GAME 1 | BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Mike Murray (4-5): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
LP | Ryan Moloney (2-4): 4.2 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO
GAME 2 | BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Nick Deckert (2-0): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO
LP | Ryan Venditti (2-1): 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (23-19-1, 7-4 A-Sun) ran its win streak to four games on Saturday afternoon when it swept a doubleheader with Massachusetts (11-19, 7-8 A-10) at Swanson Stadium by scores of 15-1 and 8-1, respectively. The Eagles were guided on the mound by
Mike Murray and
Nick Deckert while
Tyler Selesky was the superstar at the plate, going a combined 8-11 with six RBI's. The series will conclude tomorrow at 1 p.m.
"I've been very pleased with our effort so far this weekend," head coach
Dave Tollett said. "We've been focused and prepared and it's showing. Mike and Nick were great on the mound for us today and I can't say enough about our lineup. We are swinging the bats well but we need to finish the job tomorrow and get this sweep."
Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forrest Hill HS) made the start in game one on Saturday afternoon and cruised through six innings of work, allowing just one run, zero earned, while striking out six without walking anyone. The junior lowers his ERA to 3.72 and now has a 4-5 record in 2015. He has 77 strikeouts this season which are only two shy of his single-season career high total of 79 from a year ago.
Deckert (Tallahassee, Fla./Tallahassee CC) took the ball in game two and put together a great start, going seven innings while allowing just four hits and striking out seven without issuing a walk. The senior lowers his ERA to 3.38 and improves to 2-0 on the season.
Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) mopped up the final two frames, striking out three.
Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) became the first player on the FGCU roster to register five hits in a game this season when he went 5-6 at the dish with three RBI's, three doubles and four runs scored in game one. In game two the junior would go triple, double and single in succession to account for his three hits and drove in a run with each swing. For the weekend (three games) Selesky is 11-16 with 10 RBI's following his 3-5, four RBI performance on Friday night.
Five Eagles picked up three hits in game one –
Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS), Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS), Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS), Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) and
Adam Eggnatz (Tampa, Fla./Middle Georgia College). Rivera homered and drove in four runs, Noll drove in a pair and Bottomley plated three with a pair of doubles. Each starter in the lineup had at least one hit in game one.
Zach Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) homered in game two and went 2-4 at the plate and
Blake Berger (Jacksonville, Fla./Santa Fe College) went 2-2 with an RBI to join Selesky in the multi-hit club in game two.
Through the first three games of the series FGCU is hitting .447 with 41 runs on the board, 55 hits, 17 doubles and 37 RBI while slugging .650 and boasting an on base percentage of .514 against UMass pitching. On the mound, the Eagles have posted a 2.00 ERA with 30 strikeouts against just four walks while holding the opponent to a .202 batting average.
Brady Anderson will put his 4-0 record on the line tomorrow when he takes the mound.
GAME 1Murray worked a clean first, working around a base hit and a bunt single to get out with no damage. In the bottom half, with one out, Selesky sent a hard ground ball through the middle and Rivera walked putting two on for Noll who sent a dying line-drive to left. The UMass outfielder dove but was unable to come up with the catch, allowing Selesky to score from second and give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Spivey bounced into a fielder's choice for the second out then it was Bottomley with a line-drive single to center to drive in two more runs and push the Eagles ahead 3-0 through one.
With a runner on second and one out,
Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) drew a walk, putting two on for Selesky who send a high fly to right that bounced on the warning track and over the wall for an RBI ground-rule double. Rivera then singled to center, driving in a run and putting runners on first and third for Noll who lifted a sacrifice fly to right on the first pitch he saw to settle the score at 6-0 FGCU.
UMass finally put a run on the board in the top of the fourth, unearned but FGCU continued to pour it on in the bottom half. Selesky led off with a double to deep right and Rivera stepped in and smacked his team-leading eighth long-ball of the season over the left-center field wall to make it 8-1. The Green and Blue would get one more in the fifth to make it 9-1 and in the sixth, after a perfect top half from Murray, Noll singled to lead off. He would move up to second on a wild pitch and with one out, Bottomley doubled to the gap in left, driving in Noll. With two outs, Anderson reached on a throwing error that allowed Bottomley to circle third and score. Eggnatz and Reardon came up with back-to-back singles to score Anderson to make it 12-1.
Anderson led off the bottom of the eighth with a single up the middle and Eggnatz doubled to right center, putting two runners in scoring position with one out for Selesky who became the first FGCU player this season to register five hits in a game when he singled to left and drove in a run. The Eagles would tack on two more runs to make it 15-1.
Josh Dye (Deland, Fla./Deland HS) would close out the ninth with a trio of strikeouts.
GAME 2With
Nick Deckert on the hill to start game two, the Minutemen would manufacture a run in the first to take an early 1-0 lead that would not last very long at all. Reardon led off the bottom of the first with a double to right after the UMass right fielder attempted to dive and make the catch on his sinking liner. Selesky, who was fresh off a 5-6 performance in game one, stroked a long fly ball to right center that caromed off the wall, just inches away from a homerun that resulted in an RBI triple. Rivera followed with a walk and Bottomley bounced into a double play that scored Selesky. Spivey then stepped in and pounded his second homerun of the season to right to make it 3-1.
In the bottom of the second, Eggnatz led off with a single past the diving UMass third baseman then stole second with
Brian Pruett (Sarasota, Fla./Coastal Carolina) at the plate. The Sarasota native took a 2-2 pitch and drove it past third again to bring in Eggnatz. Selesky kept pace with his career weekend by adding another double down the line in right, driving in another run and making it 5-1.
The Eagles would tack on plenty of insurance in the fifth and eighth innings when three more runs would come across to push them ahead 8-1. Smeltzer took over from there and cruised through the final two frames to secure the victory and give the Eagles a chance to sweep this series on Sunday afternoon.
ATLANTIC SUN CHAMPIONSHIP The Eagles will once again host the Atlantic Sun Championship Tournament at Swanson Stadium this season. The event is set to take place May 20-23 and the top six teams in the standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the championship and compete in a double-elimination style tournament to determine the A-Sun's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles are four-time A-Sun Regular Season Champions with the most recent title coming in 2014.
DAVE TOLLETTIn 12+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett has compiled a 457-256-3 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He is a four-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four A-Sun Regular Season Championships. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets and has coached 35 All-Conference selections, 22 draft picks, 14 current minor leaguers, four A-Sun Pitchers of the Year, three All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one MLB All-Star.
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