The Tribune

RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BJ Murray and the No.21 ranked Florida Atlantic Owls got their third win over a ranked programme Wednesday night and continue to climb up the rankings in the top 25.

Murray went 3-5 with an RBI in the Owls’ 3-2 win over the No.6 Florida Gators  in 10 innings at the Florida Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida.

Murray singled in the top of the first inning and the Owls took an early 1-0 lead. The Gators responded with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the second inning. In the bottom of the third, Murray singled to right field to score Wilfredo Alvarez and advanced on a fielding error.

He advanced to third on a Michael Hartigan single but was eventually thrown out at home in attempt to score the game’s go ahead run. He singled again in the fifth, but the teams played six scoreless innings before Hartigan’s game winning RBI single in the 10th.

Three Owl pitchers held the Gators to just five hits and totalling 14 combined strikeouts to improve to 7-1 on the season.

“I thought we pitched very well, we made the plays (on defence), and offensively, we did the things we needed to do...I’m excited that we were able to hold on and win,” Owls head coach John McCormack said.

“Good win for us, (Florida) is going to go on and have a nice year and it’s going to look good for the committee come NCAA time. Right now, we’ve got to get home and get prepared for Friday.”

The Owls opened the season with a 2-1 series win over the No.24 Central Florida Knights.

Over the course of opening weekend, the sophomore third baseman hit .312 with a 1.040 OPS, six RBI, one double, one triple, one home-run, and four runs scored.

Following a win over Florida Gulf Coast, FAU followed with a 3-0 series sweep over the Seton Hall Pirates.

In the series opener, Murray hit a triple and eventually scored the go-ahead run in FAU’s  6-2 win. He followed with his second home run of the season in the Owls’ 17-14 win. He finished 2-3 (including a double and homer) with two RBI and three runs. As a part of an eight-run inning, Murray hit a two-run shot and returned later to draw a walk as the Owls built a 9-0 lead. He later doubled in the fifth inning. Murray also scored two runs in the series finale, a 10-4 win.