Baseball Earns Outright Conference USA Championship

Saturday, May 18

Boca Raton, Fla.

12:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

37-18, 22-8

Middle Tennessee

18-37, 11-19

Middle Tennessee

Florida Atlantic

5/18/2019 5:02:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – With Saturday's final day win over Middle Tennessee, 8-7, the No. 29 Florida Atlantic University baseball team will finish on top of the Conference USA standings as undisputed regular season champions. The Owls' 22-8 C-USA mark is the most wins earned in league play since 2003 (25-8 in a 33-game schedule in the Atlantic Sun).

Quotable

Head Coach John McCormack:
"Unbelievable. We were behind in the first (inning) every game … and they did what they needed to do. We could've made things easier on ourselves, we had a couple of opportunities there and weren't able to cash in, (and) Middle Tennessee made some good pitches. It's a little bit difficult to play, sometimes, in these types of situations when there's so much on the line. But the guys did it. It wasn't ideal, but it was well worth it."

Full Opening Statement from Coach Mac

The Turning Point
For the third straight game, Middle Tennessee (18-37, 11-19 C-USA) had a multi-run first inning, with back-to-back two-out home runs, and added two more the next frame for a 4-0 lead. But the Owls (37-18, 22-8 C-USA) quickly battled back to tie it in their half of the second, beginning with four straight hits: a Joe Montes double and Mitchell Hartigan single; RBI double by Francisco Urbaez; and run-scoring single by Jacob Pino. Then, Eric Rivera singled in both Urbaez and Pino to knot it up at 4-4.

The Finish
Four more Owl runs gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish, and Nick Swan saved his best for last, in his final home game. He threw scoreless relief for five innings, before only allowing a solo shot in the seventh. Though MT got a two-out home run in the ninth, for the second straight day Zach Schneider shut the door, with a lineout to right sending the Owls out of the dugout for a celebratory dogpile:

ICYMI: The last out of the game, securing first place in conference!! pic.twitter.com/msTmr5hJ18
— FAU Baseball (@FAU_Baseball) May 18, 2019

The Arms

Jacob Josey went two innings in his fifth start
The final line for Swan (2-1) was 5 1/3 innings, four hits and a run, no walks, and a career-best eight strikeouts in his 63rd career appearance
After the home run, he was replaced to an ovation by fellow senior Vince Coletti, who needed just six pitches to get the final two outs of the eighth, including a strikeout
Schneider is now up to 14 saves on the season

The Bats

On their Senior Days, Joe Montes and Jacob Pino combined for five hits and four runs
Montes went 3-for-4 with a double; Pino was 2-for-3, and notched his first career RBI
Also with three hits were Eric Rivera and Francisco Urbaez, the latter a triple away from the cycle. Aside from his double in the second, Urbaez had a solo home run in the fourth and a bunt single in the fifth
Rivera reached four times, adding a walk to his three singles. He had the two RBI and scored a run
After the Urbaez homer (his 10th of the year and second in as many days), Andru Summerall rapped an RBI single that same frame, and Pedro Pages added a sacrifice fly
Wilfredo Alvarez had a sac fly as well (to wrap the Owls' scoring in the fifth), plus a walk and reached on catcher's interference

The Seniors
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From left to right: Head Coach John McCormack, Jordan Poore, Joe Montes, Gunnar Lambert, Vince Coletti, Nick Swan, Zach Schneider, Richie Nizza, Diamond Johnson, Blake Sanderson and Jacob Pino

What's Next

The 2019 Conference USA Championship begins next Wednesday, May 22, at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. The top-seeded Owls will play in Game 3 on the first day, against No. 8 seed UTSA, starting at 5 p.m. Eastern time. All games prior to the championship will air on ESPN+, with the final game on CBS Sports Network, and FAU will offer a free radio stream as always. Stay tuned for more information on the tournament soon.