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SERIES THREAD: FAU vs Old Dominion - March 16th - 18th, 2018

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Owls take the series from the Monarchs with huge 9th inning

“We stuck it out,” said Head Coach John McCormack. “I think there’s games each year where it’s not about if you’re better than the other team, or playing better or not as well, it’s about sticking it out and winning the game somehow, some way. That’s what I think we did tonight. We certainly swung the bats well, even if the pitching wasn’t as good tonight. It’s good to be 2-0 in conference with a chance to sweep on the road, which is never, ever easy.”

Trailing 4-2, David Miranda led off the sixth inning for FAU (15-4, 2-0) with a towering home run to right. Then, in the eighth, the Owls scored three to take a lead, but it would be short-lived, with ODU getting three of their own in the bottom half to take a 7-6 lead.

Momentum quickly swung back in FAU’s favor, with five straight batters reaching to start the ninth. Miranda and Pedro Pages both singled, with a double by Cody Wilson knotting it up at 7-7. Pages scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, but the inning was far from over. After a walk to Gunnar Lambert, Eric Rivera doubled to right-center for his fourth RBI of the day, and two batters later, a two-run double by Richie Nizza brought two more in. Joe Montes would then make it a five-run lead with a safety squeeze. In ODU’s last turn, Zach Schneider allowed a one-out single, but a Tyler Frank-to-Lambert groundout double play ended the proceedings.

The series finale in Norfolk begins at 11:00 AM Sunday. Morgan Maguire will start for ODU (7-11, 0-2) against the Owls’ Vince Coletti.
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FAU pitchers getting hit a bit by a very good ODU team. Eric Rivera having one heck of a weekend. Bats have really turned on and the pitching has kept us in the game. Can't ask for anything more. Let"s see if we can do the same on Sunday.
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Local Owl said

Reminds me of the "triple" he gave up a week ago. A pop fly that landed between  the first baseman, second baseman, and right fielder. A hundred and fifty feet from home plate.
Posted On: Mar 17th 2018, 2:55 PM #377686

That has to be the cheapest 3B I've ever seen. Further, I'm still convinced that when the fielder lunged and deflected the ball, that the ball was about 8-10 inches foul when contact was made. The ball did first hit the ground after the deflection in fair territory, but when a fly ball if first touched with the ball over foul territory, it is a foul ball. My view was right down the line, and I was shocked, as were the fielders, when it was called fair (and a bit late of a call). I'm guessing the ump's view was blocked, so he hesitated and made the decision based solely upon where the ball ended up.
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Old Dominion slipped past the Owls 2-1 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon in a contest with never got out of the 40's.

FAU (15-5, 2-1) took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, when ODU starter Morgan Maguire’s wild pitch with two outs scored Gunnar Lambert. The Owls had a chance to add on in the sixth, loading the bases with one out, but Maguire induced a groundout double play to keep it at that margin.

The Monarchs (8-11, 1-2) tied it in the seventh, too having the bases loaded, but with two outs. Tommy Bell hit a dribbler up the third base line that Joe Montes made as close as he possibly could at first, but Bell was called safe and the tying run scored. Then, in the eighth, and also with two outs, a single through the right side by Will Morgan gave the home team a 2-1 lead. In the last at-bat for  the Owls, Montes singled with two outs, but a flyout to leftfield clinched the win for ODU.

“Today was a disappointing loss after how well the guys played the first two days,” said Head Coach John McCormack. “Too many mistakes cost us a chance to sweep.”

Vince Coletti threw six shutout innings to start, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out five. He lowered his season ERA to 2.05 with the effort. Mark Nowatnick took the loss in relief.

The Owls will next travel to Miami on Wednesday night for a 6:00 PM first pitch.

UPDATED SCHEDULE: 2018 FAU Baseball Schedule - FAU Owl's Nest
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Couldn't hold them today. Real nice job by our starting pitcher.
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Local Owl said

Couldn't hold them today. Real nice job by our starting pitcher.
Posted On: Mar 18th 2018, 4:08 PM #377695

Left way too many on the basepath. Should have won this game 6-2.
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I know we've been crushing the ball lately, but today was an example of lack of clutch hitting.
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Florida Atlantic University sophomore Eric Rivera was chosen by the league office as Conference USA Co-Hitter of the Week, as announced on Monday afternoon.

Rivera, who has split time between second base and leftfield this season, had a tremendous showing at the plate this past week. He hit .412 and had 12 total RBI in a 4-1 week for FAU. He was 7-for-17 with a double, triple and home run, scored six runs, and had three RBI in one game and four RBI in two others.

The West Park, Florida, native started the week with a grand slam as part of a 2-for-4 night, with two runs scored, in Tuesday’s win over North Florida. He knocked in another run the next night against UNF, and had back-to-back two-hit games to start the weekend against Old Dominion. On Saturday, he was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI, and followed that up with a 2-for-4 showing Saturday, with another four RBI.

Over the six games, Rivera’s slugging percentage was .765, and he was on base at a clip of .455, adding three walks. He has raised his season splits (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) to .274/.385/.403 and now leads the team with 16 RBI.
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He is aggressive and passionate about the game. He will only get better.
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