Baseball Rallies Past ULM 4-3 for Fifth Straight Victory

Saturday, April 16

Boca Raton, Fla.

4:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

22-13, 0

ULM

17-16, 0

Louisiana-Monroe

Florida Atlantic

4/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 16, 2011

Final Stats

Boca Raton, Fla. -

McCormack on the overall 2nd game performance versus ULM

Sophomore Mark Nelson's pinch hit single broke a 3-3 deadlock in the seventh inning to propel the Florida Atlantic University baseball team to a 4-3 victory over the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Saturday afternoon at the FAU Baseball Stadium in Boca Raton. The Owls scored the last four runs in the game to increase their winning streak to five contests.

FAU improves to 22-13 on the season, has a 9-5 mark in Sun Belt Conference action and wins its fourth league series of the spring. Meanwhile, ULM drops to 17-16 overall and 5-9 in league play. The two teams will conclude the weekend series on Sunday, April 16, starting at noon.

Pinch hitting for senior designated hitter Eddie Cassidy, Nelson lined the first pitch he saw to the right-center field gap with two outs to plate junior outfielder Alex Hudak for the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hudak started the raly with a one-out double.

Junior starting pitcher Paul Davis shook off a rocky start to pick up his seventh victory on the season. The right hander tossed his second complete game of the season and allowed just four infield singles. He surrendered two earned runs and struck out six batters.

The Owls spotted the Warhawks a 3-0 advantage after two innings. The comeback started when Cassidy drew a walk with the bases loaded to score senior second baseman Raymond Church in the bottom of the third inning. Church would tie the game with one swing of the bat in his next plate appearance, connecting on a two-run home run over the right field fence in the fifth inning. The blast was the third home run this season for the team's co-captain.

FAU's 11-hit offense was led by senior outfielder Andy Mee, with three base hits from the leadoff spot in the lineup. His batting average has increased to .336 for the season. Church went 2-for-5, with two runs scored, to extended his hitting streak to 16 games. Senior outfielder Colby Gratton, sophomore outfielder Nathan Pittman, senior shortstop Nick DelGuidice and sophomore first baseman Mike Spano joined Hudak and Nelson with having one hit apiece. Hudak's batting average improved to a team-high .424 mark.

ULM starting pitcher Randy Zeigler suffered the loss to drop to 3-3 on the spring. The left hander allowed four runs and scattered seven hits in 6.1 innings. The Warhawks' offense was paced by Jarret Hammond, who had a two-run single in the first inning.

A broadcast and details of Sunday's game can be found at www.fausports.com. Season and individual tickets of Florida Atlantic baseball are available by calling the FAU Ticket Office at 1-866-FAU-OWLS.