The FAU Owls baseball team (10-4) flew past the Seton Hall University Pirates (0-10) Tuesday afternoon with a 19-6 victory. The Owls had 13 different players reach base on 19 hits and a walk, including all nine starters.  

The Owls plated five runs in the opening frame. Sophomore shortstop Armando Albert singled and was brought home, after sophomore right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit his fifth homer of the season to get the first two runs of the game. 

Junior third baseman Jackson Ross continued the momentum when he singled up the middle. Redshirt sophomore Steven Loden was hit by a pitch and sophomore catcher Caleb Pendleton reached on an error to load the bases. FAU proceeded to score three runs via a sac fly from sophomore left fielder Dylan Goldstein, a single from graduate designated hitter Tyler Kelder, and a double from sophomore center-fielder Jalen DeBose.

Goldstein increased FAU’s lead to six when he hit a lead-off homer in the top of the third.

Seton Hall’s bats came alive in the bottom half of the third, as they scored three. Junior center-fielder Devin Hack and senior second baseman Alex Clyde each singled and scored via a three-run homer from freshman third baseman Pat D’Amico. 

FAU found more success in the fourth after Rincones Jr. was hit by a pitch and stole second base to lead off the inning. After a groundout, Ross hit his first homer of the season to make it 8-3. 

Kelder kept the parade going with a two-run shot of his own after Goldstein was hit by a pitch to start the fifth inning. 

Hack responded with a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 10-4. Clyde walked afterward and advanced to third on a wild pitch, then D’Amico hit a sac fly to bring in the Pirates’ fifth run. 

Pendleton joined the slugfest in the sixth, as he hit a solo homer to left field with two outs. The Owls led 11-5.

Freshman left-hander Max Martzolf entered the game for the Owls in the sixth inning. He took over for starting sophomore right-hander Nicholas Del Prado. Del Prado earned the win and threw 81 pitches in five innings and allowed seven runs on eight hits (two homers). 

In the seventh inning, Kelder singled and advanced on a wild pitch. Rincones Jr. hit an RBI double to bring him home. Sophomore first baseman Nolan Schanuel followed that with an RBI single to increase the Owls’ lead to 13-5. 

FAU plated another run in the eighth inning. Loden was hit by a pitch, then advanced to second. after Goldstein walked. DeBose doubled to left field to drive Loden home.

Sophomore right-hander Hayden Compton took over for Martzolf in the bottom of the eighth. Martzolf threw 32 pitches for four strikeouts in two innings and allowed a hit and a walk.

The Owls plated five more runs in the ninth. Rincones Jr. hit his second homer of the game to lead off the ninth inning. Freshman pinch hitter John Schroeder singled and advanced to second after freshman pinch hitter Dom Presto was hit by a pitch. Senior catcher Nicholas Toney hit an RBI double and freshman pinch hitter Jake Millan homered, making it 19-5. 

Before the game ended, the Owls brought senior Shane Magrann to the mound for Compton. Magrann is typically a catcher and a designated hitter, but he allowed a solo homer in the ninth inning. 

The Owls will come back to Boca Raton to host the Sacred Heart Pioneers for a three-game set from Friday, March 11, through Sunday, March 13. All three games will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

Bryce Totz is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected], or tweet him @brycetotz.