Raymond Church hits two home-runs in loss

The Owls fell for just first time on Saturday in a 10-6 loss to Middle Tennessee State. FAU was 6-0 coming into play on Saturdays as MTSU evened the series at 1-1 with the victory.

The Owls (16-10, 7-4) took the early lead in the third inning when Raymond Church hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot, which put FAU ahead 1-0.

The Blue Raiders (17-10, 6-5) did not record a hit until the sixth inning when they broke out for four runs. Tyler Burnett got things started with a home run to right field to tie the game at 1-1.  Three batters later, Justin Guidry connected on a three-run shot just over the wall in right field to put MTSU on top 4-1.

Dan Scheffler responded in the bottom half of the inning with his seventh home run of the season, a two run shot which brought the Owls within 4-3.

However, MTSU broke the game open in the eighth scoring six more runs and effectively knocking out FAU starter Mike Gipson. The right-hander lasted seven-plus innings and gave up six hits and seven runs with three walks and seven strikeouts while suffering his first loss of the season.

“We can’t give a good hitting team that many opportunities,” said head coach John McCormack.

Chad Edwards (4-1) pitched brilliantly and earned his fourth victory of the season. The right-hander lasted eight innings while allowing five runs off eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Church made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, hitting his second home run of the game, a three-run shot, to bring FAU within 10-6. The second baseman went 2-for-4 with those two home runs, and four RBI.

The Owls and Blue Raiders will finalize the three-game series tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. Kevin Alexander (3-2, 5.46) will get the start for FAU while Middle Tennessee's starter is still be to determined.

Box Score

Series Discussion