Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
ULM
Second Straight Tough Loss Suffered by Florida Atlantic
3/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2008
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Monroe, LA - For the second time in as many days Florida Atlantic dropped a one-run decision to Sun Belt Conference rivals Louisiana-Monroe, losing 3-2 Saturday afternoon.
Louisiana-Monroe (16-8; 9-2 SBC) pitchers combined to total 10 strikeouts, limiting FAU's potent offense to just two runs on eight hits.
Florida Atlantic (16-8; 6-3 SBC) fell to 1-3 on the road this season. The Owls came into the series having played all but two of its first 22 games at home.
FAU put a runner into scoring position in each of the first two innings off ULM's 6-foot-1, 230-pound starting pitcher Drew Graham but were denied an early run.
Saturday's action seemed to pick up right where things had left off Friday night, with Jeremy Griffiths being gunned down on the base paths. In the fist inning Griffiths was thrown out a home plate by ULM right fielder Matt Laird after Travis Ozga had come up with a two-out single.
The Owls eventually got on the scoreboard in the fourth, loading up the bases and manufacturing the game's first run on an RBI groundout by Nick Arata.
Making his first career start, freshman Mike Gipson fanned four through three scoreless innings and wiggled out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth. Gipson threw an 0-2 curveball that fooled Nick Maragas, ending the ULM threat in the fourth and allowing FAU to hold its 1-0 lead.
Gipson allowed just three hits in four and two thirds innings pitched. He struck out six and walked three before a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth pushed in ULM's first run and pushed Gipson from the game with score tied 1-1.
William Block hit a run-scoring double in the top of the seventh inning to give FAU a 2-1 lead. Block lined a 3-2 offering from ULM reliever Ben Soignier (1-0) into the leftfield corner, scoring Troy Bubley from first base after the ball was juggled and dropped by leftfielder Jon Prevost as he tried to get the ball back into the infield.
ULM answered by stringing together three consecutive hits off FAU reliever Brett Cannon (0-1) in the bottom of the seventh, culminated by an RBI single by reserve shortstop Darren Sutton. Cannon would stand as the pitcher of record when, moments later, Matt Collins drove in the go-ahead off Jeff Beliveau with two outs and runners on the corners.
With FAU trailing 3-2 with two innings to play, it was ULM's offensive star from Friday night, Soignier, shutting down the Owls' bats to earn the win. Nick Arata and Colby Gratton began the FAU ninth with back-to-back singles but Bubley fouled out trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt and Block hit into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.
FAU will try to salvage a game of the three-game set when the series concludes Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.
