FAU Strikes Early and Takes Game 1 over MT, 4-0

Friday, April 23

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 PM

Florida Atlantic

10-26, 0

Middle Tennessee

21-19, 0

Middle Tennessee

Florida Atlantic

2021 FAU Softball vs Mississippi Lynn Gardner

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

4/23/2021 10:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University softball team returned home to open a four-game series with Conference USA foe Middle Tennessee and came away with a 4-0 win Friday night.

How it Happened

The Owls (10-26, 5-8 C-USA) saw MT lead off the game with a single. Their leadoff hitter moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then two groundouts got the Owls out of the top half of the inning, setting up a three-run first for FAU.

Freshman Kaitlyn Cunningham led off for the Owls with an infield single. Moments later she was erased from the basepaths attempting to steal second. Sara Berthiaume and Kaitlyn Burke followed with back-to-back singles and then moved up a base courtesy of a wild pitch. Senior Fayth Davis took advantage of the opportunity with a sac fly to left plating the Owls' first run. The following two batters for FAU, pitcher Lynn Gardner and third baseman Myah Murray, each hit two-out RBI singles to give FAU a 3-0 lead over the visiting MT (21-19, 7-6 C-USA).

Gardner, who drew the start, returned to the circle and not only pitched a scoreless second, she would end up throwing a seven-inning complete game, her 12th of the season, and tossed her second shutout of 2021.

In total, the Owls had eight hits, five coming in the first inning. The biggest hit of the night was a blast to center by Gardner putting an explanation point on the junior's game and giving FAU the 4-0 win.

Joyce's Take

"We played a clean game tonight," said Joan Joyce, FAU's head coach. "We hit the ball pretty good. We pitched the ball pretty good. It started last weekend and we continued it tonight by starting quick with some early runs. I think we need to continue to score the entire game, but I'm proud of the whole team. They did an excellent job tonight. We needed it. They know it and we need the mentality that tonight is number one out of four."

Statistically

Three Owls were 2-for-3 on the night: Gardner, who had the homer and two RBI, Burke, who scored a run, and Murray, who added an RBI
Davis accounted for the Owls' final RBI
In the circle, Gardner held MT to four hits, struck out one and walked two in the win. She improved to 6-12 on the season

What's Next

The Owls and MT will return to the field Saturday for a scheduled doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday by honoring the 2020 and 2021 seniors in a game scheduled for 1 p.m. To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball or for the most up-to-date information go to www.fausports.com.