CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Florida Atlantic baseball was shutout for the first time this season in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Charlotte on Friday afternoon. FAU (27-14, 9-7) starter
Trey Beard tossed seven scoreless innings but was outdueled by 49ers (24-17, 10-6) ace Blake Gillespie, who pitched a complete game.
With the American Athletic Conference's two best pitchers going head-to-head, offense was hard to come by. Charlotte's best opportunity came with a man on third in the first inning. Beard escaped with a groundout. The Owls had runners at first and third in the third before a flyout ended the threat.
The two sides combined for one hit from the fourth through seventh innings. Beard finally departed after 115 pitches, and the 49ers immediately tagged reliever
Carter Holjes for two singles and a home run in the eighth. Gillespie continued into the ninth, where he retired the Owls in order to finish the complete game shutout.
- Beard struck out six and walked two in seven innings. He allowed three hits.
- Holjes took the loss to fall to 1-2.
- Gillespie struck out 12, walked two, and allowed four hits.
The Owls will look to even the series on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.