ATHENS, Ga. – (June 1, 2019) – For the second straight day, Bobby Morgensen crushed two home runs, and freshman starter Jacob Josey threw seven innings of shutout baseball as Florida Atlantic University moved on to play another day, defeating Mercer on Saturday afternoon at the Athens Regional, 10-6.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“Well, before the game started I asked Jacob Josey to throw a shutout and he responded, so coaching is easy (said with a laugh). He pitched fantastic, under not such an easy situation. He hasn’t had many starts this year, (with today being) a regional and an elimination game. Thinking back to all the regionals I’ve (been in), this is one of the better performances we’ve had. And this guy (Bobby Morgensen) keeps hitting to help out. It got a little hairy at the end, we had to use (Nick) Swan and (Zach) Schneider which is not ideal, but at this point it is win and move on.”
The Turning Point
The second saw Mercer (35-29) put the first two on, on the corners, with a sac bunt putting two in scoring position with just one out. But Josey got a strikeout and flyout to keep things scoreless, and the Owls (41-20) took the lead for good their next at-bat, on an Eric Rivera sacrifice fly. They poured on four more in the fourth, with the first of Morgensen’s two homers (an opposite field two-run shot), an RBI single by Jared DeSantolo (his second of four hits on the day), and an RBI groundout by Wilfredo Alvarez.
The Finish
Five more came across in the FAU seventh, on a Morgensen three-run bomb off the scoreboard in right, and a two-out Rivera single with the bases loaded for two more. Mercer would not go away, however, scoring five of their own in the eighth, and cutting it to four with a solo home run leading off the ninth. The Bears then put two on with one out, putting the tying run in the on-deck circle. The Owls turned to Zach Schneider in a save situation, and he needed just two pitches to close out the game: a called strike, and then a comebacker right to him, starting a 1-4-3 double play for the win.
The Arms / The Gloves
· Josey (2-0) allowed just four hits in seven scoreless frames (matching his longest outing). He walked four and struck out three in a 108-pitch effort
· In the dramatic eighth, after having already scored five runs, Mercer had runners at second and third with just one out. Nick Swan came on and got a popout and groundout to limit further damage
· Schneider’s 16th save of the year breaks a tie to put him second all-time on the single-season list. It also marks his 31st in two seasons, tying Hugh Adams for the program record
· In addition to his tremendous offensive showing, Morgensen climbed the wall in the sixth to rob Mercer’s Kel Johnson of a home run
The Bats
· That’s four home runs in two days for Morgensen, who now has a team-high 11. He also walked twice Saturday
· DeSantolo matched his career high of four hits, with two doubles and two singles. He scored twice in addition to the one RBI
· Morgensen, Alvarez, Pedro Pages, Mitchell Hartigan and Joe Montes all had two hits. Along with DeSantolo, three Owls (Morgensen, Pages and Montes) each scored two times
What’s Next
The win-or-go-home scenario is still in place for FAU, as the Owls will face the loser of Saturday’s late game between Florida State and Georgia. The team’s third game in Athens is set for a noon Sunday start. Should FAU win that one, they’d move on to another Sunday game, at 6 p.m., against the Saturday winner of Florida State/Georgia.
– 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.
