Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
23-6, 9-3
Charlotte
15-18, 5-7
No. 12 Owls Fall 7-6 in 15-Inning Marathon
4/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BOCA RATON, Fla. â€" The longest game in program history went down as a 7-6 loss as the No. 12 Florida Atlantic University baseball team battled Conference USA foe Charlotte to 15 innings on Sunday.
The Owls (23-6, 9-3 C-USA) had never played a game longer than 13 innings before the rubber match against the 49ers (15-18, 5-7 C-USA). The contest saw a combined 23 hits, 14 walks and 24 strikeouts. Esteban Puerta led FAU at the plate, tying a school record with seven at-bats, posting three hits, two runs and an RBI while Austin Langham and Tyler Frank each drove in a pair of runs and Christian Dicks scored twice.
"Credit to Charlotte, they played great," FAU Head Coach John McCormack said. "We had our opportunities. We pitched really well, but we didn't get the hit when we needed it."
FAU jumped on top early as Stephen Kerr and CJ Chatham each walked before a Puerta RBI single. After Sean Labsan walked, Langham singled to center to double the lead before Frank roped a two-RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 4-0.
Charlotte responded with a five-run rally in the top of the second on five hits and a Labsan error, but left two stranded.
Dicks singled to lead off the third and moved to third base on a double by Puerta, setting Langham up for a sacrifice fly to tie the game at five apiece.
The 49ers retook the lead in the top of the fifth on a two-out triple and a wild pitch.
Puerta doubled before Langham and Brett Lashley walked to load the bases, setting up Kerr for a two-out RBI walk to tie the contest again at 6-6 in the eighth.
Both teams put runners on multiple times in extra innings, but the bullpen staffs were able to get out of multiple jams. A lead-off single in the top of the 15th, followed by a sac bunt and another single, gave Charlotte the only run over the final six innings for the win.
49er's relief pitcher Holden Capps dealt the final 7.1 innings, allowing just two hits with six strikeouts to earn the win.
The Owls will go on the road to face FGCU on Tuesday, April 12 in Fort Myers, Fla. Free audio is available on FAUSports.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Capps (3-0)
L: Coursel, Robbie (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Hampton 1
3B: Jarrett 1
RBI: Hampton 3 ; Netzer 1 ; Nichting 1
SH: Gibbs 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hampton 1 ; Netzer 1 ; Ober 1 ; Jarrett 1 ; Fritz 1 ; Hull 1 ; Jones 1
SB: Hampton 1
HBP: Hampton 1
Batting:
2B: Puerta, Esteban 2
RBI: Kerr, Stephen 1 ; Puerta, Esteban 1 ; Langham, Austin 2 ; Frank, Tyler 2
SH: Langham, Austin 1
SF: Langham, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kerr, Stephen 1 ; Dicks, Christian 2 ; Puerta, Esteban 2 ; Labsan, Sean 1
SB: Kerr, Stephen 1
