Jackrabbits drop season opener

Friday, February 19

Starkville, Miss.

12:00 PM

South Dakota State University

0-1

Florida Atlantic

1-0

Florida Atlantic

South Dakota State

2/19/2016 4:45:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Florida Atlantic scored in each of the final five innings and went on to defeat South Dakota State, 11-5, in the college baseball opener for both teams Friday afternoon.

The Owls, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament a season ago, scored an unearned run in the top of the second, then strung together five consecutive two-out hits against SDSU starter Ryan Froom to plate three runs in the top of the fifth to build a 4-0 lead.

SDSU got on the board on a solo home run by Cody Sharrow in the bottom of the fifth, but FAU's Esteban Puerta countered with a two-run homer as part of a three-run seventh inning that put the game out of reach. Puerta ended the afternoon 4-for-6 with two doubles, a home run and five runs batted in.

The Jackrabbits added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings and tacked on two in the ninth on a run-scoring single by Paul Jacobson and Anthony Schneider's second RBI of the game. Jacobson was 3-for-5, including a double, to lead the SDSU offense.

Nick Labsan added two doubles as part of a three-hit day for the Owls, who out-hit SDSU by a 15-8 count.

Froom yielded four runs --- three earned – on eight hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out one. Four Jackrabbit relievers combined to pitch the final four innings, but allowed eight walks while striking out only three FAU batters.

FAU starter David McKay earned the victory as he struck out six and walked one over a five-inning stint in which he gave up one run and three hits.

The Jackrabbits will meet nationally ranked Mississippi State at noon Saturday. The game will be available viewing through SEC Network Plus, ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN app.

FLORIDA ATLANTIC 11, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 5
FAU 010 031 321 11-15-0
SDSU 000 011 102 5-8-1
FAU: David McKay, Colyn O'Connell (6), Jorge Marrero (8) and Tyler Frank. SDSU: Ryan Froom, Will McAffer (6), Chris Halbur (6), Derek Feige (8), Bryce Hanson (9) and Luke Ringhofer.
W-McKay (1-0). L-Froom (0-1). Save-none.
HR: FAU-Esteban Puerta (1); SDSU-Cody Sharrow (1).