3/3/2024 | Baseball | Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball used a 15-run seventh inning to clinch a series victory over Stonehill College on Sunday. The final score was 20-7.
THE BEGINNING
The teams traded the lead back-and-forth early with Stonehill scoring first. An RBI single by Jake Millan and an RBI squeeze bunt by Jalen DeBose made it 2-1 FAU in the second. After the Skyhawks tied in the top of the third, the Owls regained the advantage on a bases loaded single by Andrew McKenna and a bases loaded walk by DeBose.
After pulling within one in the fifth, Stonehill took a 7-5 lead in the seventh. The Skyhawks loaded the bases with no one out, but Steven Andrews was able to limit the damage and keep the deficit at two.
THE TURNING POINT
It would be another 41 minutes before the Owls went back out on defense. In the meantime, the offense exploded for 15 runs. After leadoff hitter Brando Leroux was retired on a backhand stop by the Stonehill second baseman, three straight FAU hitters drew walks to load the bases. Pinch hitter Emilio Gonzalez hit a chopper to first base which could have been at least the second out. Instead, it was booted by the first baseman allowing two runs to score and no outs recorded on the play.
The floodgates opened from that point forward. DeBose drove in two with a base hit to make it 9-7 then Spencer Rich followed suit to score another. Brando Leroux lined a single up the middle to add runs 11 and 12. A sacrifice fly by Nick Garagozzo brought in the 13th run and Skyler Schulz notched the first two RBI of his career with a base hit to make it a 10-run inning. After a bases loaded walk drawn by DeBose, Rich put the final nail in the Skyhawks coffin. A grand slam off the left field foul pole made it a 15-run inning and a 20-7 lead. All totaled, the Owls needed just five hits in the inning, but they drew nine walks and batted around twice.
THE FINISH
With the issue no longer in doubt, Justin Gay and Sam Drumheller held Stonehill off the board in the eighth and ninth to confirm the victory.
QUOTABLE
Postgame with @FAUCoachMac #WinningInParadise pic.twitter.com/tDiAWybcxI– Florida Atlantic Baseball (@FAUBaseball) March 3, 2024
THE BATS
- The 15-run seventh inning was one run short of the single-inning program record. The Owls scored 16 in the second inning of an 18-5 win over FIU on April 5, 2005.
- Despite the lopsided final, the Owls were outhit by Stonehill 13-11.
- Leroux finished 3-for-5 with three RBI
- Rich set a new career high with five RBI. His hitting streak now stands at nine games.
- DeBose finished with four RBI.
- As a team, the Owls walked 14 times.
- Nine different players scored two or more runs led by three from John Schroeder.
THE ARMS
- Tyler Murphy allowed two runs (one earned) in three innings before giving way to Brandon Smith.
- Smith pitched the fourth and fifth innings and conceded two runs.
- Max Martzolf retired the Skyhawks in order in the sixth before running into trouble in the seventh.
- Andrews was the winning pitcher after recording all three outs in the seventh, including one strikeout.
- Gay allowed two hits but struck out two as well in the eighth.
- Drumheller made his season debut pitching a clean ninth.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Owls will travel to Gainesville on Tuesday to meet the No. 4-ranked Florida Gators. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
TICKETS
To purchase FAU tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE. Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com, or through the baseball’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUBaseball.
