Florida Atlantic baseball secured a narrow 7-6 win over UTSA on March 21, evening the weekend series and setting up a decisive game for Sunday. The victory brings Florida Atlantic’s record to 14-9 overall and 1-1 in American Conference play, while UTSA stands at 16-7 and also 1-1 in the league.
The outcome of this series is significant as it marks the first American Conference weekend for both teams, with Sunday’s finale determining which team will exit with a winning record in league play.
UTSA started strong with a two-run home run in the first inning, but Florida Atlantic responded quickly. Patrick Ward tied the game with a two-out double, followed by Brett Patten’s single that gave the Owls an early lead. Michael Perazza and Kyle Boylston added RBI singles to extend Florida Atlantic’s advantage to 5-2 by the fourth inning.
Redshirt sophomore Kide Adetuyi delivered five solid innings for Florida Atlantic, striking out nine batters and allowing only three hits after giving up an early home run. However, UTSA rallied against the bullpen in the sixth inning, scoring four runs to take a brief lead. The Owls answered immediately as TJ Gramesty doubled and later scored to tie the game again.
In a tense seventh inning, fifth-year senior Bryan Boully entered with bases loaded and no outs but managed to escape without allowing a run through a strikeout and key defensive plays. After Boully left due to injury in the eighth, freshman Brody Juntunen and reliever Carson Kimball combined to keep UTSA off the scoreboard. Patten then led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, eventually scoring on a passed ball for what proved to be the winning run. Kimball closed out the ninth inning with two strikeouts for his first win of the season.
Head Coach John McCormack spoke postgame about his team’s performance.
The Owls’ offense was led by Patten’s three hits in four at-bats, while Gramesty contributed two doubles. Boylston finished with two RBI and Marshall Lipsey stole his team-leading tenth base of the season.
The deciding game of this conference-opening series is scheduled for Sunday at FAU Baseball Stadium.
