Owls Topple Wichita State in Back-and-Forth Friday Night Affair

Friday, April 18

Boca Raton, Fla.

6:30 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

26-12, 8-6

Wichita State

12-26, 4-10

Wichita State

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: Ryan Tran

Owls Topple Wichita State in Back-and-Forth Friday Night Affair

4/18/2025 11:07:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball used a six-run seventh inning to defeat Wichita State 8-4 on Friday night at the FAU Baseball Stadium. The Owls (26-12, 8-6) have claimed the series from the Shockers (12-26, 4-10) and will go for the sweep on Saturday afternoon.

THE BEGINNING

A two-out solo home run off the bat of Marshall Lipsey opened the scoring in the bottom of the third. Owls' starter Tyler Murphy cruised through the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. A one-out RBI double followed by a two-run homer put three on the board for the visiting Shockers.

Florida Atlantic pulled one back on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fifth. Wichita State re-established its two-run lead with a solo home run in the top of the seventh

TURNING POINT

Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Dylan LaPointe and Danny Baez sparked a rally with back-to-back walks to start the frame. Brando Leroux's sacrifice attempt was so well-placed that it resulted in a bunt single for the senior shortstop. With the bases loaded, John Martinez beat out a potential double-play ball to make it 4-3. John Schroeder was then hit by a pitch to load the bases again, and Ayden Garcia worked a walk to bring in the tying run. All that set the table for Patrick Ward.

Ward launched the first pitch he saw into the night sky in left field. It eluded the leaping attempt of Wichita State left fielder Jaden Gustafson, disappearing over the wall for Ward's first career grand slam.

PAT WARD!!! GRAND SLAM!!! OWLS LEAD IN THE 7TH!!! pic.twitter.com/YBRQVMgTp0
— Florida Atlantic Baseball (@FAUBaseball) April 19, 2025

THE FINISH

With a four-run lead now in tow, Owls' closer MJ Bollinger entered and slammed the door on any hopes the Shockers had of a late comeback. Bollinger retired all six batters he faced to secure the victory.

THE BATS

Lipsey finished 2-for-4 and extended his reached-base streak to 36 games. His home run was his team-leading 10th of the season.
Ward also finished 2-for-4 with a single in addition to his fifth homer of the season.

THE ARMS

Murphy pitched five innings and allowed three runs on eight hits.
Zach Kilby entered with two runners on in the sixth. After a throwing error and a walk, he recorded two strikeouts and a pop-up to escape the jam.
Despite conceding the solo home run in the seventh, the lefty earned his second win of the season.

QUOTABLE

Postgame with @FAUCoachMac #WIP🏝️ pic.twitter.com/uI7siTBJWY
— Florida Atlantic Baseball (@FAUBaseball) April 19, 2025

WHAT'S NEXT

The Owls will have an opportunity to earn their first home conference sweep of the season on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+.