BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University's softball team opened the 2021 Conference USA home season on Thursday evening by continuing a four-game series with FIU. The series began on March 21st at FIU, where the Owls won 8-0 after six. On Thursday, FAU dropped game one 8-0 after five, and then downed FIU 7-3 in the double-header finale. The fourth and final game is scheduled to be played at FAU on Friday at 6 p.m.
"We struggled a little bit in both games," said
Joan Joyce, FAU's head coach. "We hit the ball pretty well in the second game and Lynn [Gardner] pitched an exceptional game. We are still making those little bitty mistakes that keep the opponents alive instead of getting out of the inning…they did a better job in the second game of getting on them right away."
Game 1
- FIU scored two in the top of the first and it was all the Panthers would need, eventually cruising to an 8-0 win
Game 2
- FIU scored a run in the top of the first and the Owls matched it in the bottom of the frame when Sara Berthiaume led off with triple and was replaced with an RBI triple by Kaitlyn Cunningham
- Gardner, who started for the Owls, returned to the circle to hold FIU scoreless over the next five innings while FAU added two in the second and one in the third to hold a cushion, which allowed Gardner to work
- In the bottom of the six, freshman first baseman Zoey Jones blasted a two-out three-run homer to right field, putting FAU up 7-1
- FIU would scratch across two runs in the top of the seventh for the game's 7-3 final
Game 1
- The Owls managed just two hits in the first game off a single by Cunningham and a triple by Fayth Davis, the first of three triples on the night for the Owls who are ranked nationally in the statistical category
- Donnie Gobourne started for the Owls and fell to 2-7 after two-and-a-third innings of work
Game 2
- Gardner, who finished the final two and two-third innings of game one, started and tossed a complete seven-inning game for FAU to move to 4-8 on the year and to 2-1 versus FIU in 2021
- Offensively, the Owls' Cunningham was 2-for-4 with an RBI triple
- Three Owls were 2-for-3 including Jones who had four RBI on the day, while Berthiaume was 2-for-3 with a triple. Davis was 2-for-3 with a run scored
- Myah Murray was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and Gardner helped her efforts with a single and a run scored
- The three triples add to the Owls' team total of 10. Entering Thursday's action FAU was ranked No. 41 nationally with 0.29 per game and No. 6 nationally with 0.67 doubles per game
The Owls will play host to FIU in the final game of the three-game home C-USA series, Friday at 6 p.m. To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball or for the most up-to-date information go to
www.fausports.com.