Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita State surged to a quick 7-0 lead but had to fight off a spirited rally from Florida Atlantic to earn a 10-5 win on Sunday afternoon at Eck Stadium. The game was called in the bottom of the eighth inning due to the travel curfew.
The Shockers (21-16, 7-5) only scored in three innings but made them count, getting three runs in the third, four in the fifth and three more in the seventh.
Seth Stroh opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the third, then the Shockers added two more in the inning thanks to some charity from Florida Atlantic starter Trey Beard. A pair of walks put runners at first and second for Camden Johnson, who rifled a base hit through the left side of the infield. Kam Durnin was waved to the plate and the throw skipped off the glove of catcher John Schroeder, allowing Durnin to score. Johnson attempted to advance to second on the errant throw, which was recovered in foul territory by Beard; his throw to second then sailed into center, bringing Lane Haworth around for a 3-0 lead.
One big swing of the bat did all the damage for Wichita State in the fifth. Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Derek Williams, who blasted a 1-2 pitch from Beard over the wall in left for a grand slam and a 7-0 advantage. It was the team-leading ninth home run of the season for Williams.
Tyler Dobbs (5-3) made the early lead stand up by pitching in and out of trouble over five scoreless innings. The left-hander stranded 10 runners aboard for Florida Atlantic (19-14, 6-6), including the bases loaded in the third and fifth innings. Dobbs ended his day with a season-high seven strikeouts, allowing four hits and five walks.
The Owls began to chip away against the Wichita State bullpen, putting a run on the board in the sixth and four more in the seventh that featured a string of seven straight FAU baserunners. Hunter Holmes entered with the bases loaded and the lead down to 7-5, getting a strikeout and a fly out to escape with the lead intact.
Wichita State restored their edge with three two-out runs in the home half of the inning, courtesy of a Mauricio Millan RBI single and a two-run double from Stroh. Holmes then worked a scoreless top of the eighth and the game was called one hitter into the bottom half.
Holmes earned his first save of the season with 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out two.
Beard (2-3) took the loss for Florida Atlantic, allowing five hits and seven runs over 4.2 innings.
The Shockers wrap up the homestand on Wednesday night against Oral Roberts. First pitch from Eck Stadium is scheduled for 6:00 pm.