Owls Earn a Suspended Win, Drop Games Before and After

Saturday, April 10

Boca Raton, Fla.

4 PM

Florida Atlantic

7-22, 0

Charlotte

20-8, 0

Charlotte

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

4/11/2021 3:18:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 3

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University softball split in doubleheader action that began on Saturday and finished on Sunday, and then fell to Charlotte 7-1, in the fourth and final game of the four-game series.

How it Happened

Game 1
Saturday's first game saw the Owls (8-23, 3-5 Conference USA) out hit visiting Charlotte 4-3, but FAU left nine on base to suffer a 3-0 loss.

Game 2
FAU was the first to score with two runs in the bottom of the third. Charlotte (21-9, 6-2) responded in the top of the fourth with four runs. The Owls would chip away, scoring one in the fourth, and then tied the game at 4-4 when Fayth Davis slid home safely following a wild pitch in the fifth. The two teams remained tied and with two out in the bottom of the sixth, action was suspended for weather.

On Sunday morning, play resumed, leading to seventh inning heroics. Davis hit a one-out double and scored following a Charlotte throwing error for the 5-4 Owls' win.

Game 3
Charlotte scored one in the first and two in the second before the Owls could respond. Lynn Gardner, who started the game in the circle, drove in Kaitlyn Burke, who had reached safely via a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The score remained the same, 3-1, until Charlotte broke it open with four runs, two coming on a bloop single that saw two Owls get tangled up, delaying the ball getting back into play. By that point it was 7-1 with the Owls coming to the plate, and it would become that as the final.

Joyce's Take

"Really, the weekend was good," said Joan Joyce, FAU's head coach. "We are still having the same problem of not being able to get the runs in … I thought this weekend could have been 2-2 or 3-1 in favor of us. Charlotte is a tough team, and it is going to be pretty hard for anyone to beat them."

Statistically

Game 1

Four Owls were credited with hits: Myah Murray (1-for-1), Maya Amm (1-for-2), Zoey Jones (1-for-3) and Kaitlyn Cunningham (1-for-4)
Donnie Gobourne pitched a gem, holding Charlotte to just two hits, a new season low for the 49ers. The sophomore hurler tossed a complete game, struck out eight and walked just two, but took the loss to fall to 2-8 on the year

Game 2

The Owls had five hits, with Davis recording two on a 2-for-3 plate performance. Davis accounted for three of the Owls' five runs with an RBI and two runs scored
Amm, Jones and Jalynn Ford also added hits, with doubles by Davis, Jones and Ford
In the circle, Abigail Morgan opened the game and went 3.1 innings, allowing all four Charlotte runs. Kara Lokeinsky got the Owls out of trouble with 2.2 innings of scoreless work and was the pitcher of record when play was suspended. Gardner pitched a clean seventh and picked up the win to move to 5-9

Game 3

Gardner started for the Owls for the second time over the weekend and pitched her second complete game, totaling 15 innings in three appearances. She also was 2-for-3 and drove in the Owls' lone run
Sara Berthiaume, Amm and Murray were the remaining Owls to record a hit

What's Next

The Owls will travel to Huntington, West Virginia, for a four-game series with C-USA foe Marshall. FAU will face the Thundering Herd Friday, April 16 at 1 p.m., again on Saturday, April 17 for a scheduled doubleheader and will conclude on Sunday, April 18 at noon. To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball or for the most up-to-date information go to www.fausports.com.