FAU rallies over Western Kentucky in 11th
BOCA RATON The Florida Atlantic baseball team was on the way to a disappointing loss that may have slowed its late-season momentum.
And then second baseman Richie Nizza extended the game.
He had a key late hit and catcher Kevin Abraham produced the winning RBI in the Owls’ 6-5 comeback victory Friday against Western Kentucky in 11 innings at FAU Baseball Stadium.
“Storybook or whatever you want to call it,” FAU baseball coach John McCormack said. “Down two, Richie comes up with a big hit … We tie it.”
The Owls appeared headed toward defeat when they trailed 5-3 in the bottom of the 10th. With two outs and two strikes, Nizza had a two-RBI single to center that kept them alive. The play was aided by WKU center fielder Jacob Rhinesmith twice bobbling the ball.
After WKU went scoreless, Owls center fielder Cody Wilson led off with a double to deep center. He went 4 for 5 and scored four runs.
“I was just looking for a fastball in the zone,” Wilson said. “I got it where I like it. I honestly thought it was gone.”
Two batters later, Wilson scored on Abraham’s sacrifice fly to right. Emotions were high because Abraham, who is playing in his final regular season, overcame cancer two years ago.
“It was fitting on senior weekend, Kevin Abraham gets the game-winning RBI after eveyrthing he’s been through,” McCormack said. “It’s kind of a little
With the win, the Owls (36-15-1) defeated a Western Kentucky team that needed a victory to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament. Now, its season will end after Saturday’s regular-season finale.
“It’s tough. They’re playing for their lives,” McCormack said. “The old adage of a cornered animal or backed into a corner. They came out swinging.”
The Owls have now won five of six and are increasing their chances of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA bit emotional.” Tournament. The victory eases some of the pressure entering Saturday and the conference tournament.
“It puts a ton of pressure on you (Saturday), you’ve got to win,” McCormack said of if they lost on Friday. “They’re (Western Kentuckly) feeling good about themselves. This was huge. I think we’re continuing to make our case for the NCAA. But (Saturday) again is big. We’ve got to win it and go to the conference tournament and just keep winnning and try to take the decision out of anybody’s hands.”
The Owls feels they have already done enough to impress the NCAA selection committee. They will finish second in the Conference USA standings and have an RPI rating of 28. That should prevent them from experiencing the disappointment of last year when they missed the tournament.
“We did enough,” Wilson said. “I think games like this tell people that we can come back from anything.”
srichardson@sun-sentinel .com, Twitter @shandelrich