Walk Off: Owls Defeat LIU, 9-8

Sunday, February 23

Boca Raton, Fla.

1 PM

Florida Atlantic

4-8

LIU

5-8

LIU

Florida Atlantic

2020 FAU Softball vs Palm Beach Atlantic

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

2/23/2020 8:10:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University softball team (4-8) went 1-0 on the final day of the annual FAU "Strikeout Cancer" tournament. FAU ended the tournament with a walk-off to capture a 9-8 win over LIU. The second game against LIU was cancelled.

How It Was Decided

The Owls began the game with an RBI double from Kaitlyn Burke to tie the game 1-1 after the Sharks scored off an RBI double. At the bottom of the second, Berthiaume hit an RBI single to score pinch-runner Danielle Bieberle and take a 2-1 lead.

The lead was short-lived for the Owls as the Sharks attacked in the top of the third taking a 5-2 lead. In the fourth, Sami Williams sprinted back to get them out in centerfield but a sac fly from LIU increased their lead to 6-2.

Freshman Sara Berthiaume led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple deep down the right-field line and scored to make it 6-3, giving Fayth Davis an RBI. The Sharks tacked on two more runs, and Rachel Tarpley and Caryssa Orland single up the middle, but the Owls stranded the runners with the bases loaded.

In the final inning, the Owls' bats came to life as Jolie Duffner singled to get on base along with Burke. This gave Duffner her second RBI of the game and cut the game in half 8-4 with no outs. Myah Murray took her swing with an RBI single and sent FAU on a run, scoring three more runs to make it 8-7 with just one out. With the bases load, Davis stepped to the plate, and on a 1-1 count hit a walk-off double to score Berthiaume and Bailey Story to end the "Strikeout Cancer" tournament in style.

Notables

Berthiaume led the way going a perfect 3-3, with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored
Davis was the MVP of the game, hitting the game-winning double while going 2-5 with 3 RBI
Behind the plate, Burke went 3-4, two RBI and a double
In the circle, Kara Lokeinsky collected her first win of the season, pitching three innings, while allowing two runs with one strikeout
Lynn Gardner pitched four innings striking out four batters

With Davis

"When Kara [Lokeinsky] came in, she practically silenced LIU's bats and we rallied around that," said Fayth Davis on the end of the game. "Everyone did their jobs in the 7th inning, starting with Sommer Baker finding a way to get on base to get things started. Everyone did their jobs and found a way to get a hit or a way on base. I came in and just stayed calm and found a pitch to drive."

Up Next

FAU will head to the Spring Games at Madeira Beach next weekend and will begin the tournament with a matchup against Seton Hall on Friday at 3 p.m. The Owls will be back home to face Southern Miss on Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m. For tickets, visit the Ticketmaster page or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.

Follow the Owls

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.