BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Bryant Holtmann (5-1): 8.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
LP | Devin Smeltzer (1-3): 1.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (16-16-1, 4-2 A-Sun) would fall behind No. 7 Florida State (25-8, 11-4 ACC) early and despite an outstanding performance out of the bullpen by Sterling Koerner, the Eagles would fall on Tuesday night by a score of 5-0. The Eagles will conclude their midweek pair with the Seminoles on Wednesday evening with first pitch from Dick Howser Stadium scheduled for 4 p.m.

Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) made the start on the mound for the Green and Blue but struggled through 1.1 innings. He would surrender seven hits, which resulted in five earned runs to pick up his third loss of his debut campaign. Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carrol HS) took over for Smeltzer in the second and settled things down. He would work through 6.2 innings of scoreless relief, striking out seven while giving up just five hits and walking none in what turned out to be arguably his best outing of the season.

At the plate, Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) shone brightest for FGCU as he would go 3-3 with three singles, raising his average to .433 for the season which now leads all Eagles. No other Eagle would manage more than one hit as they would gather seven as a team. Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) went 1-4 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to 12 games while the red-hot Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) was tamed tonight, going 0-4.

"We took a tough loss tonight," head coach Dave Tollett said. "They came out hot out of the gate and we didn't respond very well at least initially. Sterling pitched great out of the pen and really stabilized things for us. We started to rally there but they made a great play to get Spivey at the plate and that really hurt the momentum we were building. We get another shot at these guys tomorrow and we're looking forward to it."

Smeltzer would surrender a leadoff double to Josh Delph in the bottom of the first after the Eagles had gone down in order in the top half. Delph's hot shot slid past the glove of Selesky who was ranging to his left and carried down the line. John Sansone followed with a single up the middle on an 0-1 pitch to drive in the first run of the game. D.J. Stewart followed with a single off Smeltzer's glove then a sacrifice bunt would put two runners in scoring position for Dylan Busby who lined out to short. Smeltzer then induced a ground out to escape the first with just one run allowed.

A single and a stolen base to lead off the second put another runner in scoring position for the Seminoles. A fly ball to deep center for the first out moved the runner over to third and it was Danny De La Calle who tripled off Smeltzer to the deepest part of the park in left center to drive in the run and make it 2-0 FSU. A subsequent single through the right side made it 3-0 and after a hit batsmen Stewart doubled in the gap in right to keep the rally going and make it 4-0. Koerner would take over for Smeltzer on the mound at that point and would retire the first batter he faced on a fly out to right but the runner at third would tag and score. Koerner would work out of the frame with no further damage.

The Eagles would send the minimum to the plate over the first three innings despite collecting two hits. A pair of double plays would shorten the second and third innings for the Green and Blue. The lead off man would reach for Florida State for the third-straight inning in the bottom of the third but Koerner would strike out two and strand two runners to keep the deficit at five heading into the fourth.

Koerner retired the FSU side in order in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs in the top of the fifth, Zach Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) singled back through the middle, bringing up Adam Eggnatz (Tampa, Fla./Middle Georgia College) who singled as well putting two on for Anderson who sent the third straight single of the frame to left. Spivey would round third trying to score the first run of the game for the Green and Blue on the play but Stewart would fire a laser from left to get Spivey sliding into home for the final out of the fifth.

The momentum from the fifth would carry over into the sixth for the Eagles when Kyle Gilbert (Lake Mary, Fla./Seminole HS) led off with a pinch-hit single, the fourth-straight for FGCU. Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) would however bounce into a 4-6-3 double play to end the streak. Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) followed with a ground out to end the inning. The Eagles began to even out the hit column, trailing 9-6 at that point but still trailed in the runs column 5-0.

Koerner would give up one hit in the sixth but overall continued to roll, striking out two more Seminoles to raise his total to four for the evening. Florida State would put two more runners on base in the bottom of the eighth looking to extend its 5-0 lead but Koerner continued work out of trouble, stranding both runners with a two-out strikeout to give him seven for the game and complete his stellar line at 6.2 innings, seven strikeouts and no walks.

The Eagles would send Selesky, Noll and Rivera to the plate to get things started in the ninth. Selesky led off with a walk to extend his reached-base streak to 20 games. Rivera followed with a pop out to shallow right, snapping his team and career-long 26-game reached-base streak and his 14-game hitting streak. Noll reached on an error to put runners on first and second for Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) who bounced into a double play to end the game. Tuesday night is the first time the Eagles have been held scoreless since their opening day, 2-0, loss to Central Michigan.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 12+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 450-254-3 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.
 
#WINGSUP
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that can't be offered anywhere else.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the baseball team on Twitter @FGCU_Baseball, Instagram @FGCU_Baseball or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUBaseball. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), 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.