BOCA RATON – In a game filled with big blows, David Miranda wielded a gargantuan stick.
His three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth gave the Owls the lead for good, propelling FAU to an 11-10 victory over Illinois on Friday night.
“I got the barrel on it and I got it in the air,” said Miranda. “The recipe was there. I had a good feeling it was going to go over right away.”
The homer capped a 4-for-5 night for the junior right fielder who transferred to FAU from Fullerton College.
With the wind howling out to right-center field, Miranda unloaded on a Joey Gerber slider, sending shot over the right field wall that didn’t need any help from the atmospheric conditions.
Shortly before rounding first, Miranda took a couple celebratory leaps as he watched the ball sail over the scoreboard beyond the right field wall.
“I was super stoked,” he said. “That was a big win for us.”
Miranda’s was one of four home runs hit by the Owls on the night. The third, a solo shot by Brad Mathiowetz, brought the Owls to within a run earlier in the inning.
Prior to that FAU hadn’t scored since the fourth, when the other two Owl homers contributed to a seven-run frame.
After a Sean Labsan single got the Owls on the board, Austin Langham launched his second home run of the season to give the Owls their first lead of the game, 4-3. Later in the inning Tyler Frank rode the wind for the second three-run homer of the inning.
Illinois bounced right back with five runs in the top of the fourth.
FAU closer Cameron Ragsdale made the game interesting in the ninth by surrendering Doran Turchin’s second homer of the game before recording the final out.
GameBroswer: FAU (5-3-1) 11, Illinois (2-6) 10
Moving Forward: Brad Mathiowetz made the most of his only at-bat by launching a solo home run. …Mark Nowatnick worked a scoreless eighth inning and earned the win. …Sean Labsan went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Sliding Backward: Starter Alex House was once again hit hard. With the wind blowing out, House is not the kind of pitcher who generally fares well. He gives up contact and often those balls are hit in the air. He once again was able to get ahead of batters but struggled to finish them off. House gave up eight runs, six earned, in 3 2/3 innings. …Second baseman Stephen Kerr left the game after feeling soreness in his oblique following a swing. …A middle infielder by trade, Gary Mattis looked lost at times in left. The wind’s bluster left him flustered. He gave up on a ball that fell fair, allowing a run to score and was charged with two throwing errors. …FAU committed four errors.
Key Stat: 8 – total home runs hit on Friday night, four by each team.
Up Next: The Owls and the Illini play the second game of their weekend series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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