BOCA RATON, Fla. – On a 74-degree evening with a light breeze in South Florida, palm trees swayed beyond the outfield wall at Florida Atlantic University as the FAU Owls of the American Athletic Conference defeated the Bucknell University Bisons of the Patriot League 15-8 in the first game of their two-game series.
FAU advanced their overall record to 13-3 and Bucknell dropped one game below .500 at 6-7.
FAU and Bucknell committed three errors on Tuesday night.
Neither team has faced an in-conference opponent yet in the 2025 season.
John McCormack is in his 17th season as FAU’s head coach and his 34th season with the program. Before taking over as head coach, he spent 11 years as associate head coach and seven years as an assistant, starting in 1991.
“I’m relieved. We didn’t play well, but we did get some timely hits. Boylston came off the bench and got a big hit, and Pat Ward had a really good night. Early in the game, we had the bases loaded but struck out looking, and we just couldn’t get anything going. Credit to Bucknell—they kept throwing strikes, changing pitchers, and making moves. Eventually, we created some separation, but it was not an easy Tuesday night game,” McCormack said to World Baseball Network on the field during the postgame.
Scott Heather is in his 13th season as Bucknell’s head coach.
The Owls struck first in the bottom of the first inning when catcher Ayden Garcia scored on a wild pitch during John Martinez’s at-bat, giving FAU a 1-0 lead.
Bucknell responded in the top of the second. FAU starting pitcher Zach Kilby attempted a pickoff throw to first baseman Jake Milan, but Milan couldn’t apply the tag in the base path as shortstop Zack Alexander evaded it. The miscue allowed left fielder Chris Morabito to score from third, tying the game at 1-1.
Bucknell broke the tie in the top of the fourth, scoring four runs. Zack Alexander drove in the first with an RBI groundout to shortstop Brando Leroux, who threw to first for the out as right fielder Mike Chiaravallo crossed the plate, giving the Bisons a 2-1 lead.
Moments later, second baseman Billy Kender rocked an RBI double to right, bringing home Billy Fluharty and extending the lead to 3-1.
M4 | Bucknell 5, FAU 1
Here's a look at Billy Kender's RBI double. Two batters later, Ryan Facinelli hit the same gap to score two more runs, and the Bison have opened up a 5-1 lead!
📺 https://t.co/vpI5WIlXEI pic.twitter.com/gecgc0HSvd
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) March 11, 2025
Designated hitter Ryan Facinelli added to Bucknell’s lead, cracking a two-run double to right to score Tyler Dunn and Billy Kender, making it 5-1.
FAU responded with a five-run rally in the bottom of the fifth. Designated hitter Joey Slattery got things started by dialing an RBI single to center, bringing in John Schroeder to cut the deficit to 5-2.
A few moments later, Marshall Lipsey worked a bases-loaded walk, forcing in third baseman Patrick Ward and trimming the Bisons’ lead to 5-3.
“We were just trying to slow things down at the plate,” Marshall said to World Baseball Network in the postgame. “I mean, we let the game kind of get away from us there for a little bit, but it was just one at-bat at a time—passing the bat, as we do. That’s when we put up runs the best, just keeping it going, one batter at a time. Once the fourth inning happened, things started to take off from there.”
The exclamation point of FAU’s five run rally with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, when Mike Chiaravallo dropped a routine pop-up, allowing Jake Milan, Marshall Lipsey, Brando Leroux, and Joey Slattery to score. The costly error put the Owls in front, 6-5.
FAU kept building in the bottom of the sixth. Pinch hitter Kyle Boylston lined an RBI single to left, scoring Patrick Ward to extend the lead to 7-5.
Back at the top of the order, Lipsey continued FAU’s offensive surge, driving a two-run triple to right.
Bucknell cut into FAU’s lead in the seventh when Ryan Facinelli led off with a triple and later scored on a double play, making it 9-6.
FAU responded in the bottom half when Patrick Ward launched a two-run homer to left, pushing the lead back to 11-6.
“We had a lot of runners on, early in the game but weren’t able to bring them in. Later in the game, we finally were able to drive some runs in with some deep counts to get to their pitching,” Ward said to World Baseball Network during the postgame.
The Owls broke the game open in the eighth. A throwing error allowed two runners to reach before Garcia delivered a two-run single, making it 13-6. Ward followed with a two-run single of his own.
Bucknell made one final push in the ninth. Jack Trommer led off with a single, and pinch runner Andrew Beiswenger scored on an RBI single from Mike Calabrese. Alexander followed with another RBI single, but FAU turned a 6-4-3 double play to beat Bucknell 15-8 in the first game of their two-game series.
Top Performances
Patrick Ward led Florida Atlantic’s offense, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, while Marshall Lipsey added two hits, including a double, and drove in three runs.
For Bucknell, Billy Fluharty had a three-hit game, while Ryan Facinelli went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Everett Garber started for Bucknell, allowing one run over three innings with five strikeouts, while Mitchell took the loss after giving up five earned runs in relief.
FAU starter Zach Kilby went 3.2 innings, allowing three earned runs, while Ostrander pitched 2.1 innings and picked up the win. The FAU bullpen combined for three innings, allowing two runs while striking out three.
Looking Ahead
FAU and Bucknell will meet again for the second game of their two-game set on Wednesday, March 12 at 4 p.m. EDT at FAU Baseball Stadium. The Owls will look to sweep the series before preparing for their upcoming American Athletic Conference matchups, while the Bisons aim to bounce back with a split.
FAU’s first AAC matchup will be a three-game home series against Rice University from March 21-23, with the opener set for 6:30 p.m. EDT.
FAU Baseball Outlook – D1Baseball.com Preseason Rankings
FAU junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Murphy, freshman right-hander James Litman, sophomore left-hander Trey Beard, and sophomore catcher Dylan LaPointe were highlighted as top prospects in the American Athletic Conference’s preseason rankings by D1Baseball.com.
As of February 6, Murphy was ranked the No. 14 Major League Baseball Draft prospect, while Litman was recognized as the AAC’s No. 4 Impact Freshman. Beard was listed as the conference’s No. 4 prospect for the 2026 MLB Draft, and LaPointe was ranked No. 38 among AAC prospects eligible for the 2025 Draft.
Murphy, a 20-year-old from Palm City, Fla., posted a 1-0 record with a 5.50 ERA in 18 appearances as a freshman in 2023, striking out 39 over 34.1 innings. In 2024, he went 3-2 with a 6.08 ERA across 18 appearances, including 11 starts, recording 41 strikeouts in 53.1 innings. During his 2025 season, Murphy has a 5.89 ERA with a 1-0 record, logging 18.1 innings in four starts, giving up 22 hits, 12 earned runs, two home runs, seven walks, and 20 strikeouts.
LaPointe, a 20-year-old catcher from Brandon, Fla., is ranked No. 38 among AAC prospects for the 2025 Draft and has been a steady defensive presence behind the plate. Last season, LaPointe played in 29 games with 14 starts, batting .149/.383/.226. Across seven games in 2025, LaPointe is hitting.259/.556/.333 with 27 at-bats, seven hits, two doubles, two home runs, six RBI, two walks, and five strikeouts.
Beard, a 20-year-old left-hander from Dunedin, Fla., was ranked the No. 4 AAC prospect for the 2026 Draft. As a freshman in 2024, he went 4-4 with a 5.51 ERA in 16 appearances, 15 of which were starts. He struck out 68 over 65.1 innings while issuing 35 walks. In the 2025 season, he is 2-0 in four starts with a 2.57 ERA, throwing 21 innings, allowing 11 hits, six earned runs, two home runs, nine walks, 43 strikeouts, and a 0.952 WHIP.
Litman, a 19-year-old right-hander from Boca Raton, Fla., has been labeled the AAC’s No. 4 Impact Freshman. He started strong in 2025, posting a 2-0 record with a 0.93 ERA in his first four starts, allowing just 14 hits over 19.1 innings while striking out 16.
FAU Baseball Program Background
The Owls won an NCAA Regional championship in 2002 and have made the tournament in 1985, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.
FAU has won two conference tournament championships, taking the Atlantic Sun title in 2004 and the Sun Belt title in 2013.
The Owls have also claimed regular season conference championships, winning the NAIA title in 1983, the Atlantic Sun in 1999 and 2003, the Sun Belt in 2010 and 2012, and Conference USA in 2016 and 2019.
Several FAU alumni have reached Major League Baseball, including Tim Harikkala, Carmen Cali, Jeff Fiorentino, Tommy Murphy, Michael Crotta, Jeff Beliveau, Mickey Storey, R.J. Alvarez, Ryan Garton, Austin Gomber, David McKay, Cody Wilson, Nolan Schanuel, and Pedro Pagés.
