Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Florida Gulf Coast on March 17, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
Baseball
vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Friday, May 17
Boca Raton, Fla.
6:30 PM
Florida Atlantic
36-18, 21-8
8
vs
7
Middle Tennessee
18-36, 11-18
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Middle Tennessee
3
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
2
7
14
2
Florida Atlantic
3
1
2
0
0
0
1
1
X
8
10
1
Baseball Clinches At Least a Share of C-USA Title, No. 1 Seed
5/17/2019 10:37:00 PM | Baseball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Six unanswered runs early erased a three-run deficit, and the No. 29 Florida Atlantic University baseball team held on at the end to top Middle Tennessee on Friday night, 8-7. The win cements the No. 1 seed for the Owls in the upcoming Conference USA Championship, and a win in the Saturday finale would mean an outright C-USA regular season title for the squad.
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REMINDER: Saturday's finale has been moved up to a noon start. Senior Day ceremonies will begin at 11:35 a.m.
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"Couldn't be prouder, it was a tough one tonight. A lot of stuff on the line, it was a tough one (but) the guys did enough. I can't say enough about Dylan O'Connell's relief appearance. It's really special because of where he has come from. Two years, basically, on the shelf with an injury, and didn't get off to a great start this year and just kind of kept gaining confidence."
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"All in all, it was a good night. Congratulations, (but) they told me no celebrating until they win it outright. I said, 'a little subdued,' they said, 'we haven't won anything yet, we don't want to be co-champs, we want to be champions."
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Full Opening Statement from Coach Mac
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The Turning Point
Middle Tennessee (18-36, 11-18 C-USA) scored three runs, on two home runs, in the first, but FAU (36-18, 21-8 C-USA) worked quickly to knot things up, then take the lead for good. Three came across in the first, the go-ahead run on a single by Andru Summerall in the second, and two more in the third to double the Blue Raiders at that point, 6-3.
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The Finish
The MT bullpen stymied the Owls' bats, and a run in the fifth drew the visitors to within two. The only hit over the final five FAU innings was a timely one, a Francisco Urbaez solo shot in the seventh, and though MT got it back in the eight, the Owls played small ball for one more in the eighth: Eric Rivera walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Summerall sac fly. The Blue Raiders got two in the ninth on their third homer, but a groundout clinched the win, the series, and the C-USA title.
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The Arms
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REMINDER: Saturday's finale has been moved up to a noon start. Senior Day ceremonies will begin at 11:35 a.m.
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Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:"Couldn't be prouder, it was a tough one tonight. A lot of stuff on the line, it was a tough one (but) the guys did enough. I can't say enough about Dylan O'Connell's relief appearance. It's really special because of where he has come from. Two years, basically, on the shelf with an injury, and didn't get off to a great start this year and just kind of kept gaining confidence."
Â
"All in all, it was a good night. Congratulations, (but) they told me no celebrating until they win it outright. I said, 'a little subdued,' they said, 'we haven't won anything yet, we don't want to be co-champs, we want to be champions."
Â
Full Opening Statement from Coach Mac
Â
The Turning Point
Middle Tennessee (18-36, 11-18 C-USA) scored three runs, on two home runs, in the first, but FAU (36-18, 21-8 C-USA) worked quickly to knot things up, then take the lead for good. Three came across in the first, the go-ahead run on a single by Andru Summerall in the second, and two more in the third to double the Blue Raiders at that point, 6-3.
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The Finish
The MT bullpen stymied the Owls' bats, and a run in the fifth drew the visitors to within two. The only hit over the final five FAU innings was a timely one, a Francisco Urbaez solo shot in the seventh, and though MT got it back in the eight, the Owls played small ball for one more in the eighth: Eric Rivera walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Summerall sac fly. The Blue Raiders got two in the ninth on their third homer, but a groundout clinched the win, the series, and the C-USA title.
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The Arms
- A high pitch count chased starter Mike Ruff midway through the fourth. He did record five strikeouts
- With two on and one out, Jon Jon Kostantis got back-to-back K's of his own to get out of the jam in that frame
- Dylan O'Connell (1-0) would then come on and have a tremendous night to pick up the victory. In a career-long three innings, he allowed just three hits and a run and set another new standard with four K's
- Schneider wrapped it up with his 13th save
- Summerall and Urbaez each had two RBI
- Eight of the nine Owl starters had a hit, with Summerall and Montes notching two apiece
- All eight of those starters each also scored one run
What's Next
Saturday wraps the regular season, a noon first pitch. Again, Senior Day festivities will be held ahead, beginning at 11:35 a.m. Tickets for the final opportunity to see the championship-winning Owls at home can be had by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or by going to baseball's ticket website.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: O'Connell, Dylan (1-0)
L: WIGGINTON,Peyton (5-5)
S: Schneider, Zach (13)
Batting:
HR: CHRISTIAN,Myles 1 ; STRATINSKY,Brett 1 ; FREEMAN,Darrell 1
RBI: CHRISTIAN,Myles 1 ; THOMAS,Brycen 1 ; STRATINSKY,Brett 3 ; FREEMAN,Darrell 2
Base Running:
RUNS: CHRISTIAN,Myles 1 ; SPENCER,AJ 1 ; BENEFIELD,Blake 1 ; THOMAS,Brycen 1 ; STRATINSKY,Brett 1 ; BROWN,Peter 1 ; FREEMAN,Darrell 1
SB: CHRISTIAN,Myles 1
HBP: ANTONINI,Aaron 1 ; PARKER,Tanner 1
Batting:
HR: Urbaez, Francisco 1
RBI: Rivera, Eric 1 ; Summerall, Andru 2 ; Montes, Joe 1 ; Urbaez, Francisco 2 ; Alvarez, Wilfredo 1
SF: Summerall, Andru 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rivera, Eric 1 ; Summerall, Andru 1 ; Pages, Pedro 1 ; Morgensen, Bobby 1 ; Montes, Joe 1 ; Hartigan, Mitchell 1 ; Urbaez, Francisco 1 ; Alvarez, Wilfredo 1
SB: Rivera, Eric 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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LHP
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OF/INF
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INF
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