FAU Baseball (23-19, 7-11 C-USA) fell 12-9 to the #16 University of Miami Hurricanes (26-15, 12-9 ACC) on Tuesday night at Alex Rodriguex park in Coral Gables, Fla., to split the series at two games apiece.

A walkoff in an extra innings thriller lifted the Owls over Miami less than a week earlier in Boca Raton; But after quickly falling behind in the series finale Tuesday night, FAU couldn’t recover and suffered the sixth loss in their last seven outings.

“They had to throw their best guy to beat us,” said head coach John McCormack. “They didn’t think they would’ve needed to do that earlier in the game. No moral victories at this point but I am proud of the guys the way they fought back.”

Freshman right-hander Dylan Oborne got his third start of the season and struggled out of the gates, allowing six runs on four hits before being pulled with one out in the bottom of the second inning.

Hurricanes’ starter Chris Scinta kept the Owls scoreless in the first; But allowed them on the board in the second when Conference USA’s leading slugger, senior first baseman Nolan Scnauel, came home on an RBI single after leading off with a double.

In the top of the fifth, FAU found themselves with runners on first and second, when sophomore catcher John Schroeder stroked a 3-run homer over the left field fence, slimming the Hurricanes’ lead to 6-4.

After allowing FAU to bring the score back within two runs, Miami’s bats exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fourth to jump out ahead 12-4. The three pitchers that threw for the Owls in the fourth combined to allow eight hits, including three homers, in that inning alone.

Facing an 8-run deficit, the largest lead of the entire series, the Owls slowly tried to chip away. First, with a two-run blast off the bat of junior left fielder Dylan Goldstein. Then in the seventh, a Goldstein double sparked a two-run rally that left Miami’s lead at 12-8.

The Owls plated another run in the eighth, when Goldstein was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded—but Schroeder struck out swinging on the next bat, ending the inning and stranding three runners. 

Down by three in the top of the ninth, the Owls had the opportunity to equalize the score but Miami’s closer, junior right-hander Andrew Walters, retired the side on three batters to save the Hurricanes’ 71st victory over FAU in history. 

“We had the tying run and the winning run in the box after everything that went on,” said McCormack. “I give our guys credit. We fought back. We forced them to bring in the best closer in the country on a short week for them. They really wanted to win this game.”

Now, FAU will play host for a three-game series starting Friday, April 28, against the Florida International University Panthers, where they’re looking to recover from four straight losses. First pitch from FAU Baseball Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast by C-USA TV.

Cameron Priester is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @PriesterCameron