| 2/23/2021 | Baseball | FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University baseball pitching threw eight straight innings of shutout baseball, and Bobby Morgensen hit the go-ahead two-run home run, as the Owls defeated Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium, 3-1. QuotableHead Coach John McCormack: “Really proud of our guys. To get into a close ballgame, we used five pitchers, and everybody threw well. We played great defense, to come out of here with a victory was really good. Proud of the guys, they did a nice job tonight.” The Beginning / The Turning Point After a solo shot by the Eagles (3-1) in the first, the Owls (3-1) tied it on a two-out single by Jackson Wenstrom their very next at-bat, in the top of the second. Then, in the third, Morgensen crushed a pitch out to right to give FAU a 3-1 lead. The Finish Starter Braden Ostrander and a trio of relievers – Hunter Cooley, Brock Helverson and Adrien Reese – gave up no runs from the second through the eighth. After a strikeout started the ninth inning, the Eagles loaded the bases with just one out. But Mike Entenza came on and induced a flyout and fielder’s choice to leave three on and seal the victory for the Owls. The ArmsOstrander (1-0) settled down after the first to toss two zeroes. He earned his first win in his first collegiate startCooley came in after and did the same. He had the first two reach against him but got the next three out in a row; the following inning, he struck out two and was helped out by Caleb Pendleton’s throwout of a would-be basestealerHelverson pitched a scoreless 1-2-3 sixth, and Reese followed with 2 1/3 innings worth of zeroes, including a perfect eighthEntenza picked up his first save as an OwlThe BatsMorgensen’s bomb was his first of this season and 15th as an OwlHe had two hits and also reached on a walkNolan Schanuel scored ahead of him, as part of a 2-for-5 day, the fourth straight multi-hit game to start his FAU careerBesides Wenstrom’s run-scoring single, the other Owl hits came courtesy of Jared DeSantolo (who Wenstrom knocked in after one of his two walks) and Steven Loden, both notching doublesWhat’s NextThe Owls are back in action at FAU Baseball Stadium this weekend, in a three-game set against Seton Hall. Only single-game tickets are available (for the remainder of the year – but with the exception of the Miami game on March 23), by visiting FAU’s baseball tickets website or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS. |
