Complete Game Shutout Equals C-USA Win No. 1 for Owls

Friday, March 26

Boca Raton, Fla.

5 PM

Florida Atlantic

11-9, 0

Marshall

4-8, 0

Marshall

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: Jim Rassol/Owlpix.com

3/26/2021 9:08:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Eight runs in the first three innings was more than enough to back the Friday night efforts of Florida Atlantic University starting pitcher Hunter Cooley. Then four more in the seventh implemented the Conference USA weekend run rule, ending FAU's 12-0 win over Marshall in the C-USA opener for both teams.

Quotable
Head Coach John McCormack:
"What a fantastic game tonight for (Hunter) Cooley, exactly what we needed to start the conference weekend off. Really impressive, and it was nice, everybody kind of chipped in (offensively) there. It was a really good thing."

The Beginning / The Turning Point
The Owls (11-9, 1-0 C-USA) scraped across a run in the first (Wilfredo Alvarez walked, stole second and went to third on an error, then scored on a groundout), but a two-out second inning rally broke things open. Four straight singles (Jared DeSantolo, Sam Low, Jackson Wenstrom and Alvarez) scored two, and B.J. Murray's double two more. Then Nicholas Toney led off the third with a homer to the deepest part of the park, literally to straight-away center, and Wenstrom and Murray each notched an RBI (on another single and sac fly, respectively) to make it 8-0.

The Finish
Cooley was tremendous, not allowing a single runner to reach third, and scattering four Marshall (4-8, 0-1 C-USA) hits. The run rule was reached in the bottom of the seventh when Wenstrom crushed a two-run shot to right, and two more runs were added on, one on a Bobby Morgensen double and heads up baserunning by Nolan Schanuel for the other.

The Arms

Cooley (4-1) retired 11 of the first 12 he faced, with the lone single in that span erased on a double play
After a single and walk in the sixth, he retired the next two, and had a 1-2-3 seventh, punctuated by his sixth and final strikeout
He threw 66 strikes among his 99 pitches, induced seven groundouts and seven flyouts, and recorded his second straight seven-inning, no-run effort

The Bats

All nine Owls reached base at least once, with Wenstrom on all four times (RBI singles in back-to-back innings, a walk and the two-run home run)
Wenstrom had four RBI; Murray added three
DeSantolo scored three times, while Alvarez and Wenstrom each came across twice
For both Toney and Wenstrom, it was their fourth home run of the season

What's Next
The Owls and Thundering Herd have two seven-inning games on tap for Saturday, as part of a doubleheader scheduled to start at 2 p.m. at FAU Baseball Stadium.

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Next Event

Marshall

W, 5-3

Mar 27 (Sat)

2 PM

Box Score Recap FAU 5, Marshall 3 - PDF CUSA.TV Preview Live stats History

Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Cooley, Hunter (4-1)

L: Cody Sharp (0-1)

Florida Atlantic

Batting:

2B: Murray, B.J. 2 ; Morgensen, Bobby 1

HR: Toney, Nicholas 1 ; Wenstrom, Jackson 1

RBI: Alvarez, Wilfredo 1 ; Murray, B.J. 3 ; Schanuel, Nolan 1 ; Morgensen, Bobby 1 ; Toney, Nicholas 1 ; Wenstrom, Jackson 4

SF: Murray, B.J. 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Alvarez, Wilfredo 2 ; Murray, B.J. 1 ; Schanuel, Nolan 1 ; Toney, Nicholas 1 ; Hartigan, Mitchell 1 ; DeSantolo, Jared 3 ; Low, Sam 1 ; Wenstrom, Jackson 2