Hoosiers and Owls Play to 6-6 Draw
BOCA RATON, Fla. – A four-run eighth inning wiped away a two-run deficit for Indiana baseball (3-3-1), whose game with the Florida Atlantic Owls ended in a tie on Sunday afternoon after 11 innings. The game was called due to a travel curfew.
Fourteen hits paved the way for IU in the game. Senior Tony Butler plated two runs in the eighth inning and finished the with two hits and two RBI. Freshman Jake Matheny collected a team-high three hits and scored a run, while junior Logan Sowers and junior Laren Eustace also had productive days at the plate with two hits apiece. Senior Craig Dedelow drove in two runs and launched his third home run of the season, while sophomore Luke Miller also went deep in the contest during a two-hit day. Freshman Jeremy Houston also chipped in an RBI single.
Junior Brian Hobbie got the start and went 4.2 innings in the no-decision. He struck out two batters and allowed seven hits. Junior B.J. Sabol picked up 2.1 innings of work and held the Owls hitless before turning the game over to sophomore Pauly Milto, who went two innings.
Indiana put runners on first and third with two outs in the first, courtesy of singles by Eustace and Sowers, but groundout to short stop ended the Hoosiers' threat. Florida Atlantic responded with two runs in the bottom half of the frame, as a two-run double to left-center field did the damage. Hobbie helped himself out by ending the inning with an unassisted caught stealing of Stephen Kerr at third base.
Eustace's leadoff double in the third inning translated into IU's first run, as Dedelow's RBI groundout brought the game within a run, 2-1. Hobbie was efficient in the bottom half of the inning with a six-pitch effort to retire the side.
Miller's solo home run with two outs in the fifth tied the game 2-2 before Florida Atlantic put up two runs in the bottom of the fifth to go back ahead, 4-2. Sabol entered the game with two outs and forced a groundout to Miller at third to strand two runners.
Both teams traded 1-2-3 innings in the seventh, while Dedelow used his third home run of the season to bring Indiana back within one run in the eighth. Sophomore Ryan Fineman followed with a single and was pinch ran for by senior Alex Krupa, who advanced to second off of Matheny's single through the left side. Pinch hitting for senior Austin Cangelosi, sophomore Matt Llyod worked a full count and eventual walk to load the bases for Butler, whose two-run single left field gave Indiana a 5-4 lead. Houston followed with an RBI single to right field, pushing the Hoosiers to a two-run, 6-4, lead.
Florida Atlantic went on to load the bases with no outs in the bottom half of the eighth and used a fielder's choice to bring the game within one run, 6-5. Milto forced a popup to Miller at third for the second out and wiped the threat with a swinging strikeout of Brad Mathiowetz.
A leadoff home run for FAU in the bottom of the ninth tied the game to force extra innings. The Owls threatened in the 10th inning and loaded the bases, but two Owls were left on base when Kerr was caught stealing home.
The game was called after 11 innings due to a prearranged drop-dead time due to travel.
Indiana next travels to Cincinnati on March 1 with a first pitch time of 7 p.m. from Marge Scott Stadium.
Boxscore within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/2/26/baseball-hoosiers-and-owls-play-to-6-6-draw.aspx
Go Hoosiers!
