April 4, 2006

Final Stats

The 2006 battle between Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University got underway on Tuesday night at FAU Stadium. The Owls had their best offensive game of the season with 18 hits and 13 runs in the 13-7 win. Tim Mascia finished the night 5-for-5 for FAU to raise his batting average to .317 on the season.

FAU (17-15) was able to score in six of the eight innings and posted four runs in the second inning as the Golden Panthers committed three errors.

In the sixth inning, the Owls pushed their lead to 9-0 with three runs in the frame. A leadoff walk was followed by an Ovy Ramirez single to put runners at the corners. With one out, Alex Silversmith delivered his second double of the night to pick up two RBI. Two batters later, Anthony Albano drove Silversmith home.

Florida International (24-11) fought back in the seventh inning with five runs. The first two batters reached base with singles before Will Mann recorded two outs. A single by Yosvel Barroso plated the second run of the frame before two FAU errors prolonged the scoring. James McOwen plated two runs on his third hit of the game, a double to left centerfield to bring the Panthers to win four runs.

Travis Ozga broke the game open with a two-run double in the seventh inning to extend the lead.

"The big hit of the game for us was Travis Ozga's two-run double in the seventh inning. He got us the runs back that we had just lost," said FAU head coach Kevin Cooney. "I was proud of the way our hitters did tonight."

In the eighth inning, Jordan Hafer finished the scoring with a two-run homer just inside the right field foul poll. The home run was his fifth of the season and ties William Block for the team lead.

Will Mann earned the win for the Owls. The senior improves to 2-0 on the year after he worked 6 2/3 innings and struck out two. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits. After allowing a hit in the first inning, Mann retired nine consecutive batters.

Eduardo Elias suffered the loss after giving up six runs, three earned, on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.

FAU will close out its eight-game home stand this weekend when it hosts VCU. Game times are scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Next week the Owls head to Port St. Lucie for a Tuesday practice. The first 250 fans receive free tickets to practice and into the St. Lucie Mets game that evening. For more information call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.