Down to final out
FAU forces UF into doubleheader final.
GAINESVILLE — The biggest night of UF’s pitcher Jackson Kowar’s baseball career also turned out to be his worst night as a Florida Gator.
Projected to be a first-round pick during the MLB draft, Kowar continued his recent struggles for the Gators during a 7-4 loss to FAU in the Gainesville Regional.
The loss, Kowar’s third straight, forced an elimination game late Monday night between the Gators (44-18) and Owls (43-18-1). The winner will advance to this weekend’s Super Regional to face Auburn.
Kowar entered the night 9-4 this season and with the best winning percentage in school history (24-5, .828). But he allowed seven runs — four of them earned — along with 11 hits and four walks on a season-high 111 pitches.
Kowar faced 10 batters during the pivotal five-run third inning, highlighted by tworun singles by FAU right fielder Dave Mirando and third baseman Joe Montes.
Meanwhile, FAU junior closer Zach Schneider out-pitched Kowar during his first career start for the Owls. Schneider led Conference USA with 15 saves to go with a 6-1 record and 2.08 ERA, but he had not thrown more than 60 pitches this season.
Schneider left Monday’s game after five innings having allowed six hits and three runs while striking out five Gators on 100 pitches.
Kowar’s performance followed a four-hour, 41-minute weather in Gainesville and continued the recent slide for 6-foot-6 right-hander. During his last two starts, Kowar allowed a total of 16 hits and 11 earned runs during losses to Mississippi State and Arkansas.
UF has been forced to cope with NCAA scheduling decisions that had an impact on games that will decide the regional winner.
Rather than facing a tired FAU squad on Sunday night, the Gators’ game against the Owls was pushed to Monday because storms had delayed FAU’s game against Jacksonville Sunday earlier in the day.
On Monday, NCAA officials delayed the start of the UF-FAU matchup in anticipation of storms rolling through the area. The sun was shining during a significant portion of the delay, but the officials favored the delay to assure they could start and finish a game without interruption.
The rest seemed to bolster the Owls and forced a winner-take-all matchup that didn’t start until shortly before 10 p.m Monday.