BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team recorded its 10th consecutive game with double-digit hits and its 12th in the last 13 games, but it was the team’s pitching that earned Friday night’s 6-3 win over Sacred Heart.
The win moved FAU’s record to 11-4 on the year while SHU, which is on the tail end of a 12-day Florida road trip, fell to 1-11 on the season.
QUOTABLEHead Coach John McCormack on the win
“I thought we pitched very well, except for the fourth. Credit to their hitters. It was the second time through the order. They made some adjustments. It wasn’t like they were hitting [Hunter] Cooley around. It was just what we would call, in the old days, seeing eye singles. He righted the ship and threw two more good innings. [Evan] Waterbor threw two good innings and then, Robert [Wegielnik] was pretty good in the ninth…Offensively, we got off to a great start and kind of sat on it. I thought we had some really complacent at bats later in the game with runners on. It happens. It is good to get a win and be able to move on to Saturday.”
THE BEGINNINGThe Owls opened the game with back-to-back-back hits, including a Nolan Schanuel RBI single, which scored Armando Albert. Caleb Pendleton hit a two-out run scoring single and then Dylan Goldstein followed with a two RBI double to put FAU up 4-0 after one complete.
FAU would add two more in the bottom of the second, again with two outs. Schanuel doubled down the leftfield line and trotted home when Jackson Ross belted his second home run in as many games for a 6-0 lead after two innings.
THE TURNING POINTBoth teams were scoreless in the third. Sacred Heart put up a three spot in the fourth and the rest of the game moved pretty quickly with the pitchers doing all the work.
THE FINISHCooley scattered five hits through seven innings of work while tying his career high seven strikeouts. Waterbor and Wegielnick allowed just three more hits in the final three innings and for the most part kept SHU runners off the base paths for the game’s 6-3 FAU final.
THE ARMS
- Cooley got the win to improve to 3-0 on the year
- Waterboor struck out four of the eight batters he faced
- Wegielnik would face four batters in the ninth, struck out two and picked up his first FAU save
THE BATS
- Pendleton led the offensive attack with three hits, including his third double of the year
- Schanuel was 2-for-4, scored once, added an RBI and a double to his resume
- Jackson Ross was 2-for-4 with the two-run homer
- Goldstein continued to plate runs with a two-run double and was 1-for-3 on the day
- Albert and Gabriel Rincones, Jr. added singles to the Owls’ hit total
WHAT’S NEXTThe two teams will be back on the field on Saturday for a scheduled 4 p.m. first pitch. It will be bingo at the ballpark night and MLB fans are encouraged to where their favorite team’s gear to receive a $5 voucher for the FAU concession stand. Sunday’s game, between FAU and SHU, is scheduled for noon.
FOR SEASON TICKETSTo 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.
