BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball defeated FIU 8-4 on Saturday afternoon. The Owls have won four of five against the Panthers this season.
THE BEGINNING
FIU had a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the second when the Owls got on the board for the first time. An infield single by Spencer Rich scored John Schroeder from third. FAU took its first lead in the third when a hard-hit ball by Dylan Goldstein caromed away from FIU second baseman Dante Girardi. Caleb Pendleton scored from third, and Armando Albert made the turn home to make it 3-2.
THE TURNING POINT
FIU tied the game 3-3 on a solo home run off Hunter Cooley in the fifth. Just a few minutes later, lightning in the area caused an hour and 10-minute delay.
When play resumed, Cooley went to work retiring the next 12 batters he faced. While Cooley was in control on his side of the rubber, Spencer Rich lined a one-out double in the bottom of the sixth, and Christian Adams followed with his fourth home run of the season to give the Owls the lead back at 5-3.
THE FINISH
Jackson Ross led off the seventh inning with a double, Nolan Schanuel was hit by a pitch, and Dylan Goldstein beat out a hard-hit ground ball to short. With the bases loaded, Schroeder drove in a run with a ground out to the right side. Mitchell Hartigan went to the opposite field with a base hit to score two more.
FIU finally tagged Cooley for two runs in the ninth before the lefty induced a grounder with two runners on to stunt the comeback.
THE ARMS
- Jacob Josey started and completed three innings with two unearned runs against.
- Sam Drumheller entered in the middle of the fourth and recorded all three outs, with two strikeouts.
- Cooley improved to 4-6. He struck out four and allowed two runs on four hits in five innings.
THE BATS
- Schanuel doubled, singled, and was hit by a pitch. He has reached base in 39 straight games.
- Rich finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
- Eight of nine FAU starters had at least one hit and one run scored.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Owls will go for the sweep on Sunday at noon.
TICKETS
To purchase FAU tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE. Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com, or through the baseball’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUBaseball.
