Wichita State scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to knock FAU out of the AAC Tournament with a 3-2 win on Wednesday afternoon.
FAU would get on the scoreboard first. Marshall Lipsey and Ian Collier were both hit by pitches from Wichita State starter Matt Cuccias, putting runners on first and second with no outs.
Patrick Ward would strike out, which was followed by a Brett Patten single through the left side of the infield, sending Lipsey to third. A sacrifice fly by Brando Leroux would score Lipsey, giving FAU a 1-0 lead after two innings.
In the bottom of the fourth. Wichita State got its first run of the game off Owls starter James Litman.
With one out, Alex Ulloa struck out, Zeb Henry walked, and Ethan Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second with one out for the Shockers. Jaden Gustafson lined out to center, advancing Henry to third. Jayson Jones then singled through the right side, scoring Henry, tying the game at 1-1.
That would be all for Litman. He was outstanding through his four and two-thirds innings of work, giving up just one run on two hits while striking out seven.
Kyle Adetuyl relieved Litman for the rest of the game and recorded the final out of the fifth inning to keep it a 1-1 game.
John Martinez led off the sixth inning with a solo home run, his fifth of the season, to put FAU back in front 2-1.
It would stay 2-1 until the top of the ninth. FAU right-fielder Kyle Boylston lost a ball in the sun on a routine fly ball to right, which turned into a double for Kaleb Duncan.
Adetuyl would then strike out Ales Ulloa for the first out of the inning. Jacob Gutierrez, pinch-hitting for Zeb Henry, singled to center. Duncan came all the way around from second to tie the game at two apiece.
Ethan Gonzalez would strike out before Jaden Gustafson lined a single through the left side, allowing the pinch runner Owen Rush to score from second and give Wichita State their first and only lead of the game, 3-2.
Down to their final three outs, FAU would go quietly in the bottom of the ninth. Marshall Lipsey would fly out to center to start the inning, TJ Grammesty struck out swinging, and Brett Patten would strike out to end the game, sealing the Wichita State win.
“Tough game, tough loss,” FAU coach John McCormack said. “It’s the worst day in college baseball when you get eliminated. I’m proud of the guys. We battled, battled all year. You know, we gotta get, gotta get better.”
“They (Wichita State) got a break, and they kicked through with it, and we weren’t able to answer, so congratulations to them.”
James Litman played his heart out on the mound in his final start of the season. The Owls offense wasn’t enough, though.
“I thought that James threw great,” McCormack said. “He gave up the one single that scored one, which was kind of a lapse of concentration. He has been great all year.”
FAU ends its season at 28-28. McCormack said his team will put this behind them and move forward.
“You know, you just gotta move on to the next one. You know, we’ll move on. We go back to Boca and have our meetings and start working on next year and put this all behind us.”
Meanwhile, Wichita State advances to play Rice Thursday at 1 p.m. as the AAC Tournament continues.