BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball team (22-13) downed WKU by a 5-3 final on Thursday night. Hunter Cooley went the distance for his first career nine-inning complete game.
QUOTABLE
“Yesterday he was the Honors Convocation Student-Athlete of the Year and tonight he goes out and proves it,” commented head coach John McCormack on the performance of his starter, Cooley. “Their starter was good too, but our guys did enough. We scrapped it together, turned three double plays. All-in-all it was a really good game.”
THE BEGINNING
WKU took a 3-0 lead in the opening half inning. Four hits, including a two-run homer and an RBI double, put the Owls in an early deficit.
FAU would respond in the second inning with the help of two Hilltopper errors. With two outs, Armando Albert’s single to center scored Jackson Ross and a bobble by the centerfielder allowed Dom Presto to come home as well. The Owls would add another on a seemingly harmless ground ball that should have ended the inning. A poor throw from the shortstop, however, allowed Albert to score to tie the game.
THE TURNING POINT
FAU took the lead thanks to another WKU error in the fourth and added an insurance run on a Presto single in the seventh.
The key to victory though for the Owls was a strong start on the mound from Cooley. The senior settled in after the first and retired 11 of the next 12 hitters. WKU had two on in the fifth, but a double play ended the threat.
THE FINISH
After another double play in the sixth, Cooley set down nine straight in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to finish off the complete game.
THE ARMS
- Cooley (5-2) allowed eight hits and walked one. He struck out eight and needed 119 pitches to go the distance.
THE BATS
- All nine FAU hitters reached base and eight recorded at least one hit
- Albert finished 2-for-5 and extended his reached-base streak to 32 games
WHAT’S NEXT
The Owls will try for the series win in game two on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
TICKETS
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