FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (3-1) fell 3-1 at the end of its midweek battle against FAU (3-1) at Swanson Stadium on Tuesday night. Despite jumping out to an early, 1-0 lead thanks to a home run off the bat of senior Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS), the Eagles struggled to keep the offensive momentum up in the later innings.
Junior Gus Carter (Melbourne, Fla./Eau Gallie HS/Florida Southwestern State) was one of the brightest spots of the game, tossing 4.1 innings of scoreless relief. The southpaw finished his night with six strikeouts, just one shy of his career-best seven, and allowed one hit.
"That was a dog fight," head coach Dave Tollett said. "That was two great teams offensive teams going at it and it ended up becoming a pitching duel. We had some chances, but unfortunately we didn't get it done. It was still a great ballgame and both teams played well. There were no errors, I thought we pitched well and I thought we played great defense. We just didn't have timely hitting."
Freshman Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Pa./East Ridge HS) got the starting nod for tonight's game for his first career appearance on the mound. The rookie opening up the action with a strikeout and got through his first inning with ease.
In the Eagles' half of the frame, Coffers sent a ball over the wall in left field for the 10th home run of his career. His hit, the team's first hit of the night, awarded FGCU a 1-0 advantage.
FAU answered in the following frame with an RBI single that tied things up at one run apiece. Though sophomore Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) and freshman Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./American Heritage Delray) were able to get on base in the bottom of the second, they were both left stranded at the end of the inning.
Following two frames of work, Victor was relieved at the top of the third by classmate Jason Woodward (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS). The Owls then went on to score for their second-consecutive time up to bat with a two-run homer that boosted them to their final 3-1 margin.
Sophomore Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS), who reached with a single, and freshman Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS), who cranked out a pinch-hit double, kicked off what could have been the start to a Green & Blue rally in the bottom of the fourth, but both were left stranded as the inning came to a close.
After retiring the side in the fourth, Woodward handed the ball over to Carter in the top of the fifth. The lefty was called out of the bullpen with two outs and a runner on, but quickly ended any chance for FAU to score. While on the mound, Carter allowed just three total Owls to reach base in his dominant relief appearance, stifling an FAU offense that averaged about 12 runs a game entering Tuesday's matchup.
The Eagles, whose offense was relatively quiet in the last few innings of the night, put FAU on notice for one final time in the bottom of the ninth when they loaded up the bases with one out. Rodriguez was the first to reach after being hit by a pitch and he was quickly joined by Lojewski, who singled. Freshman Johnny Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) then got on when he was plunked, putting the winning run on first, but the Owls' closer was able to get out of the frame and sealed the visiting team's 3-1 win.
Woodward was tagged with the loss, moving him to 0-1 on the season. In the batter's box, the Eagles were led by three different players that finished their nights with a pair of hits: redshirt-sophomore Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS), Coffers and Rodriguez.
FGCU will continue its season-opening home stay with a series against Kansas this weekend, Feb. 26-28. First pitch of the weekend is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and game two is slated for a 6 p.m. start on Saturday. The teams will then close things out on Sunday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
For complete coverage of FGCU baseball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_Baseball and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU baseball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 610-366-3 overall record (.624) and a 199-109 (.646) record in the ASUN. He is the only head coach in the program's history and led the program to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. He is a five-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to five ASUN Regular Season Championships and one ASUN Tournament Championship. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions, including as high as No. 9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 54 all-conference selections, 33 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 13 current minor leaguers, four ASUN Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, three ASUN Players of the Year, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one seven-time MLB All-Star.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (https://ift.tt/1E0CJiI), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 83 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM—
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Baseball Drops 3-1 Result to FAU - FGCU Athletics
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