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.

 

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 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.

 

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.