Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
Monmouth
Florida Atlantic Slugs Its Way Past Monmouth
3/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 12, 2008
BOCA RATON, FL - Senior catcher Alex Silversmith hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth to lead Florida Atlantic over Monmouth 12-11 Wednesday. Florida Atlantic (8-5) scored in all but two innings, overcoming an early five-run deficit. It was the eighth win in ten games for the Owls.
Daniel Cook homered from both sides of plate. Cook hit a solo shot to left-centerfield to lead off the FAU first inning off Monmouth's left-handed starter Nick Vallillo. In the second, batting left-handed, Cook hit a two-run homer to the same part of the field.
Cook's second homer of the game, and sixth of the season, prompted Monmouth to call upon its third pitcher to get the Hawks through the first two innings.
The two teams combined to use 13 pitchers in a game that lasted just over four hours.
FAU All-America candidate Mike McKenna also hit his fifth homerun of the season Wednesday night. McKenna tied the game at five in the third inning with a solo shot that ricocheted off the batters-eye in dead centerfield.
Nick Criaris went 3-for-4 with a homerun and two RBI. Criaris's two-out run-scoring single in the sixth allowed FAU to build what became a four-run lead in the middle innings.
It marked the second time in as many nights that FAU rallied from a five-run deficit.
Monmouth (2-6) had scored five first-inning runs, four off Owls starter Chris Eberhart. The Hawks hit a pair of early homers, the second a controversial homerun down the leftfield line off Chris Schmitt, who came on to spell Eberhart five batters into the game.
The Hawks scored three runs in the top of the eighth to cut a late four-run FAU lead down to three and plated the tying run in the top of the ninth on a single by Chris Colazzo.
Left-handed reliever Nick Melendres (2-0), who equaled a team-high with his sixth appearance, pitched FAU out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and picked up his second win thanks to Silversmith's heroics.
FAU returns to action this weekend, hosting a three-game series against reigning Sun Belt Conference Champions Louisiana-Lafayette. The series begins Friday night at 6:30 p.m.
SCHEDULING NOTE: Florida Atlantic has added a game against Cornell to its 2008 schedule. The Owls will play Cornell in a single game scheduled for Monday, March 17, at 6:30 p.m. at FAU Stadium.
