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FAU provided an encore of Wednesday’s late-inning heroics, scoring the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth to defeat No. 15 Southern Miss 6-5 in the opening game of an early, yet potentially pivotal, Conference USA series.
Tied 5-5, No. 9 hitter Cody Wilson led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple to right center field. The Golden Eagles intentionally walked the next two batters, Tyler Frank and Gunnar Lambert, to set up a force play at home, but never had the chance to execute a play.
Wilson raced home on the errant offering from J. C. Keys to score the game winner.
“You can’t say enough about Cody Wilson,” FAU coach John McCormack said. “He accepts that I moved him down in the lineup, didn’t say a word and comes and plays hard. I thought we kept our composure there; they did the right think walking the two guys. It’s a tough thing for them, but I’m happy we won.”
FAU took an early 1-0 lead when Tyler Frank extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a home run to left to lead off the first.
The Owls, however, trailed 4-2 after six before retaking the lead with a three-run seventh, highlighted by Frank’s second homer of the game – a three-run blast.
The victory is the Owls second heart stopper of the week. Eric Rivera’s two-out grand slam in the bottom of the ninth capped a six-run final inning, propelling FAU past Miami on Wednesday.
GameBrowser: FAU (17-5, 3-1) 6, Southern Miss (15-1, 2-1) 5
Moving Forward: Starting at second base, Jared DeSantolo went 2-for-3. …Cody Wilson enjoyed a two-hit game. …FAU closer Zach Schneider improved to 2-0 by tossing a scoreless ninth.
Sliding Backward: Owls starter Jake Miednik surrendered four runs in six innings of work. …FAU coach John McCormack dropped Joe Montes to the seventh spot in the order. Montes went 0-for-3.
Key Stat: 13 – wins at home to open the season for FAU.
Up Next: The Owls and Golden Eagles play the middle game of their series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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