BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team and WKU each took a game in Friday’s Conference USA doubleheader to remain tied in the C-USA East Division standings.
The Owls (25-21, 14-12 C-USA) used a six-run fifth to back Hunter Cooley’s complete game effort in game one. In the second, FAU again put up a crooked number in the fifth, four runs, to take a 4-2 lead, but saw WKU (24-22, 14-12 C-USA) immediately tie it in the bottom half. Then, down one in the seventh, the Hilltoppers scored twice to walk it off and even up the series.
NOTE: As of now, Saturday is scheduled to be one game, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern. There will be another meeting about this on Saturday morning, to potentially change things, dependent on the forecast.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“I thought it was a good day (of baseball). I know the last inning is the most important, but wow, the guys played great. We had some really clutch hitting and just couldn’t close it out. It puts a damper on the whole day, because you take the lead in the top of the seventh, and Mikey (Entenza) is coming off a good outing against FIU. We often talk about ‘senior moments,’ this was one of them. Bobby (Morgensen) hits the home run in the top of the seventh, you think we’re going to get one in the bottom, but credit to Western, they did what they needed to do and they won.”
Game One
The Beginning
WKU rapped together four straight hits in the third and scored three times to take the early lead. It stayed that way into the fifth, and FAU had been held to just four hits to that point.
The Turning Point
Like the WKU third, FAU’s fifth saw four straight hits, singles by Wilfredo Alvarez, B.J. Murray, Nolan Schanuel and Steven Loden, all to rightfield. Loden’s baseknock scored one run, another came in on a wild pitch, and the lead was gained on a Mitchell Hartigan two-run double. The Owls added on two more, on RBI singles by Bobby Morgensen and Jackson Wenstrom.
The Finish
Cooley immediately dealt a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, and worked around a two-out single in the sixth, and a hit batter in his final frame, for the CG. In fact, after the string of hits in the third, the sophomore lefty retired 14 of the last 17 batters he faced, punctuated with a strikeout looking as the game-ender.
The Arms
- Cooley (7-3) earned his second complete game win of the season
- He did not walk a batter, and outside of the run-scoring inning, scattered just four hits otherwise
The Bats
- Hartigan and Morgensen both had two hits, each scored a run, and Hartigan had the two RBI and Morgensen one
- Eight of the nine Owls had a hit towards the team’s 11
- With a double early on, Jalen DeBose extended his reached-base streak to 14 in a row
Game Two
The Beginning
Again, WKU opened the scoring, with two in the first.
The Turning Point
FAU responded with a four-spot in the fifth, three of which came on an opposite-field two-run homer by Loden for the lead, and the other on a Wenstrom RBI double. But WKU answered with back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom to tie.
The Finish
The Owls went oppo again in the seventh, on a two-out solo shot by Morgensen. But the home half opened with walk, and it was tied two batters later on an RBI single. Then, after a wild pitch and throwing error, the 10th pitch of the ensuing at-bat was a line drive single to left to walk it off for the Hilltoppers.
The Arms
- Sparling had a very similar outing to Cooley, in that after runs scored, he really buckled down. He sat down 10 of the 11 batters he faced, coming out after the fourth
- Mike Entenza (2-3) was saddled with the loss
The Bats
- Loden was 3-for-4, and Morgensen added another two hits (plus a walk), giving each a combined four-hit afternoon in the two games
- Their home runs were No. 4 (Loden) and No. 9 (Morgensen) on the year
- Also with two hits was Schanuel
What’s Next
As of right now, the Owls and Hilltoppers are scheduled to play one game on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern), with the potential to change that based on more determination on Saturday morning.
