Softball Edged Out by Oregon, James Madison on Day Two of Elite Invitational

Saturday, February 16

Clearwater, Fla.

10 AM

Florida Atlantic

3-5

No. 19/22 Oregon

7-1

Florida Atlantic

Oregon

Softball Edged Out by Oregon, James Madison on Day Two of Elite Invitational

2/16/2019 3:46:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Box Score Game 1 vs. No. 19/22 Oregon
Box Score Game 2 vs. No. 23/25 James Madison

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University softball team (3-6) managed just two hits in its two games on day two at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational. FAU fell to No. 19/22 Oregon in game one 2-0, followed by a 6-1 loss to No. 23/25 James Madison.

Quotable
"We are still not hitting the ball the way we should," said Head Coach Joan Joyce. "On the whole, pitching has been pretty good, but we have to do some work on our hitting."

Game 1
Key Plays
FAU left a runner on base four different times during the game and were unable to salvage a hit off Oregon's pitcher Jordan Dail all morning. The Ducks got on the board in the bottom of the first after an error, but Kelsey Morrison's no-hitter was intact until the bottom of the fifth when Oregon's Haley Cruse doubled down the left field line. April Utecht's RBI single would then drive in a run to elevate the Duck's lead, 2-0, which turned out to be all they needed to pull out the victory.

Notables

Madisyn Palmer stole a base in the game, which makes her just 10 shy of breaking the school record in career stolen bases
Kelsey Morrison (2-1) pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and one earned run

Game 2
Key Plays
James Madison got rolling early by putting up three runs in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the first, Mia Olson hammered a solo homerun on the first pitch to put the Owls on the board, but James Madison would respond in the top of the second with Kate Gordon's RBI single to extend the Dukes' lead, 4-1. The Dukes would then deliver homeruns in the third and seventh innings to stay on top. FAU managed two hits in the game, which fell well short of what they needed and resulted in a 6-1 loss.

Notables

Mia Olson's homerun was her first of the season and first for the Owls in the 2019 season
Myah Murray hammered out her first career hit as an Owl with a single in centerfield in the bottom of the third inning
Abigail Morgan (0-1) got her first career start and pitched two innings for the Owls. Skylar Whity (1-0) took over in the third, tossing for five innings and allowing just one earned run

Up Next:
The Owls will finish the third and final day of the St. Pete/Clearwater Invitational tomorrow with a 4 p.m. matchup against Florida State. The game can be watched on ESPN3 and live stats are available at FAUsports.com. Follow along on Twitter (@fauowlssoftball) to get live updates from the game as well.