BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Florida Atlantic scored in each of the first five innings Sunday to beat the Illinois baseball team 16-2. FAU clinched the three-game series 2-1.
"I thought some guys did things well this weekend but we still aren't doing enough to win games," said head coach Dan Hartleb. "We didn't make any adjustments. There are some things we need to talk about and get better at. You have to learn from the mistakes."
Illinois (3-7) used five pitchers in the first five innings as FAU (6-4-1) built a 14-1 lead on 16 hits by the end of the fifth. The Owls scored three, three, one, two and five runs, respectively, in the game's first five frames. Five FAU batters had two or more hits, including three with three knocks.
The Illini lineup scored 24 runs and hit 10 home runs in the first two games of the series before cooling off Sunday. The Illini had eight hits and their only runs came on a wild pitch in the fourth and Tyler Engel's ninth-inning double.
Ryan Thompson (0-1) took the loss in his first collegiate start. Seven of the 18 batters that Thompson faced scored in the first three innings, although he only allowed a few hard-hit balls.
"We're disappointed with the result but I thought Ryan (Thompson) made strides today," said Hartleb. "I thought he did a good job competing. He left one pitch up, they hit it for a home run, but they found a lot of holes."
The Illinois bullpen faced a similar fate, giving up seven more runs in the next two innings, before Joey Gerber settled down FAU with two shutout innings. The Owls added two more runs in the eighth.
Nick Swan (1-0) earned the win on the mound by limiting Illinois to one run on four hits in six innings. Swan, a soft-tossing left-hander, mixed speeds well to keep the Illini off-balance and stay away from hard contact.
Jack Yalowitz led the Illini in the series with a .500 batting average (6-12), two home runs, three RBIs, five runs and two stolen bases. He singled to start the top of the first to extend his hitting streak to a career-long eight games.
Illinois is back in action next weekend at defending national champion Coastal Carolina.
