BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic baseball snapped out of a skid in a big way on Friday night. The Owls blitzed FIU from the start in route to a lopsided 13-3 victory. FAU outhit its neighbors from the south by a 16-5 margin to take the series opener.
THE BEGINNING
After lightning in the area caused a 90-minute delay to the first pitch, C.J. Williams came out and struck out the side in the top of the first. The opening half inning took just three minutes.
The FAU offense took over in the bottom of the first. After a John Schroeder sac fly with the bases loaded, Mitchell Hartigan, Spencer Rich, and Christian Adams strung together three consecutive RBI singles. The Owls totaled five runs in the frame.
THE TURNING POINT
The scoring continued in the second. Dylan Goldstein connected for his ninth home run of the season. Hartigan doubled over the centerfielder’s head to drive in another run and Rich roped a double into the left field corner to bring Hartigan across. That made it 9-0 after two.
With a comfortable lead to protect, Williams cruised through five with just one hit allowed. He walked two and struck out a season-high seven.
THE FINISH
The Owls tacked on two unearned runs in the third and completed the scoring with two more in the seventh.
THE ARMS
- Williams earned his first win as an Owl. He struck out the first five batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth inning.
- Evan Waterbor followed Williams and conceded a solo home run in two innings of work.
- Danny Trehey K’d two in a scoreless eighth inning.
- Tibur Rivero and Sam Drumheller combined in the ninth inning to close it out.
THE BATS
- Hartigan finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
- Goldstein homered and scored three runs for the second straight game.
- Schanuel doubled, singled, and walked three times. He’s reached base in 38 straight games.
- In his first game action since March 10, Adams singled twice and drove in two runs.
- Rich finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs in his second game since returning from a two-month absence.
- All nine starters recorded at least one hit and eight of the nine scored at least one run.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Owls and the Panthers are set for a game two first pitch at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
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.
