2/21/2021 | Baseball |
BOCA RATON, Fla. – A couple of big run-scoring innings doomed Florida Atlantic University baseball in Sunday’s series finale against UCF. Despite the loss, the Owls (2-1) won the series over the No. 24 Knights (1-2).
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“Guys make errors, it’s disheartening. In that sixth inning, we had a chance to get out of it twice with routine ground balls and we couldn’t do it. We still have to pitch better, and I don’t want to let the offense off the hook. There was opportunities there to score more runs and we didn’t do it.”
The Beginning
Nicholas Toney hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to turn a one-run deficit into a 3-1 FAU lead, and after five innings, Owls’ starter Matt Sparling had only given up the single UCF run on two hits.
The Turning Point
Sparling came back out for the sixth, and was greeted by a solo shot before hitting a batter. The Owls turned to the bullpen, and the inning went sideways. Five more runs came in – without a hit – on two walks, two hit batters, two errors and four wild pitches.
The Finish
Still, FAU clawed back, and a two-run single by Nolan Schanuel in the eighth made it a two-run game, at 8-6. In the ninth, the first two Knights were retired by strikeout. But, a solo home run on an 0-2 pitch opened the floodgates, to what would eventually be seven runs, to pretty much clinch the game for UCF.
The Arms
Sparling’s final line was five innings, three hits, three runs, and six strikeouts
Brock Helverson had a tremendous FAU debut, striking out the side in a scoreless seventh inning, and needing just 13 pitches to do so
The Bats
Schanuel’s tremendous opening series continued with a 3-for-4 game, with two singles, a double and two RBI. His weekend totals included a .533 average – 8-for-15 – with four extra-base hits (three 2B and a homer) and eight RBI
Toney’s first homer of 2021 was the fourth of his career
Every FAU starter reached base, including Steven Loden’s first collegiate hit, and so too did Sam Low, with a pinch-hit single in his first Owls’ at-bat
What’s Next
The Owls are on the road for midweek action Tuesday night, in Fort Myers against FGCU. The return home is next weekend, beginning Friday, hosting Seton Hall at FAU Baseball Stadium. Only single-game tickets are available (for the remainder of the year), by visiting FAU’s baseball tickets website or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
