Esteban Puerta continued to break out of his cold streak, recording three hits – including what became the game-winning home run – helping the Owls clinch a sweep against Middle Tennessee with a 7-6 win on Sunday.
FAU is one of only three teams to open Conference USA play with a sweep, joining Southern Miss and Old Dominion atop the conference standings.
Recently dropped down in the lineup, Puerta took a 1-2 pitch in the eighth inning from Middle Tennessee’s Tyler Holcombe to the opposite field, giving the Owls a 7-5 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Down 3-1 in the fourth, FAU continued its recent pattern of striking in the middle innings when Austin Langham singled Eric Rivera home. The Owls tied things in the fifth with a Pedro Pages RBI single and took their first lead of the game thanks to a sacrifice fly from Rivera one batter later.
Middle Tennessee tied things in the sixth and eighth innings respectively. With the game tied at five, Puerta homered for the second straight day.
FAU nearly gave the game away in the ninth inning. The Blue Raiders trimmed the Owls’ lead to 7-6 and put runners on second and third with one out. Closer Cameron Ragsdale settled down, induced a pop out not long enough to score the run, and forced Kaleb King to fly out for the final out – and an FAU sweep.
GameBrowser: FAU (14-5-1, 3-0) 7, MTSU (8-1, 0-3) 6
Moving Forward: Pedro Pages and David Miranda each had two hits. … Stephen Kerr drew four walks. …Puerta went 3-for-4, scored three runs and drove in two.
Sliding Backwards: Tyler Frank was 0-4 but walked and stole a base. … Jake Miednik was less than stellar, giving up four runs (three earned) in 6 1/3 innings – though he did tally six strikeouts.. ….Drew Peden gave up one run in 2/3 of an inning in relief. … Middle Tennessee had seven of their nine hitters record a hit against FAU pitching.
Key Stat: 12 – runners left on base by FAU. This game didn’t need to be so close.
Up Next: FAU will travel south on Wednesday night for a showdown with the Miami Hurricanes. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
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