BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball bounced back for a 10-7 win over Rice on Saturday afternoon in the second of a three-game series.
THE BEGINNING
Rice scored first with a solo HR in the top of the third but that lead wouldn’t last long. FAU responded with four in the bottom of the fourth. Two walks and a hit by pitch set the table for Dylan Goldstein who lined a single to right field to account for two of the runs.
Four straight two-out singles by Rice in the top of the fifth led to two runs but again FAU responded in their half, this time with a pair of unearned runs to make it 6-3. Florida Atlantic thought it had one more on a sacrifice fly by Nolan Schanuel but, on appeal, Armando Albert was deemed to have left third base too early.
THE TURNING POINT
Rice scored four runs on three hits in the top of the sixth to retake a one-run lead (7-6). The back-and-forth continued in the seventh when Florida Atlantic took control for good. With the bases loaded and one out, Mitchell Hartigan laced a single up the middle to drive in two runs. Schanuel and Jackson then recorded back-to-back RBI doubles to tack on two more runs.
THE FINISH
Nicholas Del Prado took over on the mound in the eighth inning and earned a save by recording the last six outs in order.
THE ARMS
- Jacob Josey went five innings with three earned runs allowed. He struck out five.
- Evan Waterbor relieved Sam Drumheller in the sixth inning and delivered two scoreless frames to pick up the win.
- Del Prado recorded one strikeout and didn’t allow for his first career save.
THE BATS
- Hartigan finished 2-for-4 with three RBI.
- Ross singled and doubled and added two RBI to his season total.
- Goldstein’s RBI single extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
- In addition to his double, Schanuel was hit by a pitch. The C-USA Preseason Player of the Year has reached base in 23 straight games.
- Jalen DeBose singled twice and scored two runs.
WHAT’S NEXT
The rubber game is scheduled for noon on Sunday.
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.
