Baseball’s Streak Snapped with Slim Sunday Loss

Sunday, March 24

Birmingham, Ala.

1:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

16-8, 0

UAB

11-14, 0

Florida Atlantic

UAB

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

3/24/2019 5:48:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A five-run fifth inning for UAB proved to be the downfall Sunday for Florida Atlantic University baseball, falling 6-5 in the finale from Regions Field and snapping a 10-game winning streak for the Owls.

Quotable

Head Coach John McCormack:
"Tough day. A five-run fifth was the difference, and we gave them too many free opportunities. I was proud of the way our guys fought back. Overall, a good weekend to win a series on the road."

The Turning Point
The Owls (16-8, 5-1 Conference USA) led 2-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth, but UAB (11-14, 1-5 C-USA) sent 11 batters to the plate in the decisive inning, scoring five runs on just three hits, taking advantage of three walks, a hit batter and an error.

The Finish
FAU chipped away, scoring once in the sixth and twice more in the eighth to cut it to one. In the latter inning, Francisco Urbaez doubled to lead things off, and came in on Andru Summerall's third double in as many at-bats. Pedro Pages followed with a run-scoring single, but would be stranded after three consecutive outs. In the ninth, pinch-hitter Mitchell Hartigan drew a leadoff walk, again representing the tying run, but a double play erased him, and a popout ended the comeback attempt.

The Arms / The Gloves

Nick Swan dropped to 1-1 on the year with the loss. He had cruised through four, only allowing a run on three hits, but couldn't make it out of the fifth
Throwing big innings in relief was Michael Schuler. He inherited bases loaded and one out in the fifth, and got a fielder's choice (with the runner thrown out at home) and a groundout for no further damage
He too pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh, coming out after the first two reached against him in the eighth
Similarly to Schuler, Vince Coletti was impressive in a tough situation, fielding a bunt to throw out the lead runner at third, getting help from Pages throwing out the back end of a double steal attempt at second, and getting a strikeout to strand two

The Bats

Summerall's three doubles were one short of the program's record in a game, four by Jonathon Shapland in 2005. The junior leftfielder scored three runs, knocked in one, and was 7-for-11 in the series (.636) with five doubles
Also with three hits, and also 7-for-11 on the weekend, was Pages
Urbaez had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI; Jared DeSantolo had two RBI

What's Next

Next up is a Wednesday matchup at FAU Baseball Stadium, with the Owls hosting Miami
at 6:30 p.m. To purchase premium tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit baseball's ticket website.