HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team earned a sweep of Marshall on Saturday behind a complete game from starter Nicholas Del Prado. The Owls finished the regular season 19-11 in C-USA and will be the four-seed in the conference tournament beginning Wednesday in Hattiesburg, Miss.
THE BEGINNING
For the first time in the series, the Owls scored first. Nolan Schanuel’s single up the middle plated Gabriel Rincones, Jr. in the top of the first. Marshall tied it with a leadoff homer in the second before FAU took the lead for good in the third. Schanuel and Jackson Ross each homered to make it a 5-1 game.
THE TURNING POINT
The offense pulled away with three more runs in the seventh, one in the eighth, and two in the ninth. With a sizeable lead in tow, Del Prado turned away one Marshall hitter after another. He retired 13 straight at one point. After the home run allowed in the fourth, the Herd’s next hit came with two outs in the ninth inning.
THE FINISH
The sophomore was destined to finish what he started. Del Prado allowed two base runners in the ninth but eventually picked up his 10th strikeout of the day to close out his first career complete game.
QUOTABLE
Head coach John McCormack
“Going into it, the plan was to have Nick throw somewhere around three to five innings. He did a great job of throwing his breaking ball for strikes and attacking the zone. Masterful performance heading into the conference tournament. Nice to get a sweep under some difficult conditions.”
THE ARMS
- Del Prado shattered his previous career-highs in strikeouts (6) and innings pitched (6.2)
- He threw 112 pitches to go the distance
THE BATS
- Schanuel finished 3-for-6 with 3 RBI. He closed out the regular season hitting .372
- Ross went 3-for-4 and reached base five times (walk, hit by pitch)
- Caleb Pendleton doubled twice and matched Schanuel’s 3-for-6 line
- Shane Magrann had his second straight multi-hit day going 2-for-4 with a run batted in
- The Owls hit 12 home runs in the three-game series and totaled 40 hits
WHAT’S NEXT
The Owls will head to Hattiesburg, Miss. to face UTSA in the first round of the C-USA Tournament on Wednesday. As the fourth game of the day, first pitch is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 pm at Pete Taylor Park.
