Middle Tennessee Rally Dooms Owls 7-6 in 12

Sunday, March 22

Boca Raton, Fla.

12:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

20-5, 4-2

Middle Tennessee

13-8, 5-1

Middle Tennessee

Florida Atlantic

3/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 22, 2015

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - A three-run ninth inning allowed Middle Tennessee to send the rubber game to extras where the Blue Raiders eventually won the series over the Florida Atlantic University baseball team 7-6 on Sunday.

The Owls (20-5, 4-2 C-USA) led 6-3 going into the ninth inning before the Blue Raiders (12-8, 5-1 C-USA) tallied three runs on a single, double and triple to tie the game. In the top of the 12th, an FAU error set up the game-winning run as MT won its second-straight C-USA series.

"We had some opportunities and they made some really good pitches and we rolled into two double plays, but that's part of baseball." FAU Head Coach John McCormack said. "We certainly didn't think we were going to go undefeated in Conference USA and there are bumps along the way."

The loss snaps a streak of 38 consecutive wins when leading after the seventh inning and the first time FAU has lost a regular-season game when leading after seven since March 11, 2011 against Seton Hall, also in extras.

Every batter in the lineup for FAU reached base safely in regulation and eight of the nine had hits in the game. Christian Dicks drove in a pair of runs and scored while Ricky Santiago crossed the plate twice. Stephen Kerr, Roman Collins and Esteban Puerta also scored for the Owls.

With the Blue Raiders leading 2-1, the Owls put the first six batters of the fourth inning on base to rally for a lead. Santiago and Dicks each doubled while Puerta, Collins and Brett Lashley picked up infield singles to give FAU a 5-2 lead.

The Owls tacked on another run in the fifth as Santiago led off the inning with a four-pitch walk and came in to score on an RBI groundout by Dicks.

Bo Logan entered to pitch for the Owls in the ninth, but the Blue Raiders were able to coax three hits out of the senior to send the contest to extra innings for the second consecutive game.

Senior John Sebelle dealt a career-long three innings as he shut down MT in each the tenth and 11th. A leadoff error by Santiago in the 12th put Ronnie Jebavy on base. A groundout advanced him to second before he scored the game-winning, unearned run on an RBI single by the catcher Michael Adkins.

FAU left runners on in four of the final five innings as Sebelle was tagged with the loss.

The Owls go on the road to face UTSA in C-USA play starting on Friday, March 28. Broadcast information will be available on FAUSports.com.