No. 22 Baseball Splits Saturday Doubleheader with UAB

Saturday, April 28

Boca Raton, Fla.

1:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

30-10-1, 0

UAB

17-22, 0

UAB

Florida Atlantic

4/28/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

April 28, 2018

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Solid pitching by Jake Miednik in his return to the rotation, and key hits by Pedro Pages and Joe Montes, led the No. 22 Florida Atlantic University baseball team to a win in Saturday's first game, 5-2 over UAB, but the doubleheader nightcap went in favor of the Blazers, 8-2.

Quotable - Game One

"I thought it was a gutsy performance," said Head Coach John McCormack of Miednik. "He really did a nice job getting us to the eighth inning. I went out there and he said, `no, I can get this guy.' He did it, and we were able to put the game away."

The Turning Point - Game One

UAB scored the day's first run in the top of the third, but the lead was short-lived. In the home half, with two outs, Montes and David Miranda extended the inning with back-to-back singles, and Pages lifted a 1-2 pitch just over the fence in left for a three-run home run.

The Finish - Game One

Similarly, in the fourth with two outs, Jared DeSantolo singled, and Jordan Poore and Tyler Frank each drew walks. Montes brought two in with a double, and that was all Miednik would need. He allowed just one run over the next four innings, Drew Peden pitched a scoreless eighth, and Zach Schneider a perfect ninth.

The Bats - Game One

Montes and Miranda each had two hits
For Pages, it was his fourth home run
Frank extended his reach-base streak to 36 straight; Cody Wilson's hit streak reached 14 games with a sixth-inning single

The Arms - Game One

Miednik's final line was six hits and two runs over seven innings and 84 pitches. He improved to 6-1 on the season
Peden held on to the lead, allowing just one hit
Schneider's 13 save was an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 ninth

Quotable - Game Two

"I thought we could have done a better job, but he threw three pitches for strikes," said McCormack of UAB starter Ryan Ruggles. "Would I want our guys to do more with him? Yes. But you have to give him credit, he really threw well."

The Turning Point - Game Two

UAB (18-22, 10-10 Conference USA) again scored first, with one in the first, and added three more in the second. FAU (30-11-1, 14-5-1 C-USA) scrapped back to cut the deficit in half in bottom of two, on a solo home run by Eric Rivera, and Gunnar Lambert scoring on an error. But that was all the scoring they'd get.

The Finish - Game Two

Ruggles allowed back-to-back singles to Lambert and Richie Nizza in the fourth, but got the next two batters out to strand the duo, and was perfect in the next four innings. After retiring those 14 Owls in a row, he walked Wilson to start the ninth, and turned the ball over to reliever Carson Smith. Though the Owls loaded the bases, a strikeout and groundout ended the comeback attempt.

The Bats - Game Two

Lambert (two) and Nizza (three) combined for five of the Owls' seven hits in game two
Rivera's home run was his fourth of the season
Frank and Wilson's aforementioned streaks came to an end in the nightcap

The Arms - Game Two

Vince Coletti took the loss to to drop to 2-3
Blake Sanderson retired the first seven batters he faced, and nine of the first 10, before allowing two runs in the seventh
Matt Harris and Nick Swan combined for a scoreless eighth; Nick Prather did the same in the ninth, aided by a Montes-started double play

What's Next

The rubber match of the series begins at 11 a.m. Sunday morning at FAU Baseball Stadium. The starting pitching matchup will be Jordan Poore for FAU against UAB's Tyler Gates. To buy tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit www.fausports.com/tickets/baseball-tickets.html.