Saturday, May 20, 2006

(May 20, 2006) - Florida Atlantic scored three runs in the seventh inning, completing a two-run rally and finishing off a sweep of the Bucs 7-3 to close out the regular season Saturday afternoon at FAU Field.

Trailing 2-1, second baseman William Block reached to lead off the seventh inning after being hit by a pitch, and advanced to second on designated hitter Mike McKenna's single to left.  Third baseman Daniel Cook followed with a double down the right field line to tie the game.  Shortstop Nick Arata bunted back to Glafenhein, and no play could be made, scoring McKenna and moving runners to the corners with no one out.  Left fielder Jordan Hafer drove Cook home with a single to left, capping the inning's scoring.

After five scoreless innings, the Bucs (29-25, 14-16) finally broke through in the sixth, plating two runs and claiming their second lead of the series.  Senior Shane Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) drew a one-out walk, and stole second, advancing to third on a throwing error by catcher Alex Silversmith.  Senior Blake Church (Roswell, Ga.) drove Byrne home with a single to right, extending his hitting streak to 13 games.  Junior C.J. Lee (Bristotl, Va.) reached on an error, and junior Michael Courtney (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove Church home on a single to center field.

The Owls (29-26, 14-16) cut the lead in half, stringing together three consecutive singles, and loaded the bases with one out, but reliever Caleb Glafenhein (Knoxville, Tenn.) induced Silversmith to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, ending the threat.

After the big seventh inning, the Owls added three more runs in the eighth inning, and the Bucs  for the game's final margin.

Junior Tony Lombardi (Windsor, Calif.) was brilliant in five innings of work, allowing no runs and only two hits while striking out two.  Glafenhein (1-3) took the loss, giving up all four runs in an inning-plus of work.  Anthony Bradley (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh inning in relief for his first win of the season.

The Bucs next travel north to DeLand, Fla. for next week's Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.  ETSU opens up play against second-seeded Mercer Wednesday at a time to be determined.  Fans can hear all of ETSU's games at the conference tournament both via the internet and locally in Johnson City on WJCW 910 AM on the Mountain States Health Alliance Buccaneer Sports Network.