FAU softballers lose two on first day of season

Friday, February 10

Clermont, Fla.

3:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

Ohio State

2/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Feb. 10, 2012

Ohio State 9, FAU 6

North Carolina 8, FAU 3

Video Interview

CLERMONT, FL - The Florida Atlantic Owls opened their 2012 softball season against two major universities Friday in the NTC Elite Invitational. They lost a late lead in the first game (9-6 to Ohio State) and dug a hole too deep to climb out of in the second (8-3 to North Carolina), falling to 0-2 on the young season.

In the opener against Ohio State, the Owls had a big 1st inning to take a 3-0 lead. Carly Speerin had a one-out single and advanced to second base when Heather Barnes was hit by a pitch. Stephanie Call loaded the bases with her first of three hits against OSU, a sharp single to right field, and starting pitcher Taylor Fawbush helped her own cause with a two-run single. Designated hitter Jordan Stovall followed with her first of three sacrifice flies on the day to knock in Call with the third run.

Ohio State would climb back to tie the game, both at 3-3, and 5-5. The fourth and fifth runs for FAU came in the 3rd inning, and were knocked in again by Fawbush (a double to knock in Barnes again), and another Stovall sac fly (again knocking in Call).

Call snapped the 5-5 tie with the first FAU home run of 2012 in the 5th inning. That would be the last run the Owls would score in game one, however. OSU followed up with four runs in the bottom half of that inning, off the combination of Fawbush and her reliever, Call. The Buckeyes would win by a 9-6 score.

In game two, it was North Carolina's turn to strike first. Two runs crossed the plate in the 1st inning and three more in the 2nd off Call. FAU's first run came in the third inning on another Fawbush RBI hit, a single plating Barnes.

UNC added one more run in the 5th and two more in the 6th to take an 8-1 lead. Two FAU runs in the bottom of the 7th inning (an RBI double by Speerin and another sac fly for Stovall) weren't enough to overcome that deficit in what became an 8-3 loss.

Call went the distance in the second game, striking out nine Tar Heels.

The NTC Elite Invitational continues Saturday, as FAU plays at 1:00 against Florida A&M and again at 5:00 against Bethune-Cookman.