Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
WKU
Florida Atlantic Edged in Championship Play-In Game
5/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 25, 2008
LAFAYETTE, LA - Florida Atlantic University's run at the 2008 Sun Belt Conference Championship came to an end late Saturday night, losing to Western Kentucky University by the slimmest of margins, 5-4. The Hilltoppers rallied to score four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and ace Matt Ridings came on to work three scoreless frames to secure the win.
Florida Atlantic (32-27-1) enjoyed the program's 10th consecutive winning season and 17th in 21 years under beloved head coach Kevin Cooney, who announced in April that he will be retiring following the season.
WKU (32-25) will play for the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals when it faces the University of New Orleans in the tournament's championship Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. CT.
Leading 4-1 heading into the seventh inning it appeared that FAU just might complete an improbable journey through the tournament's loser's bracket and reach Saturday's title game.
A three-run FAU fourth inning began when a shallow flyball bounced off the glove of WKU right fielder Matt Bracken put Mike McKenna at second base with one out. Alex Silversmith followed with an RBI single up the middle and William Block drilled an 0-2 pitch over the left field fence to put FAU in front 3-1.
Prior to the fourth, WKU starter Bryce Jenney had struck out four and allowed just one base runner through the first three innings. Jenney, who was used out of the bullpen 19 times in 20 appearances during the regular season, would finish out the fourth but go no further.
Silversmith's game-tying RBI was his 12th of the tournament, equaling a Sun Belt Conference tournament record that dates back to 1978.
WKU left-handed reliever Evan Teague was greeted by back-to-back doubles off the bats of Nick Criaris and David Wilson, which generated another FAU run in the fifth to make it 4-1.
FAU starter Michael Obradovich (6-5) got into a one-out jam in the top of the seventh, in which WKU loaded up the bases on three consecutive singles. After Matt Payton's base hit made the score 4-2, Scott Kaskie followed with a two-run single on a line drive to right field, which tied the game 4-4.
Obradovich pitched well, working 6 1/3, giving up just three hits until WKU chased him by stringing together five hits in the seventh. With score knotted at 4-4 and FAU needing one out to retire WKU in the seventh, Owls' reliever Brett Cannon threw a wild pitch that pushed in the go-ahead run.
The Hilltoppers brought in ace Matt Ridings to begin the bottom of the seventh inningfor WKU- Ridings pitched seven shutout innings against FAU in the tournament opener. FAU's offense responded however, using a lead-off double by Criaris to put runners at the corners with one out.
Ridings induced an inning-ending double-play ball that preserved the 5-4 WKU lead and put the Hilltoppers in a position to win with two innings left to play.
GAME NOTES: Block was thrown out at home trying to score on a delayed steal in the FAU sixth- he was thrown out of the game by home plate umpire Kevin Donnelly for barrelling into the catcher rather than sliding... FAU and WKU were playing for the third time in four days at the tournament... FAU defeated the Hilltoppers 6-5 earlier in the day to force Saturday night's elimination game... WKU had won the tournament's opening-game against FAU 9-0 on Wednesday... FAU won the season series 2-1 in Boca Raton (April 25-27).
-Nick Mirkovich (FAU Media Relations)-
