Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
41-18-1
Columbia
20-30
Big First Allows Baseball to Continue on in Gainesville
6/2/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University baseball team saw their first six hitters reach, and end the first with all six coming across, towards a 11-2 victory over Columbia to stay alive in the Gainesville Regional on Saturday afternoon. The Owls will play whoever does not win in Saturday's nightcap between Florida and Jacksonville, on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Quotable
"I am very proud of our team, they came ready to play," said Head Coach John McCormack. "We talked about getting off to a fast start and we did. (Mark) Nowatnick threw very well and set the tone for the other pitchers ... Survive and move on."
The Turning Point
Tyler Frank and Cody Wilson started off Saturday's game for the Owls (41-18-1) with a double off the wall and triple to the wall, respectively, to combine for the game's first run. David Miranda walked, Jared DeSantolo scored Wilson with a single, and Joe Montes pushed both Miranda and DeSantolo in with a single of his own. Kevin Abraham notched a sac fly, and after a walk, Columbia (20-30) turned to the bullpen. But two batters later, Frank came back up again and knocked in run No. 6, with a two-out single, to finish out the opening-inning scoring.
The Finish
Miranda padded the lead with a two-out single to score two in the third, and the last three Owl runs came on solo homers to left: Abraham in the fourth, Richie Nizza in the fifth, and Andru Summerall in the ninth. As the runs kept pouring in, FAU pitching stymied Columbia bats, as four hurlers combined to scatter two runs on eight hits to advance the Owls to the consolation finale.
The Bats
- All nine Owls' starters all reached, and all nine scored at least one run (with Summerall and Nizza scoring twice)
- The top three hitters - Frank, Wilson and Miranda - all had two hits, as did Abraham and Nizza
- In addition to the team's 13 hits, they drew four walks, three batters were hit by a pitch, and Columbia committed two errors
The Arms
- On a pitch count, Mark Nowatnick's (4-3) four shutout innings to start earned him the win. He gave up two hits and walked two, with three strikeouts
- Nick Swan was next, allowing a run in the fifth, but stranding a runner with a strikeout
- Mike Ruff pitched two innings, allowing just one run, while punching out two Lions
- Closing it out was Marc Stewart with two scoreless, and getting the 27th out on a flyout
What's Next
Game No. 61 of the year for the Owls will be against either Florida or Jacksonville, whichever loses Saturday night. Game time Sunday is 1 p.m., and Jake Miednik will take the ball for FAU.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nowatnick, Mark (4-3)
L: Chriss, Jordan (2-7)
Batting:
2B: Frank, Tyler 1 ; Wilson, Cody 1
3B: Wilson, Cody 1
HR: Abraham, Kevin 1 ; Summerall, Andru 1 ; Nizza, Richie 1
RBI: Frank, Tyler 1 ; Wilson, Cody 1 ; Miranda, David 2 ; DeSantolo, Jared 1 ; Montes, Joe 2 ; Abraham, Kevin 2 ; Summerall, Andru 1 ; Nizza, Richie 1
SF: Abraham, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Frank, Tyler 1 ; Wilson, Cody 1 ; Miranda, David 1 ; Rivera, Eric 1 ; DeSantolo, Jared 1 ; Montes, Joe 1 ; Abraham, Kevin 1 ; Summerall, Andru 2 ; Nizza, Richie 2
HBP: Wilson, Cody 1 ; Revilla, Steven 1 ; Rivera, Eric 1
Batting:
HR: DiFillipo, AJ 1
RBI: Kanemaru, Randell 1 ; DiFillipo, AJ 1
SF: Kanemaru, Randell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Robinette, Lane 1 ; DiFillipo, AJ 1
