Baseball Falls Just Short Again to UNF

Wednesday, February 27

Jacksonville, Fla.

3:05 PM

Florida Atlantic

3-6

North Florida

7-3

Florida Atlantic

North Florida

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

2/27/2019 7:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the second straight day, the Florida Atlantic University baseball team fell behind early to North Florida. On Wednesday, a furious comeback gave the Owls a late lead, but UNF scored three runs in the eighth and held FAU off in the ninth, 9-8, in the series finale.

Quotable

Head Coach John McCormack:
"A disappointing end to a hard-fought game. Again, some real good things happened, but we still can't get out of innings. We give up a five-spot and three-spot in two innings; we have to learn to minimize the damage."

The Turning Point
The Ospreys (7-3) scored first, in the second, but Eric Rivera immediately got that back with his second home run of the year in the third to tie it at 1-1. A five-run UNF fifth then pushed the lead back out to 6-1, but FAU (3-6) clawed all the way back in the seventh. Diamond Johnson led off with a double, and moved to third on a one-out Gunnar Lambert single. A walk loaded the bases, but a flyout put the Owls down to their final chance in the frame. They would capitalize: Joe Montes forced in a run as he was hit by a pitch; Wilfredo Alvarez did the same on a walk; a Francisco Urbaez single scored one; and a Jared DeSantolo flare two more to tie it at 6-6. Johnson got his second hit of the inning, a single up the middle, to give the Owls the lead.

The Finish
UNF loaded the bases in the seventh, but were turned away. That pattern wouldn't hold true in the eighth, as three Osprey runs scored with two outs to push the home team back out ahead, 9-7. With one out in the Owl ninth, Urbaez mashed a homer to left to draw the team within one, but two straight strikeouts closed out the one-run game.

The Arms

Jon Jon Kostantis had the best outing of his young career, giving up just a hit and a walk in 2 1/3 innings, striking out four
The loss was pinned on Vince Coletti (0-2)
Dylan O'Connell got the only batter he faced out to keep it at a three-run eighth

The Bats

Both Urbaez and Johnson had three hits
Urbaez recorded his first FAU home run; Johnson is now 5-for-10 to start the season
For Rivera, his solo shot was the 14th of his Owl career
Lambert added two hits; All nine slots in the lineup gained at least one hit towards a season-matching high 14

What's Next

Friday night, at 6:30 p.m., the Owls hot Monmouth to start a weekend set. Tickets can be had by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or by visiting baseball's ticket website.

Florida Atlantic Giving Day is Thursday, Sept. 18

Wednesday, September 17

Mac's Musings - Episode #129

Wednesday, August 13

Baseball Announces Staff Changes for 2026 Season

Monday, August 04

Millan Signs Professional Contract

Monday, August 04

Next Event

Monmouth

W, 8-5

Mar 1 (Fri)

6:30 PM

Box Score Recap FAU 8, Monmouth 5 FAUSports.TV Preview Live stats Tickets History

Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: NORKUS, Trace (1-0)

L: Coletti, Vince (0-2)

S: MILLER, Eddie (3)

Florida Atlantic

Batting:

2B: Johnson, Diamond 1

HR: Rivera, Eric 1 ; Urbaez, Francisco 1

RBI: Rivera, Eric 1 ; Montes, Joe 1 ; Alvarez, Wilfredo 1 ; Urbaez, Francisco 2 ; DeSantolo, Jared 2 ; Johnson, Diamond 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Rivera, Eric 1 ; Lambert, Gunnar 1 ; Pages, Pedro 1 ; Montes, Joe 1 ; Alvarez, Wilfredo 1 ; Urbaez, Francisco 2 ; Johnson, Diamond 1

HBP: Montes, Joe 2

North Florida

Batting:

2B: REYNOLDS, Alex 1 ; MARABELL, Blake 1

RBI: WEEKS, Wes 2 ; MAY, Tanner 1 ; MABERRY, David 2 ; MARABELL, Blake 1 ; HURWITZ, Austin 2

Base Running:

RUNS: BERRY, Chris 1 ; PRATHER, Jay 1 ; MABERRY, David 1 ; LIBUNAO, Raff 1 ; REYNOLDS, Alex 1 ; HENDRICKS, Alex 1 ; MARABELL, Blake 2 ; HURWITZ, Austin 1