The Owls finished off Penn State, and gave 7th ranked Michigan a run for their money…game release via SID Justin Johnson:

The Florida Atlantic University softball team split a pair of one-run decisions on Sunday, beating Penn State 3-2 before falling to no. 7 Michigan 1-0.

The Owls (7-7) beat the Nittany Lions in a game that began on Saturday night, but was delayed due to lightning. Consecutive singles by Lindsey Shell, Whitley Herb and Christina Martinez in the third inning loaded the bases for Melissa Martinez, who drew a walk to score Shell. Shelby Knox and Jordan Stovall were hit by pitches to drive in two more runs and give FAU a 3-0 lead.

A two-run double in the fifth pulled PSU to within a run to account for all the game’s scoring. Action resumed in the top of the 7th inning on Sunday and Samantha Messer retired the side in order to pick up her third win of the season.

The Owls took on Michigan after finishing the Penn State game. Freshmen Kylee Hanson of FAU and the Wolverines’ Megan Betsa engaged in a pitchers’ duel.  Each team only recorded three hits in the game. FAU’s best chance to score came in the third inning, but Shell was tagged out after overrunning third base on a Melissa Martinez infield single to end the frame.
  
The game’s only run came when Michigan drew a bases loaded walk in the sixth inning. FAU’s final 12 batters were retired. The Owls will travel to Clearwater, Fla. next weekend for the USF Under Armour Invitational. Play for FAU begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28 with a game against Temple.

Owls win a pair on Friday night! release via SID Justin Johnson:

The Florida Atlantic University softball team took a 1-0 victory against Temple and a 5-0 win over Loyola Marymount on Friday night on day one of the USF Under Armour Invitational.

In the first game of the night, FAU scored the game’s only run in the first inning. Whitley Herb started the inning by reaching on an error by Temple’s second baseman. Christina Martinez singled to put players on first and second. Lindsay Shell’s sacrifice bunt advanced the runners and Herb scored off of a Melissa Martinez groundout.

Christina Martinez went 2-for-3 in the win. Whitley Herb, Lindsey Shell, Shelby Knox and Mickey Bell each had one hit in the game.

Amanda Wilson was in the circle and got the win, while Samantha Messer came in during the top of the sixth inning to get the save. Wilson went five innings, gave up four hits and had three strikeouts. Friday’s win takes her to 3-1 on the season.

In the second game of the night, against Loyola Marymount, FAU scored its first of five runs in the third inning. Mickey Bell started the inning off by taking first base on an error by Temple’s third baseman. Delaney Rickey came in to pinch run for Bell and she advanced to second on a bunt by Kathryn Spack. Rickey scored off of a Christina Martinez single to center field.

The remaining four runs came in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs. It started off with a Carnesha Thompson double to left field. Bell walked and Spack singled to advance her to second and Thompson to third. Bell and Thompson scored on a throwing error by the Lions’ pitcher. Christina Martinez drove in the last two runs on a double to left field and then got the third out attempting to advance to third.

Thompson and Spack both went 2-for-3 and made pivotal plays on defense to hold Loyola scoreless.
Kylee Hanson, who is now 3-3 on the season. She pitched a complete game shutout, giving up six hits and had four strikeouts.

The Owls play two games Saturday at Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater, FL. The first game starts at 2:15 p.m. against Villanova and the second will be against Mount St. Mary’s at 4:30 p.m.

FAU Softball split on Saturday, defeating Villanova 3-0 in game one before losing 1-0 to Mount Saint Mary’s in the second.

Despite three Owl errors, a three run third inning driven by singles from Kathryn Spack (3-of-3), Lindsey Shell (RBI), and Jordan Stovall (2RBI) would prove the key component of game one.

Florida Atlantic’s Samantha Messer (7IP, 6H, 0R, 6K) earned the complete game victory over the Wildcats (5-3) to improve to 5-1 on the year.

The Owls (10-8) saw a three game win streak come to an end in game two.

Kylee Hanson (2-5) also tossed a seven inning effort. The freshman gave up just five hits and struck out 12, but received no run support as FAU managed just one hit for the affair courtesy of Shell’s single in the fourth.

An RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave Mount St. Mary’s the victory.

Florida Atlantic concludes action at the USF Invitational tomorrow against Quinnipiac. First pitch is set for 11:15 AM.

The Florida Atlantic University softball team’s bats were on fire in its 15-4 win over Quinnipiac University (0-5) on the final day of the USF Under Armour Invitational. The team had a season-high 18 hits and 15 RBIs.

FAU (11-8) opened the first inning strong, scoring four runs, and eight more runs were scored by the Owls in the top of the second inning.

Pitchers Sam Messer, who singled, and Kylee Hanson both pinch hit in the fifth inning. Eleven Owls had hits in the game. Notably, Mickey Bell went 3-for-3, Lindsey Shell went 2-for-2, and Carnesha Thompson and Whitley Herb each went 2-for-3.

Freshman Amanda Wilson was in the circle and got her fourth win of the season, bringing her record to 4-1. She went all five innings, giving up seven hits and had three strikeouts.

The Owls will be back home on Tuesday, March 4, where they will face Michigan State at 6 p.m. at the FAU Softball Stadium.

Owls come from behind tonight to defeat Michigan State…game release via SID Justin Johnson:

The Florida Atlantic University softball team had to rally from an early deficit to defeat Michigan State 6-5 on Tuesday night.

FAU (12-8) trailed 5-0 in the third inning after the Spartans (5-11) scored two runs in the second inning and three more in the third. Sam Messer entered in the fourth inning to relieve starter Amanda Wilson and did not allow a base runner for the rest of the game.

The Owls’ rally started in the bottom of the fourth, when both Melissa Martinez and Lindsey Shell scored on a Carnesha Thompson sacrifice fly.

FAU tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Jordan Stovall reached on a two-base error to lead off the inning before Delaney Rickey pinch ran for her. Mickey Bell singled to center to score Rickey. Sara Rotunno then entered for Bell. Kathryn Spack reached on a Spartan throwing error that also allowed Rotunno to score. Christina Martinez doubled down the line in left to knot the score 5-5.

In the seventh inning, Sarah Howell got to third, but could not score, sending the game to extra innings. After Messer retired the Spartans in order for a fifth straight inning, Spack lead off with a double to left bringing Christina Martinez to the plate. Martinez’s bunt was fielded by the Spartan third baseman, but after wheeling in an attempt to cut off the lead runner, the throw went into left, allowing Spack to score and giving FAU the win.

Messer threw five perfect innings in relief to pick up her fifth win of the year.

FAU begins Conference USA play on Wednesday with a doubleheader against Marshall. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

Way to go girls ! You are representing FAU wonderfully. Great job to you and coach. Keep it up.

Great comeback ladies, keep on takin down the B1G!

FAU softball split on Wednesday night in their C-USA debut…release via SID Justin Johnson:

The Florida Atlantic University softball team opened Conference USA play with a split of its doubleheader against Marshall on Wednesday night.

The Owls (13-9, 1-1 C-USA) fell into a deficit early on in the first game. Marshall (5-12, 1-1) scored four runs in the first inning on four hits and a FAU error. The Owls loaded the bases with just one out in the second inning when Mickey Bell drove in Melissa Martinez with a single to left and Shelby Knox scored on a Kathryn Spack walk. A fielder’s choice and a groundout kept FAU to just two runs in the frame.
 
Marshall scored a run in the third to make the score 5-2, which is where it stayed until the bottom of the fifth. In that inning, Knox doubled in Lindsey Shell and Melissa Martinez scored on a Carnesha Thompson single. Thompson later scored when Spack was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game at 5. The Thundering Herd answered back with three runs of its own in the sixth to take an 8-5 lead. FAU had runners reach in both the 6th and 7th inning, but couldn’t score.

Game 2 was a more defensive oriented game, with Marshall managing the only hit of the game through the first three innings. FAU broke the stalemate in the bottom of the fourth inning. Knox hit her first career homerun over the wall in left center to give the Owls a 2-0 lead. Bell reached on a Marshall error and came around to score on a Spack blooper down the right field line. A Marshall error also accounted for the game’s final run, allowing Sarah Howell to score from second on a Spack sacrifice bunt.

Samantha Messer threw her third shutout of the season and struck out a career high 10 batters for her sixth win of the year. FAU and Marshall will play the rubber match of the series at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The Owls take the series 2-1 with a win on Thursday…game release via SID Justin Johnson:

The Florida Atlantic University softball team took its first ever Conference USA series with a 9-6 win over Marshall on Thursday.

The Owls (14-9, 2-1 C-USA) had the bases loaded in the first inning when Marshall turned a double play. However, Whitley Herb scored on the play to give FAU a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Shelby Knox doubled to left center, driving in Christina Martinez and putting the Owls up 2-0.

Marshall (5-13, 1-2) tied the game in the top of the third inning on a two-run base hit by Savanah Webster. FAU immediately responded, retaking the lead in the bottom of the third when Melissa Martinez’s popup drove the second baseman back to shallow right field, allowing Herb to score her second run of the game.  The Thundering Herd retied the game on the first pitch of the fourth inning with a solo homerun. Marshall took the lead later in the inning to chase starter Samantha Messer from the game.

Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, FAU busted out for six runs on nine hits. Kathryn Spack’s two-run base hit was the big blow of the inning. Melissa Martinez, Knox, Carnesha Thompson and Mickey Bell all contributed RBIs in the frame. The first three Marshall batters reached to load the bases in the seventh, but two fielder’s choices and a flyout ended the game.

Amanda Wilson pitched 3.2 innings in relief for her fifth win of the year. The Owls return to the field on Friday to play Michigan State and Virginia Tech as part of the Parents’ Weekend Tournament. FAU’s games are scheduled to start at 5 and 7 p.m. respectively, but tournament play begins at 9:30 a.m.

Owls sweep on Friday…release via SID Justin Johnson:

The Florida Atlantic University softball team won a pair of nailbiters on the first day of the Parents’ Weekend Tournament on Friday.

The Owls (16-9) defeated Michigan State 4-2 in eight innings in their first game of the day. FAU got on the board in the top of the first inning, when Shelby Knox drove in Whitley Herb with a sacrifice fly. MSU tied the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Ellie Stouffer. At that point, Kylee Hanson settled into a groove and retired the next eight Spartan batters.

The game remained tied until the top of the eighth inning, when the international tiebreaker came into effect. Melissa Martinez drove in her twin sister, Christina with single to center. After Knox reached on a MSU error, Mickey Bell’s double gave the Owls a 4-1 lead. Michigan State scored a run in the bottom of the eighth, but that was all. Hanson went the distance for her fourth win of the year.

In the nightcap, FAU beat Virginia Tech 1-0. The Hokies threatened in the first inning when the first two batters reached, but Samantha Messer got the next three hitters to end the frame. FAU had runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the inning when Knox drove in her second run of the night.

That was the only run of the game as Messer kept Virginia Tech off the scoreboard. The Hokies managed just two hits over the final six innings.  VT’s Maggie Tyler was also very effective, throwing 79 of her 100 pitches for strikes.

The Owls return to the field on Saturday for Day Two of the Parents’ Weekend Tournament, when they face South Alabama and Illinois at 6 and 8:15 p.m., respectively.