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FAU coach John McCormack received all the quality relief pitching he could ask for – and more – allowing the Owls to defeat Middle Tennessee 9-4 in Murfreeboro, Tenn., on Sunday.
After starter Mike Ruff couldn’t get out of the first inning, Nick Swan, Drew Peden and Jordan Poore combined to limit MTSU to two runs over the final 8 2/3 innings. Swan entered the first inning with two runs already in and the bases loaded, but pitched the Owls out of the inning without surrendering another run.
By winning on Saturday and Sunday FAU captured the weekend series 2-1.
“The guys played hard today to win the series,” McCormack said. “Nick Swan’s performance in the first inning was fantastic. He set the tone and gave the offense a chance. I am proud of our guys.”
The victory kept FAU’s hopes for a regular season Conference USA title. Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, FAU could still claim the regular season C-USA crown by sweeping three games from Western Kentucky coupled with three Southern Miss losses at Marshall.
Western Kentucky is battling for the eighth and final seed in the C-USA tournament. Marshall will not qualify. The Owls currently reside in C-USA’s second place, one half game ahead of Louisiana Tech.
David Miranda’s two-run homer in the first gave FAU an early lead, but MTSU tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the frame.
The Owls broke the game open with four runs in the third and three more in the fourth.
GameBrowser: FAU (34-15-1, 17-8-1) 9, MTSU (25-25-1, 10-16-1) 4
Moving Forward: Nick Swan improve to 2-0 on the season by tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings. The lefty made two appearances during the weekend series, allowing only one run in 3 2/3 innings on Friday night. …Jordan Poore retired all seven batters he faced to conclude the game. …Tyler Frank had two hits and scored twice. …David Miranda hit his third home run in two days. …All nine FAU starters reached base for the second time in as many games.
Sliding Backward: Making his second start of the week, Mike Ruff faced six batters, surrendering three hits and walking two. …Reliever Drew Peden allowed two runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Key Stat: 26 – Runs scored by FAU over the final two games of the weekend series at MTSU – both Owl victories.
Up Next: FAU concludes regular season play with a three game series against Western Kentucky in Boca Raton. First pitch for Thursday’s series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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