Josey’s Gem Leads FAU Baseball to Series Win over UTSA

SAN ANTONIO – (May 12, 2019) – Jacob Josey pitched seven innings of one-run ball, and four early runs were enough to push No. 24 Florida Atlantic University baseball past UTSA on Sunday, 6-2, to take the Conference USA road set against the Roadrunners.

Coupled with Rice’s Sunday win over Southern Miss, FAU and the Golden Eagles each have a 19-8 C-USA mark to tie for first, and FAU holds the tiebreaker with last weekend’s series win in Hattiesburg.

Quotable

Head Coach John McCormack:

“Really good to win the series. Jacob Josey was fantastic today, exactly what we needed. Andru (Summerall) came up big with three RBI, had the home run in the first to set the tone. But you can’t say enough about Jacob, (UTSA) was coming off a win on Senior Day and had momentum. Senior Day, graduation day, everybody’s there to support them, and he did a great job throwing strikes and letting the defense do their thing. Played flawless in the field, which is what we needed, and it was really nice to come out of here with a series win.”

The Turning Point

The Owls (34-17, 19-8 C-USA) got on the board early and often, and Josey made it hold up. Andru Summerall hit a solo shot in the first through a wind coming in from right, and capped a three-run second with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.

The Finish

After UTSA (24-27, 11-15 C-USA) plated one in the sixth, immediately FAU answered with runs the next frame and the one after. Zach Schneider came on in a save situation in the ninth, and though one run scored on a single, he got the next two Roadrunners to strike out and fly out to cap the series victory.

The Arms

·         Josey (1-0) took his first collegiate decision in his longest college start. He retired the first eight hitters he faced before a two-out walk in the third, and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth

·         All told, he scattered four hits and one run, walked two and struck out four. He had three perfect frames and five hitless

·         Another 1-2-3 was turned in by Vince Coletti in the eighth

·         Schneider earned his 12th save

The Bats

·         Besides his eighth home run and RBI single in his first two at-bats, Summerall added another run-scoring single in the seventh for a three-RBI game. He was 3-for-5 and scored a run as well

·         Gunnar Lambert drew a bases-loaded walk to open the scoring in the second, and doubled twice also

·         Eric Rivera had two RBI, on a sacrifice fly in the second, and on a fielder’s choice in the eighth for the Owls’ final run

·         Extending his hitting streak to nine games, with a 2-for-3 afternoon, was Wilfredo Alvarez. He’s now batting .330 on the season, raising his average 53 points during this stretch

What’s Next

Four games remain on FAU’s regular season schedule, all at their home park, starting Tuesday night with a premium game against UCF at 6:30 p.m. Senior Weekend begins Thursday night vs. Middle Tennessee, with senior ceremonies before the finale on Saturday. Tickets for all four games can be had 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.