CLEARWATER, Fla. (Interstat) — Wichita State’s bullpen carved through Florida Atlantic’s lineup and the Shockers scraped together two runs in the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon to edge the Owls 3-2 at Spectrum Field.

The game, part of the American Athletic Conference schedule, left Wichita State with a 26-27 record while Florida Atlantic fell to 28-28. The Shockers outhit the Owls 6-3, but the decisive moments came late after a tightly contested duel.

Florida Atlantic struck first in the second inning. After two batters were hit by pitches, Brandon Patten singled through the left side to load the bases. Brando Leroux then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Ty Lipsey to give the Owls a 1-0 lead. Wichita State starter Matthew Cuccias worked out of further trouble, but the damage was done.

The Shockers answered in the fifth. With one out, Jayden Henry walked and advanced to second when Sebastian Gonzalez was hit by a pitch. Jaden Gustafson lined out to center, allowing Henry to reach third. Designated hitter Kyden Jones then singled through the right side, driving in Henry to tie the game at 1-1. Florida Atlantic starter James Litman exited after 4 2/3 innings, having allowed two hits, one earned run and seven strikeouts. Reliever Kide Adetuyi entered and retired the final batter of the inning.

Florida Atlantic regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Second baseman John Martinez led off with a solo home run to left field, his first of the game, putting the Owls ahead 2-1. Wichita State’s bullpen, which featured a committee of five pitchers, tightened from there. Brady Hamilton, who had relieved Caleb Reed in the fifth, worked through the sixth and seventh without allowing a hit, striking out two. Johnny Nuanez took over in the eighth and struck out two in a perfect inning.

The top of the ninth brought the game’s defining rally. Florida Atlantic reliever Adetuyi remained on the mound. Left fielder Austin Duncan led off with a double to right field. After a strikeout, Jacob Gutierrez pinch-hit for Henry and singled to center, scoring Duncan to tie the game at 2-2. Gutierrez advanced to second on the throw and was replaced by pinch-runner Jaylen Rush. Gonzalez struck out, but Gustafson followed with a single through the left side, scoring Rush to give Wichita State a 3-2 lead.

Nuanez remained on the mound for the bottom of the ninth. He retired the first two batters, then walked Logan Ward. Austin Baez pinch-ran for Ward, but Nuanez struck out Patten to end the game. Nuanez earned the win with two hitless innings and three strikeouts. Hamilton, Reed and Cuccias each contributed scoreless frames, with Cuccias allowing one earned run over 2 2/3 innings and Hamilton allowing one earned run over three innings despite no hits.

For Florida Atlantic, Litman and Adetuyi combined for nine innings of work. Adetuyi took the loss, allowing four hits and two earned runs over 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. Martinez provided the only extra-base hit for the Owls with his solo homer.

The game was a reversal of projection models. Interstat’s game simulator had forecast a 5-2 Florida Atlantic victory, and the Interstat ELO system gave the Owls a 56.30 percent probability of winning. Instead, Wichita State’s timely hitting and deep bullpen turned the odds in their favor.