BOCA RATON, Fla. – Isaiah Walker blasted his second homer of the season and led the team in hits, but it wasn't enough to overcome FAU's pitching as UTSA dropped game three on Sunday 8-4 and lost the weekend series 1-2.
Walker ended the day 2-3 with a homerun and a single with one walk. Walker started at first base for the first time in his collegiate career. Jonathan Tapia and Sammy Diaz both had solid outings as well, as Tapia had two RBIs off of a double in the fourth while Diaz had the only other multi-hit for UTSA.
UTSA (13-10, 2-4 Conference USA) started freshman righthander Braden Davis for Sunday's series finale. Davis went for two innings, allowing four hits and three runs. Davis exited the game at the start of the bottom of the third as Grant Miller entered. Miller pitched 1.2 innings allowing only one hit and one run with a punchout. Simon Miller entered to get the final out of the fourth and would end up pitching for 2.1 innings. Miller allowed four hits and two runs (only one earned) while striking out four in his time on the mound. Allen Smith and Braylon Owens covered the seventh and eighth innings respectively. Smith would allow two runs in three hits in the seventh while Owens allowed just one hit in his lone inning.
Florida Atlantic (16-9, 3-3 C-USA) starter Tyler Burnham worked three innings on the day, giving up five hits and three runs. Jacob Josey (3-2) would replace Burnham and go the distance for the Owls. Josey pitched the remaining six innings for FAU, as he allowed only three hits in that span and one lone run.
After a scoreless first inning, FAU began their launch party in the bottom of the second as the Owls got a three-run homerun from Dylan Goldstein to take an early 3-0 lead.
UTSA would match FAU's homerun with one of their own, as Walker cranked his second homer of the season to left field to cut the deficit to two and make it a 3-1 FAU lead.
In the fourth inning, Diaz started things off with a single and was able to advance to third thanks to two wild pitches. Ian Bailey drew a walk to get runners on the corners for Chase Keng. Keng reached on a fielder's choice which scored Diaz. Following the FC, Walker came back to the plate and zipped a single to right field, advancing Keng to third. The next batter, Garrett Poston, drew a walk and loaded the bases for Tapia. With one out and the bases juiced, Tapia delivered a 2RBI double which would give the Roadrunners their first and only lead of the game.
The Owls retook the lead in the bottom of the frame as they began with a double from Tyler Kelder. The double was followed up by the Owls' second homerun of the day, this time a two-run blast from Nicholas Toney.
FAU would add another run to its tally in the bottom of the sixth when Kelder reached on a fielding error and advanced to second due to a throwing error. A Dylan Goldstein double would plate Kelder and push FAU's lead to 6-4.
The next time the Owls were at the plate they added two more. Nolan Schanuel led off the inning with a double for FAU. He was brought home by Jackson Ross who belted his third homerun on the season and pushed the game to 8-4 in favor of the Owls. UTSA would eventually fall by that score as they lost the weekend series in Boca Raton, 1-2.
Sunday Notes
Home Runs
UTSA: Isaiah Walker (2)
FAU: Dylan Goldstein (6), Nicholas Toney (1), Jackson Ross (3)
WP – Jacob Josey (3-2): 6.0 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
SV – N/A
LP – Simon Miller (1-3): 2.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs (1 unearned), 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Up Next
UTSA will complete its six-game road trip this week with two weekday games on the road. First up is a cross-town showdown at UIW on Tuesday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. Then, the following day, UTSA heads up to Fort Worth to face the TCU Horned Frogs at 6 p.m.
- UTSA -
