BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Notre Dame baseball team took a 7-1 win over FAU on Sunday to capture the series against the Owls.
Both sides had chances to break into the scoring column through the first four innings of play but the game remained scoreless through four complete.
In the top of the fifth, the Irish struck first. Mason Barth reached on an error, and Drew Berkland notched a single to put a pair on base. Bino Watters punched a single through the infield to drive in Barth from second base for the first run of the game. Mark Quatrani then used a sacrifice fly deep to the outfield to plate Berkland for the 2-0 advantage.
The Owls put a runner on base in the bottom half of the fifth with a two-out single, but Mark Quatrani cut down the runner trying to steal second to end the inning. FAU put another runner on base in the bottom of the sixth before Eli Thurmond struck out the next batter to maintain the two-run lead for the Irish.
Dylan Singleton forced the Owls into stranding a runner on second by inducing a fly ball to left field to end the seventh.
Mark Quatrani was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the eighth, and Parker Brzustewicz delivered a clutch RBI single to right-center field to put the Irish ahead 3-0. Jayce Lee added a single to left field, and Noah Coy had a bunt single which led to a throwing error as Brzustewicz came in to score on the play. A wild pitch allowed Lee to come in to score, and Mason Barth hit a single to the 5-6 hole to drive in Coy for a 6-0 Irish lead.
In the top of the ninth, Bino Watters notched his third hit of the game with a lead-off single. Three batters later, Caleb Ricks – who came in to run for Watters – scored on a wild pitch for a 7-0 advantage. FAU plated a run in the bottom half of the ninth before Oisin Lee closed out the game with a strikeout.
Bino Watters went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run. Mark Quatrani and Parker Brzustewicz each collected two hits, a run and an RBI for the Irish. Noah Coy posted a pair of hits with a run. Mason Barth had a hit, a run and an RBI, and Jayce Lee and Drew Berkland posted a hit and a run each. Chase Van Ameyde registered the first hit of his collegiate career with a single in his first at-bat.
Ty Uber went 4.0 innings in his first Notre Dame start, scattering two hits with a strikeout. Eli Thurmond struck out a pair in 2.0 innings of work in his Irish debut, and Dylan Singleton added 2.0 innings of shutout work in his first collegiate appearance on the bump. Oisin Lee went the final 1.0 on the mound and struck out the final batter of the game.
The Irish (2-1) will return to the Sunshine State next weekend when they take part in the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic. Notre Dame opens the weekend on Friday with a 6:00 p.m. ET contest against UCF at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla.