Softball Opens the FAU “Strikeout Cancer” Tournament 0-2

Friday, February 21

Boca Raton, Fla.

4:15 PM

Florida Atlantic

3-7

Hofstra

2-5

HOFSTRA

Florida Atlantic

2020 FAU Softball vs Palm Beach Atlantic

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

Softball Opens the FAU “Strikeout Cancer” Tournament 0-2

2/22/2020 12:16:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University softball team (3-8) went 0-2 on the first day of the annual "Strikeout Cancer" Tournament. FAU fell to Hofstra 9-3 in game one. The bats came alive in game two but the Owls found themselves on the wrong end of a 9-7, 10-inning battle with UNF.

How It Was Decided

Game 1 vs. Hofstra

Myah Murray singled in the bottom of the second to get the game rolling for the Owls.
Gretchen Ebert reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second. She later scores the game's first run via an RBI single by senior Sami Williams.
Hofstra capitalized on an FAU error in the top of the third, down 1-0, to plate five runs and build a 5-1 lead. The Pride added two more in the top of the fourth to go up 7-1
The Owls closed the gap in the bottom of the six, scoring two runs on a Murray single and a sac fly by Claire Blount to pull within four at 7-3
Hofstra added two more runs and held the Owls scoreless in the next two frames to take the game 9-3

Game 2 vs. North Florida

UNF was the first to score, taking a 1-0 lead following an Owl error
FAU tied the game for the first time, 1-1, in the bottom of the third when Jolie Duffner drove in the first FAU run. Kaitlyn Burke and Rachel Tarpley drove in an additional run each to give FAU a 3-1 lead. With two outs, Maya Amm drew a bases-loaded walk and Danielle Bierberle takes one for the team to plate runs four and five for a 5-1 Owl lead
The second tie of the game, 5-5, came with UNF scoring their fifth run with two outs
In the bottom of the seventh, Rachel Tarpley hit a two-out double to left field, but her pinch runner, Gretchen Ebert was left stranded sending the game into extra innings
The top of the eighth began under the international tie-breaker rules with a runner on second. That runner quickly scored on a single up the middle to give the Ospreys their second lead of the game at 6-5
The bottom of the eighth began the same for the Owls with Sara Berthiaume being placed on second. She moved to third on a sac but and then scored on a Blount pinch-hit single to right, tying the game for the third time, at 6-6
UNF went up 7-6 in the ninth, but the Owls limited the lead to just one run when Bieberle made an outstanding catch in left field and doubled up a base runner
The bottom of the ninth saw the Owls tie the game at seven courtesy of an RBI single up the middle by Burke
Tied at seven, the two teams moved to the 10th. UNF score two in the top half, but the Owls were unable to respond once more and fell 9-7

Notables

Game 1

Despite the loss, the Owls outhit the Pride 10-9
Murray ended the game 3-for-4 with an RBI
Berthiaume was 1-for-3, with an RBI
Blount pitched three innings with two strikeouts. Abigail Morgan worked 3.2 innings of relief and struck out three

Game 2

Burke led the offense with a 4-for-5, two-RBI game and she scored once
Lynn Gardner pitched a complete 10-inning game and tallied eight strikeouts in the loss. She tallied 159 pitches
Tarpley followed ended her game going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI double

What's Next
The "Strikeout Cancer" Tournament will continue on Saturday. The Owls will play the two nightcap games and are scheduled to face Long Island at 4:45 and Illinois State at 7 p.m.

For live updates during all of the Owls' games and for other FAU softball news, follow along on Twitter (@ fauowlssoftball ), Instagram (@Owls_softball) and Facebook.