Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
Campbell
Baseball Rallies Past Campbell
3/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 24, 2001
BUIES CREEK, NC -
Mike Valdes hit a three-run ninth inning homer to lift Florida Atlantic University over host Campbell University 14-13 Saturday afternoon in Buies Creek, NC. Valdes finished the day 3-for-6 with two doubles, a homer, six RBIs, and four runs.
Campbell took a 13-10 lead into the ninth before the Owls mounted their final rally of the day. Gabe Somarriba pulled FAU (21-12, 2-4 Trans America Athletic Conference) to within 13-11 on an RBI-double with no outs. With one out, Valdes finished the scoring by blasting a three-run shot to center, giving FAU what turned out to be the 14-13 victory. It was the fourth home run of the year for Valdes.
A two-run single by FAU's Jason Sullivan capped off a three-run second that gave FAU an early 3-0 lead. The Fighting Camels (16-8, 4-2 TAAC) responded with six runs in the bottom of the inning for a 6-3 lead.
In the fourth, trailing 9-4, Valdes had a two-run double which was followed by a Regan Samaniego RBI-single to pull FAU to within 9-7. The Owls tied the game at 10 with three runs in the sixth inning. Campbell then took a 13-10 lead in the eighth on a two-run homer by Jonathan Sanderlin.
Nelson Lopez (1-1) picked up the victory, pitching 1.1 innings, allowing no runs, no hits and two walks. Lopez forced a pop-up by Nick Carter with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
FAU was outhit 12-11 while both teams combined for 25 walks. Each team used five pitchers in the game that lasted 3 hours and 41 minutes.
The victory prevented FAU from being swept by the Camels in the three-game series that began Friday.
FAU next hosts Harvard Tuesday afternoon at 4:00pm.
