| 2/14/2025 | Baseball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – 10 strikeouts from pitcher Trey Beard and nine combined hits from a trio of newcomers led Florida Atlantic baseball to a season-opening 9-4 win over Delaware on Friday night. THE BEGINNING The Owls jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. After a Brando Leroux RBI groundout, Jake Duer lined a single to right field to drive in another. They would add one more run in the third via a Jake Millan sacrifice fly. THE TURNING POINT Sophomore starter Trey Beard breezed through the first three innings with seven strikeouts. After a leadoff single followed by two more Ks in the fourth, Beard ran into his first bit of adversity. The lefty thought he had an inning-ending strike three on UD’s Rory Finn. However, the home plate umpire disagreed, and Finn lined the next pitch off the left field wall to bring in two runs. Beard would pick up his 10th strikeout of the night on the next batter to escape the jam with no further damage.The FAU offense picked their starter up in the bottom of the inning. First, Duer recorded his third of the night to score Leroux. Then, with the first pitch he saw from new pitcher Elias Conway, Ayden Garcia connected for his first hit as an Owl. A grand slam to right-center gave the Owls an 8-2 lead. THE FINISH Delaware got two back on a homer in the seventh, but the FAU bullpen buckled down and preserved the lead for a 9-4 final. THE BATS Duer, Garcia, and redshirt freshman transfer John Martinez combined to go 9-for-14 with seven RBI. Duer finished 4-for-5, with all four hits coming as singles. He also walked to reach base a fifth time and stole a base. Martinez doubled twice, drove in a run, and stole a base. THE ARMS The Owls’ pitching staff set a program record by striking out 20 Delaware hitters, starting with a career-high 10 from Beard in just four innings. The previous record of 18 had been accomplished twice, most recently in 2023 in a 16-inning game against LA Tech. Braden Ostrander backed up Beard with three Ks in two clean innings.Max Martzolf got the final out of the seventh and the first out of the eighth before turning it over to Steven Andrews. Andrews struck out both batters he faced with runners on in the eighth.MJ Bollinger came on for a 1-2-3 ninth. He struck out two. WHAT’S NEXT The series continues Saturday with a 4 p.m. first pitch. THE TICKETS To purchase FAU tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE. Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com, or through the baseball’s X and Instagram accounts @FAUBaseball. |
