BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team cranked out 15 hits in route to an 11-5 series finale victory over FIU on Sunday. The Owls remained unbeaten on Sundays in 2022.
THE BEGINNINGFor the third straight day, the Owls fell behind in the top of the first. A leadoff walk followed by a base hit and a sacrifice fly against FAU starter Tyler Burnham put FIU in front. The offense responded in short order in the bottom of the frame.
A Nolan Schanuel one-out RBI single tied it at 1-1. The Owls later took the lead in the fourth thanks to a hit, a walk, and an error. In the fifth, Dylan Goldstein led off with a double and scored when Jackson Ross ripped a triple into the gap in left center. A base hit by Tyler Kelder followed to make it 5-1.
THE TURNING POINTThe Panthers cut into the lead with two runs in the sixth before the Owls put it out of reach in the next half inning. Schanuel drove in Armando Albert for his second RBI of the day. Later, after a sac fly by Goldstein, Jake Millan came to the plate with the bases loaded. The freshman found a hole up the middle to bring in two more runs. An infield single by Nicholas Toney brought the fifth run of the inning across, completing the scoring and giving the Owls a 10-3 lead.
THE FINISHToney added another RBI single in the eighth and Nicholas Del Prado struck out the side in the ninth to finish it off.
THE BEGINNINGHead coach John McCormack
“We did what we needed to do today. We’re not completely where we need to be offensively, back where we were in the beginning of the year. Two RBI from Millan helps. Toney had three hits. That’s helps. We need to keep finding combinations toward the bottom of the order that can help us.”
On the work of Tyler Burnham
“I thought he did ok, had a tough time putting guys away. That’s kind of the M.O. for FIU though. They keep slashing and keep putting balls in play. They get a ton of two-strike hits. Credit to them, they did a good job.”
THE ARMS
- Burnham improved to 5-0 with another solid start
- He went five innings, allowing one run on four hits
- The grad senior walked two and tied his season-high with six strikeouts
THE BATS
- Six different Owls recorded multi-hit games
- Toney finished 3-for-5 with two RBI
- Goldstein was 3-for-4 with a double and one RBI
- Schanuel, Ross, Kelder, and Steven Loden all had two hits apiece
- Loden also walked once and scored three runs
- Albert walked four times, stole three bases, and scored two runs
WHAT’S NEXTWith no midweek game scheduled this week, the Owls will have a chance to reset before a trip to Ruston, La. to face Louisiana Tech next weekend.
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