Baseball Takes Opener at FIU Going Away, 11-4

Friday, May 4

Miami, Fla.

7:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

31-13-1, 0

FIU

21-25, 0

Florida Atlantic

FIU

5/4/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 4, 2018

Box Score

MIAMI, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University baseball team scored eight runs in their final two at-bats, turning a close game into a seven-run victory, 11-4 over FIU Friday night at Infinity Park. Coupled with Middle Tennessee's win over Louisiana Tech, the Owls move into second place in the Conference USA standings.

Quotable

"Tremendous team win," said Head Coach John McCormack. "(Vince) Coletti really pitched well after the third and gave the offense a chance to get going. Diamond Johnson's three-run triple was the big blow, and Drew (Peden) pitched great."

The Turning Point

Trailing 3-2, the Owls (31-13-1, 15-6-1 C-USA) loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, and tied the game on a Cody Wilson single. An FIU (21-25, 10-12 C-USA) double play kept the game square, but FAU would not waste bases-loaded opportunities in either of the eighth or ninth.

The Finish

With one out in the eighth, David Miranda got his third hit of the night, a double down the leftfield line. Eric Rivera was hit by a pitch and Gunnar Lambert walked to load the bases. The go-ahead and fifth runs scored on two more HBP, of Wilson and Kevin Abraham, and Diamond Johnson really opened it up with a bases-clearing triple to straight away center. Similarly, in the ninth, single-walk-walk filled the bases (Joe Montes, Rivera and Lambert, respectively), and with two outs, Jared DeSantolo mashed a double to center to again score three to seal the win.

The Bats

Miranda had three hits, two runs scored and an RBI
Tyler Frank led off the game with a home run off the leftfield scoreboard on the second pitch he saw
Besides Miranda, four other Owls scored twice: Frank, Rivera, Lambert and Wilson
Lambert reached base four times, and Miranda, Rivera and Wilson three times each

The Arms

Vince Coletti started, and gutted out six innings of work, the last three of which were scoreless
Drew Peden came on and pitched the last three to earn the win. He improved to 7-1, striking out four and allowing just one run, matching his longest stint of the season

What's Next

Game two against the Panthers comes at 6 p.m. Saturday, with the starting pitching matchup of Blake Sanderson for the Owls and Tyler Myrick for FIU. The next game FAU will host is Tuesday, May 8, against UCF at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Get tickets by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visiting www.fausports.com/tickets/baseball-tickets.html.