After winning its first two conference road series, FAU’s Sun Belt dominance continued, this time at home.
The Owls, first place in the Sun Belt, rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette 7-3 at FAU Baseball Stadium.
The Rajin Cajuns took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but FAU answered with three runs in the third to take the lead for good. Home runs from designated hitter Robert Buckley, and right fielder Corey Keller accounted for the three runs in the inning. Buckley’s right field homer was his first ever and brought in second baseman Mike Albaladejo, while Keller’s was a solo.
FAU stretched the lead to 6-1, scoring four more unanswered runs by the the end of the six inning, to take command of the game.
In the fourth inning, an Albaladejo line drive scored center fielder Geoff Jimenez. Later, in the sixth inning, catcher Mike Spano solo homered to right field, and shortstop Mitch Morales singled to left center, bringing in Jimenez.
“We were able to string together some good at-bats and use the home run for offensive support tonight,” said FAU head coach John McCormack to FAUsports.com. “It was good to start the series off with a win over a quality team. It was a good night.”
FAU starting pitcher Ryan Garton allowed three runs and had five strikeouts in 6.1 innings. Reliever Ahmed Garcia earned his first save of the season for the Owls, with a pair of strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
Keller, the lone FAU batter with multiple hits, went 2 for 3 with two RBI’s.
FAU continues the home set against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday March 31 at 4:00 p.m.
