Three Owls were just a triple short of the cycle and the Florida Atlantic University baseball squad held off Monmouth on Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game opening weekend sweep, topping the Hawks 12-10 at FAU Baseball Stadium. The Turning Point After a three-run first inning for the Owls (3-0), including a two-run home run byEsteban Puerta, they added six more in the third, highlighted by a bases loaded double by Puerta again. At that point, Tyler Frank was 3-for-3 on his way to a five-hit day, and Puerta was 3-for-3 as well. However, Monmouth (0-3) battled back with seven of their own in their very next at-bat, the top of the fourth, to cut it to 10-9. The FinishFrom then on, the FAU bullpen held the Hawks to only one unearned run, led by Drew Peden, who had a three-inning relief stint. He picked up the win by allowing no hits and striking out five. Eric Keating threw one-and-a-third innings and also did not allow a hit, and closer Cameron Ragsdale shut things down in the ninth for his first save of 2017. Notables Puerta knocked in five runs for the second time in the series, going 3-for-4 with a single, double and home runFrank would end up 5-for-6 on the day, one shy of the program’s single-game record for hits. He had a home run in his second at-bat, to go along with two singles and two doubles, scored three times and had three RBIFrank’s single in the fourth scoredGary Mattisto extend the lead to 11-9, and Stephen Kerr’s home run ended the scoring for FAU in the fifthKerr, the senior second baseman, was 3-for-5 and like Puerta and Frank, needed only a triple to complete the cycle. He scored twice and had two RBIWith the same hitting line as Kerr was the Owls’ freshman leftfielder, Mattis. He scored two runs with a double, and threw out a runner at third base all the way back in the second inningAnother freshman, Aldrich DeJongh, had his first collegiate hit and RBI with a single in the first to score KerrAfter the Hawks’ explosive fourth, the Owls’ pitching staff retired 16 of the remaining 20 batters they faced, and allowed just one Monmouth hitOver 2,000 total fans were in attendance for the three-game set, 2,014 to be exact, to witness the sweep Quotable“The guys gutted it out, I think Peden and Keating and of course Rags (Cameron Ragsdale) threw really well,” said Head Coach John McCormack of his relief staff. “We were able to answer, tap out another run and tap out another run, which was good.” What's NextThe Owls will have their first road matchup of 2017 this upcoming Wednesday, Feb. 22, heading to Daytona Beach to take on fellow undefeated Bethune-Cookman at 4 p.m. The Wildcats wrapped a three-game sweep of Boston College on Sunday with a 3-2 win.
