College Roundup: FAU Rallies Past Top-Ranked ‘Canes
| HOW THE TOP 25 FARED |
| (1) Miami: lost, 4-3, vs. (21) Florida Atlantic |
| (2) Florida: off |
| (3) Texas A&M: off |
| (4) Texas Christian: off |
| (5) Louisiana State: won, 11-4, vs. Southeastern Louisiana |
| (6) Louisville: off |
| (7) Mississippi State: won, 1-0, vs. Louisiana-Monroe in 14 innings in Biloxi, Miss. |
| (8) Vanderbilt: off |
| (9) UC Santa Barbara: off |
| (10) Texas Tech: lost, 6-5, in 10 innings at New Mexico |
| (11) Florida State: won, 8-6, vs. Stetson |
| (12) South Carolina: won, 14-4, vs. Furman at Flour Field, Greenville, S.C. |
| (13) Rice: off |
| (14) North Carolina State: off |
| (15) Mississippi: won, 8-3, vs. Murray State |
| (16) North Carolina: won, 17-2, vs. William & Mary |
| (17) Long Beach State: off |
| (18) Michigan: won, 2-1, vs. Toledo |
| (19) Kentucky: off |
| (20) California: off |
| (21) Florida Atlantic: won, 4-3, at (1) Miami |
| (22) Oregon State: off |
| (23) Michigan State: won, 6-5, vs. Western Michigan |
| (24) Louisiana-Lafayette: cancelled vs. McNeese State |
| (25) Coastal Carolina: won, 9-5, vs. College of Charleston |
Tied with No. 1 Miami late in the game Wednesday, No. 21 Florida Atlantic scored twice in the eighth inning and held on for a 4-3 victory on the road. Florida Atlantic became just the third team to beat Miami in Alex Rodriguez Park this season, joining Florida and Louisville.
The Owls took the lead after the loaded the bases on a walk and two hit batters. Sean Labsan brought in the go-ahead run with a single and Austin Langham followed with an RBI groundout to add an insurance run.
The insurance proved to be critical, as the Hurricanes (29-6) got a run back in the bottom half of the inning. But FAU closer Cameron Ragsdale shut them down in the ninth, throwing a perfect inning for his 11th save of the season.
“It was a fantastic college baseball game,” coach John McCormack said. “I’m happy that we came out on top. When our guys needed it, they came through.”
FAU (26-8) added to its already solid resume, which includes two wins on opening weekend at Mississippi State. The Owls, who are a game out of first in Conference USA, have a return game against the Hurricanes on May 4 and series against fellow CUSA contenders Southern Mississippi and Rice still to come, as they build their case to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament.
Earlier in the day, New Mexico also added to its NCAA Tournament resume by beating No. 10 Texas Tech, 6-5, in 10 innings, to split the two-game set. The loss snapped the Red Raiders’ 10-game winning streak, which had been the longest active streak in the country.
The Lobos (27-12), the Mountain West Conference leaders, trailed 5-1 in fifth, before rallying to tie the game in the ninth. Dalton Bowers (1-for-4, R, 2 RBIs) then delivered a walk-off double in the 10th, as Andre Vigil came all the way around from first to score.
Wednesday also featured the first Bedlam Rivalry game of the year, as Oklahoma State visited Oklahoma. The nonconference game had been originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was pushed back a day by inclement weather.
The wait proved to be worth it, as Oklahoma State (23-13) had to hold off a late Oklahoma rally for a 4-3 victory. The Sooners (18-19-1) scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, and got the tying run on base with one out, but Tyler Buffett retired the next two hitters to secure the Cowboys’ victory and his sixth save of the season.
“Took all nine innings tonight for that game to play itself out,” Oklahoma State coach Josh Holliday said. “Both teams, I thought, played pretty good.”
The rivals will meet again for their three-game conference series May 13-15 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
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