BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team bounced back to defeat UTSA 12-8 on Saturday afternoon. The Owls got 12 hits and four home runs from the offense to earn their 15th win of the season and second in Conference USA.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach John McCormack
“After last night’s tough loss, it was good to bounce back and rebound. Armando Albert played with a sense of urgency today, got a couple of hits, and really got us going with the three-run homer. And on top of that he played really good in the field. Steven Loden has been getting his hits but hadn’t been driving the ball. He comes up today and hits two opposite field home runs. UTSA is a tough team. They are very well coached.”
THE BEGINNING
The Owls fell behind 3-0 in the first inning but responded quickly in the second. After a walk and a base hit, Albert came up with two outs and launched his second home run of the season to right field to tie the game.
THE TURNING POINT
The Roadrunners reclaimed a 4-3 advantage in the third before FAU took over for good in the bottom of the frame. Jackson Ross drew a one-out walk and Loden followed with an opposite field home run to make it 5-4. One inning later, Albert and Gabriel Rincones, Jr. each came through with RBI singles to stretch the lead to 8-4.
THE FINISH
The Owls led 12-5 entering the eighth before UTSA clawed back in the final two frames. A combination of Max Martzolf, Sam Drumheller, and Robert Wegielnik pieced together the final six outs to preserve the win.
THE ARMS
- Tibur Rivero started but command issues forced an early call to the bullpen after just one inning. Rivero walked three and hit two of the 10 batters he faced.
- Evan Waterbor backed up Rivero with three strong innings to earn the win. The junior allowed three hits and one run. He struck out two and walked two
- Martzolf recorded the longest outing of his career thus far with 3.1. He conceded four runs on seven hits but didn’t walk a batter and struck out four.
- Drumheller got the final two outs of the eighth and the first of the ninth
- Wegielnik picked up his second save of the season with a strikeout to end the game
THE BATS
- Albert finished 4-for-4 with a home run and three singles
- Loden went 3-for-4, posting the first multi-home run game of his career and third for the Owls this season
- Jackson Ross and Jalen DeBose combined for five runs scored
- Nolan Schanuel launched a solo homer in the sixth inning. It was his eighth of the season, giving him the team-lead in that category
- The Owls scored 10+ runs for the ninth time this season
WHAT’S NEXT
The series finale gets underway on Sunday at noon at the FAU Baseball Stadium.
TICKETS
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