Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Wednesday, May 26
Ruston, La.
12 PM
Florida Atlantic
30-24
2
vs
11
Old Dominion
39-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Florida Atlantic
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
6
0
Old Dominion
2
0
1
1
0
0
7
0
X
11
16
0
Owls Upended in First Game at C-USA Tournament
5/26/2021 3:13:00 PM | Baseball
RUSTON, La. – Florida Atlantic University baseball saw a close game get broken open late by Old Dominion in the opening matchup of the 2021 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Championship, falling 11-2 to the Monarchs on Wednesday.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
"We knew coming here that we were going to have to play well, Old Dominion is a very good team. They've played well all year (and) they are complete: they play good defense, they swing the bats well, which we saw today, and of course they can pitch. We get off to a bad start, 2-0, we climb back into it, 3-2, the thing that killed us was they turned around and scored right away, and we weren't able to match them. They settled down and threw well after that. But it's a double elimination tournament, and that's why we get to play again tomorrow."
The Beginning
ODU (39-14) scored twice in the first and once more in the third. But the Owls (30-24) cut it to a one-run game in the fourth, with B.J. Murray doubling and scoring on an RBI groundout by Steven Loden, followed by Bobby Morgensen's solo home run with two outs.
The Turning Point
The Monarchs added one in the bottom half, but it was still just a two-run deficit when they put up a seven-spot in the seventh. Five of those runs came with two outs.
The Finish
After that, the Owls had a runner on in each of the last two innings, but were held off the scoreboard, with ODU reliever Jason Hartline earning a three-inning save.
The Arms
The Owls play either Charlotte or Middle Tennessee in Thursday's first game, scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern.
Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
"We knew coming here that we were going to have to play well, Old Dominion is a very good team. They've played well all year (and) they are complete: they play good defense, they swing the bats well, which we saw today, and of course they can pitch. We get off to a bad start, 2-0, we climb back into it, 3-2, the thing that killed us was they turned around and scored right away, and we weren't able to match them. They settled down and threw well after that. But it's a double elimination tournament, and that's why we get to play again tomorrow."
The Beginning
ODU (39-14) scored twice in the first and once more in the third. But the Owls (30-24) cut it to a one-run game in the fourth, with B.J. Murray doubling and scoring on an RBI groundout by Steven Loden, followed by Bobby Morgensen's solo home run with two outs.
The Turning Point
The Monarchs added one in the bottom half, but it was still just a two-run deficit when they put up a seven-spot in the seventh. Five of those runs came with two outs.
The Finish
After that, the Owls had a runner on in each of the last two innings, but were held off the scoreboard, with ODU reliever Jason Hartline earning a three-inning save.
The Arms
- Hunter Cooley (8-4) took the loss
- Mitchell Hartigan faced one batter, with runners on in the seventh, and retired him
- In the eighth, Brycen Allen pitched a perfect 1-2-3 frame
- Morgensen reached three times, including his 11th home run of the season
- Besides that and Murray's double, the Owls were held to four singles, by Nolan Schanuel, Jalen DeBose and Jackson Wenstrom, and a pinch-hit knock by Jared DeSantolo
The Owls play either Charlotte or Middle Tennessee in Thursday's first game, scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ryne Moore (8-1)
L: Cooley, Hunter (8-4)
S: Jason Hartline (3)
Batting:
2B: Murray, B.J. 1
HR: Morgensen, Bobby 1
RBI: Loden, Steven 1 ; Morgensen, Bobby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Murray, B.J. 1 ; Morgensen, Bobby 1
HBP: Morgensen, Bobby 1
Batting:
2B: Brock Gagliardi 1 ; Lincoln Ransom 1
3B: Kyle Battle 1
HR: Kenny Levari 1
RBI: Kenny Levari 1 ; Carter Trice 3 ; Brock Gagliardi 1 ; Matt Coutney 2 ; Lincoln Ransom 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyle Battle 2 ; Kenny Levari 2 ; Carter Trice 2 ; Matt Coutney 2 ; Tommy Bell 1 ; Dominick Claxton 1 ; Thomas Wheeler 1
HBP: Thomas Wheeler 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballInside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 #4
Thursday, September 04
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 #3
Friday, August 29
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 #2
Friday, August 22
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 #1
Thursday, August 14