MONROE, La. - A five-run eighth inning rally
was not enough to erase a seven-run deficit, as the ULM baseball team fell to
No. 28 Florida Atlantic 9-7 Friday night in Sun Belt Conference play at Warhawk
Field.
A Les Aulds base hit through the middle with
the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth scored Taylor Abdalla and Judd
Edwards to trim the Warhawk (16-18, 4-9 SBC) deficit to 9-4. After reliever Brett Nizamoff hit Caleb Clowers
to reload the bases, Jeremy Sy drew a four-pitch walk to plate Justin Stawychny
and make it a four-run ballgame (9-5). Joey
Rapp followed with a two-run single to make it a 9-7 contest.
Wil Browning tossed a 1-2-3 top of the ninth
inning to give ULM a chance in the bottom half of the frame. Abdalla led off with an infield single against
Florida Atlantic (23-12, 11-2 SBC) closer R.J. Alvarez, but the Owl pitcher got
two quick outs by striking out Brandon Alexander swinging and forcing Edwards
to fly out to center field. A Stawychny
pop out to first base ended the game.
Les Aulds, Rapp and Alexander each paced ULM
with two RBIs, with Clowers and Abdalla also contributing two hits apiece. Sy reached base three times on the night and
added an RBI.
The Warhawks loaded the bases in the bottom
of the first inning, beginning with Clowers reaching on a one-out single
against Florida Atlantic starter Ryan Garton (7-2) and advancing to second on a
stolen base. Sy drew a full-count walk
and Corben Green was then hit by a 2-1 offering. Garton struck out Abdalla swinging to end the
ULM threat.
The first three Florida Atlantic hitters
reached safely in the top of the second inning, and a Geoff Jimenez sacrifice
fly to center field scored Mark Nelson to give the Owls a 1-0 lead. Mike Albaladejo roped a two-run single off starter
Cale Wine (4-4), scoring Kyle Newton and Mike Spano to push the advantage to
3-0. Wine punched out Corey Keller
looking on a 0-2 pitch for the inning's final out.
Spano laced a two-out single to right field
off Wine to plate Nelson in the top of the third, and an errant throw from
Abdalla allowed Jimenez to score all the way from first base, stretching the
Florida Atlantic cushion to 5-0.
Wine hung his second straight scoreless frame
in the fifth inning after Rapp gunned down Nelson trying to score from second
base following a Jimenez infield single. Rapp's heads-up play kept the Warhawks
within five runs (5-0).
ULM broke through against Garton in the
bottom of the sixth. Rapp drew
four-pitch walk to open the inning before moving into scoring position at
second base on a wild pitch. An Abdalla
single gave the Warhawks runners at the corners with one out. Alexander delivered on the RBI opportunity by
blasting a double off the wall in right center field, scoring both runs and
bringing ULM within four at 6-2.
Reliever Kendall Thamm battled out of a
one-out jam with two men on in the top of the seventh inning, forcing out Alex
Hudak on a ground ball at second base and striking out Spano swinging to keep
the Warhawks in range (6-2).
The Owls put the game further out of reach in
the top half of the eighth inning, as Nelson took Shelby Aulds deep and out
over the outstretched glove of Abdalla at the wall in right field to give the
visitors a 9-2 cushion.
Nelson and Albaladejo led Florida Atlantic
with three RBIs each, while Newton chipped in three hits and a run scored. Garton allowed two earned runs on five hits
in 5.1 innings, walking three and striking out eight to pick up the win.
Game two of the weekend series is scheduled
for a 6 p.m. first pitch Saturday at Warhawk Field.
