BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team (24-13, 10-5 C-USA) used four home runs and a strong start from Tyler Burnham to complete a three-game sweep of WKU on Saturday.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach John McCormack
“Burnham was great. He threw strikes. If the game was closer, we might’ve left him in. No big innings and we hit some balls out of the park which always helps for our offense. I don’t know if we played up to our full potential in this series, we got it done. 10-5 at the halfway point is pretty good.”
THE BEGINNING
The Owls fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first after a two-out hit and an error. The response came quickly in the bottom of the second. Shane Magrann singled, Tyler Kelder doubled off the top of the wall in left, and Nicholas Toney sent a sac fly to the outfield to tie the game.
THE TURNING POINT
One inning later, FAU posted a five-spot to take a 6-1 lead. Gabriel Rincones, Jr. led off with his 13th home run of the season. Two batters later, Dylan Goldstein sent his 10th of the season into the right field trees. Later in the frame, Kelder drove in a run with another double and Toney lined an RBI single to left to complete the scoring.
Magrann put a bow on another big day at the plate with his second HR in as many days in the fourth inning. In the seventh, Jackson Ross went to the opposite field for his fourth homer of the season.
THE FINISH
WKU pulled a run back in the seventh and added one more for consolation in the ninth, but the Owls ultimately cruised to a 9-3 series finale victory.
THE ARMS
- Burnham conceded the unearned run in the first but was otherwise dominant
- The graduate senior departed after five innings having allowed just two hits. Burnham is now 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA
- Jacob Josey took over for a scoreless sixth inning
- Tibur Rivero and Marc DeGusipe combined for the final three frames
THE BATS
- Magrann led the offense going 3-for-4 with two singles and a home run
- The senior finished the series 5-for-8 with two HRs and five runs scored
- Kelder and Toney each recorded 2-for-3 lines
- Armando Albert was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, extending his reached-base streak to 34 games
- Goldstein’s HR in the third stretched his on-base streak to 31 games
- Nolan Schanuel finished 2-for-3 – his 17th multi-hit game of the season
- Rincones’ solo HR was his league-leading 53rd RBI
WHAT’S NEXT
The Owls will head out on the road for the next four games starting with a trip to Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Next weekend, FAU will travel to Norfolk, Va. for three with Old Dominion.
TICKETS
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