By: Tobey Schulman
FAU faced off against long-time rival FIU Tuesday night for some midweek action in Miami. The Owls looked to get back on track after dropping two straight games to Wichita State over the weekend. What was expected to be an offensive shootout turned into a rather surprising duel between the two pitching staffs. The Panthers had the slight edge in the scoring, and took the season finale between these two 1-0.
Brandon Smith got the start for the Owls, and put together a solid outing. Smith struck out three in five innings pitched, giving up four hits, and no earned runs. Owen Puk would go three innings in his start for the Panthers, only giving up one hit to the FAU offense. Jackson Ritchey would come in for Puk and put together a three inning performance of his own, giving up three hits, and no runs.
There’d be no score in this game until the home half of the sixth, where Jeff Liquori hit a sacrifice fly out to score the game’s only run. Dawson Ball would give up the only run, and he’d be given the loss after giving up only one hit.
The Owls offense would record four hits in the loss, only one less than FIU. John Schroeder went 2-4 at the plate, and continues to stay hot with the bat. Emilio Gonzalez and Joey Slattery would record the other two hits for the Owls, and the Panthers pitching staff would hold seven other FAU batters hitless in their low scoring win.
FAU now looks to snap a three game losing streak this weekend at home against Tulane. With a 20-16 overall record and a 5-7 AAC record, Tulane can move up the conference standings with a series win in Boca. FAU in the same sense, can rise in the standings with a series win against the Green Wave. This weekend will be crucial for the Owls to get back on track before a difficult stretch in their schedule.