FAU (10-4) got crushed by Virginia Tech (10-4) in a 14-2 loss on Tuesday, March 8 in Boca Raton.
The Owls had difficulty defensively as they committed five errors which resulted in the Hokies easily taking bases to set up for runs. Three of the errors came from third baseman Joey Burkhalter who continued to have trouble coming up with the ball when it was hit to him.
On two different occasions, FAU head coach John McCormack stormed out of the dugout to argue with the umpires. His first trip out was after first baseman Dan Scheffler was called out on a stolen base attempt when it was clear he was safe. The second trip came after a double play in the bottom of the seventh as second baseman Raymond Church was called out at second base despite the fact that VT second baseman Michael Seaborn appeared off the bag.
FAU’s first run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Burkhalter scored an RBI single that brought left fielder Alex Hudak across the plate. Despite Burkhalter’s poor defensive performance, he went 2-for-3 at the plate
On the mound for FAU, starting pitcher Jake Meiers (1-2) pitched seven innings allowing seven runs and one walk while striking out two batters. VT left fielder Andrew Rash hit two solo home runs off Meires. The first in the fourth inning, and the second in the seventh giving the Hokies a 7-1 going into the later half of the game.
The Owls struggled to get runners on base, only getting on board when they had two outs already in the inning. The game really started getting away from the Owls in the top of the eighth as they allowed VT to score five runs. Pitcher Jason Boyer can in to start the inning but he was soon taken out of the game as he loaded the bases with walks and allowed four runs to score. With FAU down 11-1, pitcher Everist Taylor came in to relive Boyer who managed to get out of the inning but not before letting pinch hitter Tyler Horan knock in a two-run homer.
The Hokies weren’t finished scoring as they brought in two more runs in the top of the ninth making a rally attempt far from the Owls grasp. In the bottom of the ninth, Church managed to get his only base hit of the night as he previously got on base from being walked twice. The hit not only extended his hitting streak to 23 games, now just one shy of the school record, but it also drove in a run. However, the run made no difference as Scheffler was the final out sealing the 14-2 victory for VT.
“I’m really disappointed in the way we played,” said McCormack. “We didn’t play defense. We didn’t hit pitches. We were just bad all around.”
