Baseball Pounds Six Homers in 15-2 Series-Opening Win

Thursday, May 17

Boca Raton, Fla.

6:30 PM

Florida Atlantic

35-15-1, 0

WKU

21-30, 0

WKU

Florida Atlantic

5/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 18, 2018

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University baseball team scored nine runs in the bottom of the second, including a grand slam by David Miranda, and added five more home runs towards a convincing 15-2 win Thursday night over WKU in the first of a three-game set.

Quotable

"It was a good win, it was great to see Jake (Miednik) back on the mound and throwing well," said Head Coach John McCormack. "The offense really swung the bats well. It was a tough day with all the rain, but the guys handled it and played very well. I am very proud of them."

The Turning Point

WKU (21-30, 11-17 Conference USA) scored first, in the first, but two possible additional runs were stranded, and three more were left on in the Hilltopper second. In the bottom of the second, FAU (35-15-1, 18-8-1 C-USA) put the first two runners on (an infield single by Gunnar Lambert and a walk to Joe Montes) and they were sacrificed over by Jared DeSantolo, but then the second out was recorded. That's when the wheels fell off for WKU pitching: Andru Summerall drew a 3-2 walk; in the midst of a walk to Cody Wilson, a wild pitch tied the game; Tyler Frank was hit by a pitch to force in the go-ahead run; and Miranda snuck one over the rightfield fence for a grand slam. But the inning didn't stop there: Eric Rivera singled through the five-hole, then stole second; Lambert walked; Montes doubled both of them in with a shot to right-center; and DeSantolo scored him with an opposite-field double down the leftfield line.

The Finish

The bats didn't stop there, and the pitching made that lead hold up. Jake Miednik, who worked around the first two jams, was scoreless in innings three and four, and four relievers scattered a run on four hits to close it out. The FAU third saw Summerall crush a first-pitch home run, and in the fifth, Wilson added another leadoff shot, while three batters later, Rivera annihilated an offering to left for a two-run bomb. The Owls' scoring wrapped with back-to-back blasts to start the sixth, on another first-pitch homer by Richie Nizza, followed by Summerall's second of the night.

The Bats

For the second time this season, the Owls recorded six home runs, and for the third straight game, all nine FAU starters reached base, with all recording at least a hit on Thursday
Frank reached each of his first five times up, Summerall was on four times, and Rivera three
Summerall scored three times, piggybacking on the freshman first baseman recording two runs in each of his last three starts
Four Owls each had two hits: Miranda, Rivera, Montes and Summerall
Thursday marked the 15th time that the Owls have scored in double digits in 2018

The Arms

Miednik (7-1) went four innings on a predetermined pitch count, with the only run scoring against him unearned. He had five strikeouts, towards the 15 notched by FAU pitching
Nick Swan was next, with a scoreless fifth, including two strikeouts looking to end it
Matt Harris pitched two innings, and had three K's, while Weston Clemente struck out the side in the eighth
Nick Prather wrapped the win with bookended strikeouts, also both looking

What's Next

Game two on Friday has already been moved up to a 2 p.m. start. The pitching matchup will be Vince Coletti for FAU going up against WKU's Paul Kirkpatrick. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit www.fausports.com/tickets/baseball-tickets.html.