BOCA RATON – FAU’s bats continued to feast on northern relievers in Tuesday’s 14-2 victory over Rutgers.
The Owls broke open a tight game with five runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth.
Gary Mattis’ two-run single to into left was the big blow in the Owls’ fifth inning. Pedro Pages concluded a big night with a two-run double in the sixth. Pages had opened the FAU scoring with a two-run homer in the third – his second homer of the season. The freshman catcher finished the night with five RBI.
David Miranda belted a two-run homer in the seventh to give the Owls their final margin of victory.
FAU scored 11 of its 14 runs off the Rutgers bullpen.
Starting pitcher Sean Labsan surrendered two runs, one earned, on three hits in five innings to earn the win.
GameBrowser: FAU (11-5-1) 14, Rutgers (6-10) 2
Moving Forward: FAU drew eight walks. …Esteban Puerta had three hits. …Eric Rivera had two hits and scored twice.
Sliding Backwards: A pitcher who doubles as a defensive replacement in the outfield, Jordan Poole drew the start in left field but had to leave after being hit in the face by a pitch in his first at-bat. FAU struck out nine times.
Key Stat: 1 – total hit surrendered by Kyle Marman, Mark Nowatnick, Nick Prather and Mike Ruff. The Owls bullpen worked four shutout innings.
Up Next: FAU begins Conference USA play with a weekend series against Middle Tennessee in Boca Raton. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
-Jake Elman contributed to this report.
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