No. 24 Florida Atlantic Rallies for UAB Sweep

Sunday, March 16

Birmingham, Ala.

1 p.m. EDT

Florida Atlantic

27-5, 0

UAB

11-16, 0

Florida Atlantic

UAB

3/16/2025 6:02:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Ben Paul

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 24 Florida Atlantic softball team pulled off another improbable comeback on Sunday afternoon with a 5-3 victory to sweep UAB.

After trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning and down to their last strike, the Owls (27-4, 6-0) got on base and capitalized on it with back-to-back hits from sophomore shortstop Kiley Channell and freshman second baseman Destiny Johns to score three runs.

FAU used four pitchers, with senior Ainsley Lambert entering in the bottom of the sixth inning and allowing just one hit to the Blazers (11-16, 1-5) for her second straight victory. She moves to 4-0 on the season to guide the Owls to their ninth consecutive win.

THE BEGINNING

The Blazers scored two in the bottom of the first inning and tacked on one more in the third to go up 3-0.

Junior pitcher Autumn Courtney entered in relief in the bottom of the third and held steady for 2.1 innings, allowing one hit and no runs.

THE TURNING POINT

Back-to-back hits in the top of the fifth, first a single from sophomore Ciara Gibson followed by a double from sophomore outfielder Kiley Shelton, put both Owls in scoring position.

Playing in front of hometown family and friends, freshman OF Bella Foran then sent a base hit to left field to score Gibson before Shelton came home on a groundout to bridge the gap to 3-2.

THE FINISH

Lambert took the circle in the bottom of the sixth. With base runners on the corners, a double play got the Owls out of the inning and kept them within one run entering their final series of at-bats.

Two Florida Atlantic batters reached base via error, the latter coming with redshirt sophomore OF Kylie Hammonds down to her last strike and two outs on the board. Channell then stepped up to the plate and recorded the single up the middle to score the tying run. Johns followed her up by taking the first pitch she saw and launching it to right field, scoring both runners for the game-winning triple.

In the bottom of the seventh, Lambert got the job done with two strikeouts before a flyout to end the game.

QUOTABLE

Coach Clark on the comeback for the second straight AAC series sweep.#WIP🏝️ pic.twitter.com/FP0qtvOlPN
— Florida Atlantic Softball (@FAUSoftball) March 16, 2025

NOTES/NOTABLE

Florida Atlantic is the only undefeated team in AAC play.
The Owls now have 11 comeback wins this season.
Lambert's ERA drops to a conference-best 1.17. She has not allowed an earned run in her last four appearances.
Johns logged her team-leading third triple and now has 28 RBI during her freshman campaign.
Hammonds has reached base in 27 out of 31 games this season.
The Owls' defense has gone 10 straight games without committing an error.

UP NEXT

The Owls return home to Paradise to host Charlotte (14-15, 2-4) from Friday, Mar. 21 to Sunday, Mar. 23 on ESPN+. Friday's game will be "Kids Night," with ages 12 and under able to enter for free.

FOLLOW THE OWLS

For the Owls' complete schedule, click HERE. To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball, or for the most up-to-date information, go to www.fausports.com.