Baseball Downed by No. 1 Florida, 6-1

Tuesday, February 20

Gainesville, Fla.

6:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

3-1

No. 1 Florida

4-0

Florida Atlantic

Florida

2/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 20, 2018

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University baseball team outhit No. 1 Florida, but weren't able to come back from an early deficit, stranding multiple runners late in a 6-1 loss to the Gators at McKethan Stadium.

Quotable

"That's a very good baseball team that we played tonight," said Head Coach John McCormack. "We can't give them extra outs, and we have to capitalize when we have opportunities."

The Turning Point

UF (4-0) scored once in the second and third, and added two in the fourth, at that point holding the Owls (3-1) to just one hit. In each FAU turn in the fifth, sixth and seventh, they put multiple runners on, but could only manage one run.

The Finish

A two-run Gator seventh extended the lead to five, but back-to-back singles by David Miranda and Pedro Pages started the Owls' eighth. From there, UF reliever Michael Byrne settled down, retiring the next six in order to clinch the win.

The Bats

Pages had another single previous to go 2-for-4 on the night
The run in the fifth came on a groundout by Diamond Johnson, his team-high fifth RBI of the year, to score Gunnar Lambert
Kevin Abraham had a single and walk

The Arms

Nick Prather (0-1) took the loss in his first collegiate start
Six relievers saw action, starting with Jordan Poore, who had the longest stint (1 2/3 innings) and did not allow a run
Blake Sanderson followed with a hitless and scoreless sixth
Weston Clemente faced one batter, but had likely the defensive play of the night, snaring a comeback liner
Marc Stewart wrapped the night with a 1-2-3 eighth, culminating with a strikeout

What's Next

The Owls return home to host Delaware this weekend. First pitch Friday night against the Blue Hens is at 6:30 p.m. at FAU Baseball Stadium.