits, Eric (Rivera) had four hits. Especially with the layoff, and a possible change in momentum, I was very proud of our guys.”
The Turning Point
The game was called Friday with the Owls leading 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth, and an inning later, the Hilltoppers tied it with a three-run home run by Jake Sanford. But as McCormack alluded to, two in the sixth plus another one in both the seventh and eighth provided enough cushion for the win.
The Finish
Michael Schuler threw three innings of one-run relief, picking up the win, and it took Zach Schneider just nine pitches to deliver the final three outs in a row to earn the save.
The Arms
· Blake Sanderson started on Friday, and had thrown 3 2/3 innings of four-hit, one-run ball before not being able to return due to the game’s suspension
· At that point, there were two on, two out, and a 0-2 count, and Dylan O’Connell needed one pitch to strikeout Sam McElreath to end the fourth
· Schuler gave up just three hits and a solo homer, throwing 36 of his 47 pitches for strikes. He improved to 3-0 on the year
· Schneider’s ninth save went strikeout looking, groundout to first and flyout to leftfield
The Bats
· Eric Rivera had four hits, and reached a fifth time on a two-base error. He scored three runs and added an RBI
· Andru Summerall had three RBI, on a double in the first, a single in the third and sacrifice fly in the seventh. He was 2-for-3 and scored twice as well
· Off the bench, Richie Nizza had a two-out pinch-hit RBI single, and later singled for a second time and scored
· Pedro Pages also had two hits, while Francisco Urbaez walked three times
GAME TWO
Quotable
Coach McCormack:
“Anytime you play the second game of a doubleheader, it’s not easy. We gave up the six-spot in the bottom of the second, and we were never really able to get back in the game. We had some opportunities, but credit to WKU, whenever we had something going, they made some big pitches, made some good plays in the field. It wasn’t our finest day, but we have Sunday to win the series.”
The Turning Point
The Hilltoppers (18-18-1, 9-7-1 Conference USA) loaded the bases with two outs in the second, and a full-count walk forced in a run, followed by a two-run single and three-run home run.
The Finish
Twice, the Owls (26-12, 13-4 C-USA) cut it to five, but a three-run eighth by WKU pretty much sealed it. Late-inning FAU runs came courtesy of a Pages single in the seventh, and a Joe Montes home run leading off the eighth.
The Arms
· Mike Ruff (4-2) was saddled with the loss
· Turning in a quality relief outing was Eric Keating, three innings and only having an unearned run come in against him. He also struck out four
· Jordan Poore made his season debut on the hill to start the seventh, and Dylan Carter was aided by a double play to end the frame
· Nick Swan turned in a 1-2-3 eighth, the only clean frame in the game for Owls’ pitching, on three consecutive lineouts
The Bats
· Nizza added his second two-hit game of the day, scoring twice, and notched his second two-out RBI as well. He was 4-for-7 over the course of the two games Saturday
· BJ Murray had a pinch-hit double and scored on the Nizza single
· Montes had a single in addition to his fourth home run of the year
What’s Next
The finale Sunday starts at 2 p.m. Eastern, with the starting pitching matchup of FAU’s Jon Jon Kostantis and WKU’s Joe Filosa. This upcoming Tuesday, the Owls travel to Gainesville to take on Florida, and will be home the following weekend, April 26-28, versus Old Dominion. Get tickets 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.
