Baseball Posts Second Straight Win, Will Go For Sweep Sunday

Saturday, March 2

Boca Raton, Fla.

4:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

5-6

Monmouth

1-7

Monmouth

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

Baseball Posts Second Straight Win, Will Go For Sweep Sunday

3/2/2019 9:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – For the second straight day, multiple home runs and, on Saturday, clutch defense, put the Florida Atlantic University baseball team a Sunday win away from a sweep of visiting Monmouth, topping the Hawks in the middle game, 11-4.

Quotable

Head Coach John McCormack:
"Offense did a good job, hit some balls hard, some really good baseball stuff on the offense … We won, there were some really good things. (Jacob) Josey got his first start, I thought he played really well. Bobby Morgensen got a chance to get out of rightfield, both him and Diamond (Johnson) responded. I thought Diamond had a nice game, and Bobby of course did a nice job."

Full Opening Statement from Coach Mac

The Turning Point
For just the third time of this new season, the Owls (5-6) got on the board first, actually scoring in each of their first three at-bats. In the first, it was an Andru Summerall two-run home run; a two-out RBI single by Gunnar Lambert made it 3-0 in the second; and after Monmouth (1-7) scored twice in the third, the Owls recovered with two of their own, on back-to-back run-scoring singles by Jacob Josey and Diamond Johnson.

The Finish
FAU went up 7-2 when Francisco Urbaez added a two-run shot of his own in the fifth, but Monmouth didn't go away quietly. Two more runs in the visiting seventh made it 7-4, and there were two on and two out. With the tying run at the plate, Vince Coletti induced a flyout, and a four-spot by the Owls' offense in the bottom half made for a more comfortable margin. Those runs came on a Bobby Morgensen solo home run, an RBI double by Johnson, a wild pitch, and an Eric Rivera sac fly.

The Arms/The Gloves

Ryan Sandberg didn't go deep in his start, but a nifty no-look behind-the-back catch off a liner up the middle snuffed out a rally in the third:

Bases loaded, 2 outs.... Lil' Bro with the behind the back catch to get out of the inning! #SCTop10 @ESPN @SPORTSCENTER @FAU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/hgKpVDvNVp
— Kristyn Sandberg (@KSandberg23) March 2, 2019

Picking up the win in relief with 2 1/3 scoreless innings was Jon Jon Kostantis (1-0), his first collegiate decision
Throwing the last two innings, also not giving up a run, was fellow freshman Michael Schuler
Urbaez, at second base, had a web gem of a diving play in the eighth:

Francisco Urbaez with the amazing diving catch at 2nd base! @NCAACWS @SportsCenter #Top10Play pic.twitter.com/o03KnjW0mU
— FAU Baseball (@FAU_Baseball) March 3, 2019

Catcher Pedro Pages had both a caught stealing of a runner, and a pick off of another, at first base
The game ended on a tremendous 5-4 defensive play by B.J. Murray. With the bases loaded, he fielded a hard shot, stepped on the third base bag and threw to second for the double play

The Bats

Summerall, Morgensen and Urbaez all notched their second home runs of 2019
The bottom third of the lineup – Urbaez, Josey and Johnson – each reached three times
Urbaez was 3-for-4 with two singles, the home run, three runs scored and two RBI; Josey got the first two hits and RBI of his FAU career, going 2-for-3 with two singles, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI; and Johnson was 2-for-3 with a single, double, a walk, a run, an RBI and a stolen base
Morgensen was on three times as well, with two walks, scoring three times
Summerall added a double and sits at a .349 batting average through 11 games this year, with a .440 OBP
The team's 11 runs and 15 hits are both new season highs

What's Next

The finale Sunday comes at high noon, Mike Ruff taking the ball for the Owls against Monmouth's Tyler Ksiazek. Purchase tickets by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visiting baseball's ticket website.