Five-Run Sixth Gives FAU Baseball Win No. 4

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team broke open a 1-1 game with five in the sixth, with newcomer Jackson Spiller throwing five fantastic innings in a spot start Friday, towards a 6-2 win over Seton Hall.

Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
“I thought (Jackson Spiller) did great. It was kind of a last-minute thing, we made the decision late afternoon yesterday, and he gave up exactly one run in five innings. I thought it was a great start.”

The Beginning
The Pirates (1-2) scored first, on a two-out single in the second, but an inning later, Jackson Wenstrom knotted things up for FAU (4-1) with a titanic blast just to the right of the batter’s eye in center.

The Turning Point
Spiller settled down with three more scoreless innings, and Adrien Reese utilized a double play in the first of his two frames, in the sixth. In the bottom of that inning, BJ Murray led things off with a triple, and scored the go-ahead run on a Nolan Schanuel sacrifice fly. But the Owls weren’t done, as Bobby Morgensen immediately followed with a solo shot; Nicholas Toney reached on a walk and was doubled to third by Mitchell Hartigan; they both came in on a Jared DeSantolo double; and he scored on a passed ball.

The Finish
After Reese pitched another zero in the seventh, Seton Hall got one in the eighth, but no more. Brock Helverson wrapped the victory with a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Arms
Spiller’s final in his first start as an Owl was five innings, three hits, just the one run, and four strikeoutsReese added two K’s in his two zeroes, moving to 2-0 on the year; Helverson had three for a total of nine for the trio

The Bats
Morgensen and Wenstrom each clubbed their second homers of the yearWenstrom and Hartigan both had two hits; Murray reached three times with the triple and two walks (as did Wenstrom with a walk as well)Schanuel took the team lead with his ninth RBI; DeSantolo recorded his team-best eighth run scored

What’s Next
The Owls and Pirates will have a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Only student tickets remain at the gate.