The FAU Owls baseball team (14-7, 1-2 C-USA) opened conference play with a three-game set against the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Golden Eagles (13-7, 2-1 C-USA). The Owls took one of the games.

Game 1 (Friday, March 18): USM 9, FAU 7

The Owls’ dropped their conference opener on Friday night. This marked the team’s second consecutive loss. 

FAU soared early, plating two runs in the opening frame. Sophomore shortstop Armando Albert walked to lead off the inning, then he advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. found a gap on the left side to drive Albert in. Sophomore first baseman Nolan Schanuel and sophomore second baseman Steven Loden singled to bring Rincones Jr. home.

Schanuel homered to right field in the third to increase the Owls’ lead to three. 

The Golden Eagles clawed back in the bottom of the third, scoring five runs. Sophomore shortstop Dustin Dickerson and junior left fielder Reece Ewing singled, and junior first baseman Christopher Sargent flew out to drive in Dickerson. Sophomore designated hitter Slade Wilks doubled to left, junior third baseman Danny Lynch was hit by a pitch, and junior second baseman Will McGillis doubled to clear the bases. Redshirt freshman right fielder Carson Paetow reached on a fielding error as McGillis scored. 

The Owls tied the game in the sixth inning. Loden singled, sophomore left fielder Dylan Goldstein was hit by a pitch, and graduate designated hitter Tyler Kelder doubled to drive both runners in.

Sophomore left-hander Sam Drumheller relieved senior right-hander Hunter Cooley in the seventh inning. Cooley threw 92 pitches across six innings and conceded five runs (four earned) on eight hits. Cooley also hit and struck out four batters. 

Drumheller immediately gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits. Loden was charged with a throwing error, allowing one of the runs to score. 

The Owls tied the game at seven apiece in the ninth inning after scoring twice. Sophomore center fielder Jalen DeBose singled and was brought home via a double from senior pinch hitter Shane Magrann. Freshman infielder Dom Presto pinch ran for Magrann and scored after Rincones Jr. doubled.

Lynch hit a walk-off two-run homer for USM in the bottom of the ninth, taking the series opener at FAU’s expense.

Bryce Totz is the Sports Editor at the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email him at [email protected], or tweet him @brycetotz.    

Game 2 (Saturday, March 19): USM 6, FAU 4

The Owls lost to the Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon, extending the losing skid to three.

The game started off slow for both teams, remaining scoreless after three innings. Junior left fielder Reece Ewing snapped the tie with his fifth homer of the season in the bottom of the fourth.

The Owls answered back in the fifth inning, getting three runs. Sophomore center-fielder Jalen DeBose singled to right field, sophomore left fielder Dylan Goldstein was hit by a pitch. Sophomore first baseman Nolan Schanuel homered to right-center field to drive in DeBose and Goldstein. This marked Schanuel’s sixth homer of the 2022 campaign.

The Owls padded their lead in the sixth. DeBose singled, Goldstein walked, and sophomore right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. doubled to bring home the team’s final run of the day.

Southern Miss decreased the deficit by a couple of runs in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore catcher Rodrigo Montenegro walked as his brother and senior center-fielder Gabe Montenegro singled to put runners on the corners. Sophomore shortstop Dustin Dickerson singled to bring Rodrigo home, then junior first baseman Christopher Sargent hit a sacrifice groundout to bring Gabe home. 

The Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the seventh. They plated two runs on one hit, an error, a wild pitch, and a couple of sacrificed groundouts.

In the eighth inning, Southern Miss added another run to their score via four walks. The team kept FAU quiet, confirming the series victory in the end.

Nicole Vogt is a contributing writer at the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at [email protected], or tweet her @nicole_nikkiv.

Game 3 (Sunday, March 20): FAU 7, USM 3

The Owls finished their series against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles with a 7-3 win Sunday afternoon. The win allowed FAU to snap a three-game losing streak and finish the weekend on a high note. 

The Eagles struck first in the bottom of the second inning via a solo home run.

Fortunately for the Owls, sophomore second baseman Steven Loden hit a double in the top of the fourth. This brought sophomore first baseman Nolan Schanuel home to score which tied the game at one apiece. 

However, USM responded in the bottom half of the fourth with another solo home run, putting them up over FAU once again. 

The Owls would remain trailing by one until the top of the eighth inning when the team flipped the switch and began dominating. Sophomore right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit a single into centerfield, which allowed sophomore left fielder Dylan Goldstein to come home to tie the game again. Loden hit a single and Rincones Jr. scored to give FAU the lead for the first time that afternoon. Senior catcher Shane Magrann, who was pinch-hitting, smacked a double into right field and brought home both Loden and Schanuel. Shortly after, sophomore shortstop Armando Albert hit a single that allowed sophomore catcher Caleb Pendleton to join in the parade of scoring. By the end of the inning, FAU led 6-2.

The top of the ninth saw the Owls score one last run against Southern Miss after Pendleton hit a sac-fly into left field and gave Rincones Jr. the opportunity to run home. 

The Eagles scored one more run in the bottom of the ninth, but were not able to generate enough offense to challenge FAU’s considerable lead. 

The final score was 7-3 in favor of FAU. Senior right-hander Jacob Josey and graduate left-hander Tyler Burnham were the only two pitchers on the mound for the Owls during the game.  Josey took over for Burnham during the third inning and earned the win with just over six innings pitched. He allowed five hits and two runs while Burnham allowed one hit and one run. 

The Owls return home on March 23 to play against the University of Miami Hurricanes at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on C-USA TV.
Nicholas Montante is a staff writer at the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email him at [email protected], or tweet him @nickmontante1.