Baseball Edges Out UNF for Midweek Sweep

Wednesday, March 14

Boca Raton, Fla.

4:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

13-4

North Florida

8-11

North Florida

Florida Atlantic

3/14/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 14, 2018

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University baseball team took their final tuneup before league play begins this weekend, eking out a 10-9 win Wednesday night over North Florida to remain undefeated, now 12-0, at home.

Quotable

"(Mark) Nowatnick saved us, gave the offense a chance," said Head Coach John McCormack. "(Jordan) Poore got through his inning, and (Mike) Ruff got through his â€¦ when it got to a one-run game, Zach (Schneider) did enough to get us out of it. It wasn't pretty, but we won and we've got to move on."

The Turning Point

The Ospreys (8-11) took a 4-0 lead through three, but similar to Tuesday, one big FAU (13-4) inning turned the tide. On Wednesday, as reliever Mark Nowatnick silenced the UNF offense, the Owls put together a seven-run fifth. Joe Montes led off the proceedings with a solo home run. David Miranda then drew a walk, Pedro Pages singled, and one batter later, Gunnar Lambert walked to load the bases. An Eric Rivera sacrifice fly made it 4-2, and the next hitter, Kevin Abraham, crushed a 2-0 pitch out to left for his first home run in exactly three years for a lead the Owls wouldn't relinquish. Two insurance runs came in the same inning when the lineup wrapped back around and Montes doubled home both Tyler Frank and Diamond Johnson, who had walked and singled, respectively.

The Finish

A Cody Wilson two-run home run to left field, after Pages singled to lead off the sixth, pushed the edge to 9-4, and the Owls' 10th home run of the series came courtesy of Tyler Frank, the first batter of the eighth. It turned out the squad would need every single one of those runs. UNF's James Fitzpatrick hit a home run in the eighth, and with one out in the ninth, Alex Hendricks' grand slam cut it to one at 10-9. Closer Zach Schneider was brought on, inducing a flyout for out number two, and after an infield single and a walk, getting a game-ending fielder's choice to end the drama for the win.

The Bats

Abraham's other collegiate home run came on March 14, 2015, at Charlotte
Pages notched the first four-hit game of his Owls' career and raised his season average to .343. He is now hitting .429 at home
Frank's fourth home run of the year marked his 12th straight game with a hit, while the batter right behind him, Montes, is now at eight consecutive after a 2-for-5 night
Montes matched his season high with three RBI
Wednesday was the fourth straight game with at least 10 runs for the team, and their 13 hits is a new season high

The Arms

Nowatnick pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up only one hit with just two baserunners reaching (the other on an error, but that runner was caught stealing by Abraham). He issued zero walks and struck out six, a new career high for the senior
Poore and Ruff pitched the seventh and eighth, with only one hit and one walk against them
Schneider now has six saves in as many chances

What's Next

FAU travels to Norfolk, Virginia, to open up the Conference USA slate, with a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series against Old Dominion. The opener is Friday at 6 p.m.