BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team (23-13, 9-5 C-USA) came from behind to defeat WKU 8-7 on Friday night. The Owls will go for the series sweep on Saturday afternoon.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach John McCormack
“We had some really good pitching performances from the sixth inning on. Jackson Ross comes through with an RBI, Magrann hits the home run, and we made some nice defensive plays down the stretch. Really good win. Happy for the guys.”
THE BEGINNING
The Owls took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but WKU responded with one in the second and four in the top of the third. FAU cut it to 5-4 with the help of two Hilltopper errors in the bottom of the third. The back-and-forth continued as the visitors used solo home runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 7-4 advantage.
THE TURNING POINT
Armando Albert and Nolan Schanuel hit solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth to chip away at the three-run deficit. In the sixth, Shane Magrann led off with a double and scored the tying run on a Jackson Ross single.
Magrann came to the plate again with one out in the eighth. This time, the senior took a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence to give FAU its first lead since the opening frame.
THE FINISH
Closer Robert Wegielnik retired the first two in the ninth before two walks put the tying run in scoring position. The redshirt sophomore escaped any damage though with a groundout to end the game.
THE ARMS
- The Owls gave Sam Drumheller his first career start and used five pitchers in relief
- Dante Visconti, Max Martzolf, and Wegielnik combined for four scoreless innings from the 6th-9th
THE BATS
- Schanuel finished 2-for-3 with two RBI including the home run
- In addition to his homer, Albert walked twice and totaled three runs scored
- Magrann’s home run was his second of the season and first since February 25
- Dylan Goldstein reached base twice via a walk and a hit by pitch. Goldstein has now been hit 14 times this season – more than any other player in C-USA. He also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly
WHAT’S NEXT
The Owls and Hilltoppers will complete the series with a noon first pitch 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.
