The FAU Owls baseball team (34-21, 19-11 C-USA) ended the regular season with a convincing three-game sweep on the road in Huntington, W.Va., against Marshall University (20-34-1, 9-21 C-USA).

Game 1 (Thursday, May 19): FAU 8, Marshall 6

Senior left-hander Hunter Cooley earned his eighth win of the season in a close game against Marshall on Thursday evening. 

Cooley surrendered a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the second inning. FAU cut the deficit by one run on a homer from sophomore outfielder Jalen DeBose. 

Marshall launched another solo shot to left-center field to make the score 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth. 

A three-run inning from FAU gave the Owls a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth. Sophomore shortstop Armando Albert contributed with a solo home run while junior outfielders Mitchell Hartigan and Jackson Ross each added an RBI single. 

Sophomore outfielder Dylan Goldstein launched a home run to right field in the top of the seventh. Hartigan launched a homer shortly after, the fourth of the game for FAU. Marshall followed up with a home run of their own in the bottom of the seventh.

Sophomore first baseman Nolan Schanuel plated sophomore outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. on a single up the middle in the top of the eighth. Marshall responded with another solo homer, making the score 7-6. 

Sophomore catcher Caleb Pendleton finished off the scoring for the Owls when he singled in a run in the top of the ninth. 

Sophomore right-hander Robert Wegielnik earned the save as he struck out three batters in two innings. He received his seventh of the season. 

Kevin Garcia is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email him @[email protected], or tweet him @kevingar658.

Game 2 (Friday, May 20): FAU 14, Marshall 12

FAU scored 14 runs to clinch the series victory against Marshall Friday afternoon.

The Thundering Herd had the upper hand to start the game. In the first inning, sophomore catcher Ryan Leitch batted an RBI single, while senior outfielder Jordon Billups and junior catcher Kyle Schaefer both hit RBI doubles to right-center field to give their team a 3-0 lead.

Marshall continued expanding their lead in the second inning. Junior infielder Luke Edwards fired a three-run homer to right field, giving the Thundering Herd a six-run lead.

Being scoreless for the first two innings, FAU responded in the top of the third. Sophomore center-fielder Jalen DeBose launched a home run to right field, sophomore left-fielder Dylan Goldstein got an RBI single, as he got sophomore designated hitter Gabriel Rincones Jr. (unearned run) and sophomore shortstop Armando Albert to reach home plate, and junior right-fielder Mitchell Hartigan singled to center field to bring Goldstein home.

Conceding six runs, graduate left-handed pitcher Tyler Burnham came off the mound for sophomore right-hander Tibur Rivero to check in for the bottom of the third. Burnham threw 39 pitches for five flyouts and one strikeout.

Rivero could not quiet Marshall’s offense, as senior infielder Geordon Blanton blasted a two-run home run to right field to put his team up 8-4.

The Owls tied things up in the fourth inning with four runs. Senior second baseman Shane Magrann hit a home run to right field, Albert singled as a fielding error from Marshall allowed DeBose to score, and Goldstein struck a two-run homer to right field for the equalizer.

Marshall tried to keep FAU from taking the lead by scoring four more runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Junior infielder Christian Lucio sacrificed a flyout to have freshman outfielder Elijah Vogelsong reach home plate in the top of the fifth and Schaefer hit a two-run homer to right field while Lucio returned to get an RBI single to right-center field. 

Rivero switched places with sophomore right-hander Sam Drumheller during the sixth inning. Rivero finished with 77 pitches, four strikeouts, four groundouts, and two flyouts.

FAU secured the lead for good in the eighth inning. Rincones Jr. batted a three-run homer to right-center field, Goldstein hit a two-run home run to right field, and junior third baseman Jackson Ross hit a home run to field for the Owls to complete the comeback win.

Richard Pereira is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.

Game 3 (Saturday, May 21): FAU 11, Marshall 1

Sophomore right-hander Nicholas Del Prado threw a complete game in the 11-1 blowout victory that secured FAU the series sweep over the Thundering Herd. 

The Owls came out of the dugout already in rhythm, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Following a ground rule double hit by sophomore center-fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr., sophomore first baseman Nolan Schanuel knocked an RBI single into right-field, scoring Rincones and giving FAU the early lead. 

Marshall plated their only run of the game in the top of the second on a solo homer to left-field off the bat of sophomore catcher Ryan Leitch, tying the score at one run apiece. 

The Owls answered right back in the top of the third, plating four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Sophomore shortstop Armando Albert led off the inning with a triple, followed by a single to right field from Rincones, scoring Albert from third. On the following at-bat, Schanuel recorded his third RBI of the afternoon on a two-run homer over the right field wall. Junior third baseman Jackson Ross matched Schauel’s homer with a home run of his own two at bats later, extending the Owls’ lead to four.

FAU added to their lead in the top of the seventh, plating three runs and extending their lead to 8-1. Sophomore catcher Caleb Pendleton led off the inning with a double down the left field line, immediately followed by an RBI single from senior second baseman Shane Magrann, scoring Pendleton from second. With the bases loaded, sophomore left-fielder Dylan Goldstein knocked an RBI single into left-center field, scoring two and leaving the Owls with a seven-run lead. 

While the Herd continued struggling on offense, the Owls kept swinging the bat well, plating another run in the top of the eighth. Following a double hit by sophomore right-fielder Mitchell Hartigan, Pendleton reached second base on an error, allowing Hartigan to score from second, extending the FAU lead to 9-1. 

In the top of the ninth, the Owls added a pair of insurance runs. Ross picked up his second RBI with a double to right field extending the lead to 10-1. That was followed by an RBI double from Pendleton, leaving the Owls’ lead at 11-1. 

Marshall’s woes on offense continued through the bottom of the ninth as they were again unable to plate any runs, finishing the complete game for Del Prado and leaving the Owls with an 11-1 victory in their final regular season matchup of the season. 

In nine complete innings, Del Prado threw 112 pitches allowing one run on five hits and two walks.

FAU will take on the University of Texas at San Antonio in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament, beginning May 25 and ending May 29. ESPN+ will broadcast every game except the tournament final, which will be on CBS Sports Network.

Cameron Priester is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @PriesterCameron.