GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For the third-straight game in the series, the big inning hurt the FGCU baseball team (0-3) as they fell to No. 1 Florida (3-0) by a score of 12-3 in the finale at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium Sunday afternoon.

Florida jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning after a pair of two-RBI hits from catcher Mike Rivera and second baseman Deacon Liput and never looked back. Making his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery following the 2014 season, starting pitcher Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) suffered the loss for FGCU while sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo earned the win for the Gators.

"It was a tough trip in terms of wins and losses," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "But our guys gained some valuable experience against the No. 1 team in the country and will likely learn from it moving forward."

Following the four-run first inning, the FGCU pitching staff settled down and held Florida hitless until the bottom of the seventh. Leon retired seven-straight Gator hitters before running into trouble in the fourth. However, with a pair of runners in motion, Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla/Estero HS) flashed some leather at third base and turned an unassisted double play on a sharp ground ball off the bat of Jonathan India. After a walk and a wild pitch, Leon got out of a jam by striking out Buddy Reed to end the inning. The Naples native allowed four runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts in a career-high 4.0 innings pitched.

The Green and Blue cut Florida's lead to 4-1 in the top of the fifth inning when shortstop Nick Blasucci (Fort Myers, Fla./Riverdale HS) laced a RBI double, his first career hit, down the right-field line to score Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC) from second and advance Ryan Shinn (Jobstown, N.J./Northern Burlington HS) to third. However, with a pair of runners in scoring position and one out, FGCU couldn't push any more runs across in the inning.

Redshirt sophomore Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) relieved Leon to start the fifth and pitched two hitless innings before the Gators' bats awakened in the seventh, scoring six runs on five hits with two walks and two hit by pitches off of Hamilton and FGCU's second and third relievers in Cory Weiand (Crystal River, Fla./Seven Rivers Christian) and Garrison Vandeventer (Ocala, Fla./North Marian HS).

Selesky and Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) reached on back-to-back singles to lead off the eighth inning and later came around to score on a RBI double off the bat of Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) followed by a RBI groundout from Fehribach. After a 2-for-5 day at the plate, Noll ended the three-game series 5-for-12 with two runs and a RBI. Bottomley went 3-for-10 from the dish and drove in a team-leading four runs.

With redshirt senior Clint Knoblauch (Wellington, Fla./Wellington HS) on in relief of Vandeventer in the bottom of the eighth, Florida scored a pair of insurance runs when back-up catcher Mark Kolozsvary hit a two-run shot over the wall in left-center to push the score to the eventual final of 12-3.

Despite the margin of victory, the Eagles were only outhit by the Gators 8-11, but the FGCU pitching staff struggled with its command to the tune of issuing eight walks and two hit by pitches in the game.

NEXT UP
Following its showdown with No. 1 Florida, FGCU travels to Tampa for a mid-week matchup with USF on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. The Bulls not only represent the Eagles' second-consecutive game against an in-state rival, but also their second-straight opponent to make the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 463-266-3 record (.635) 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 39 All-Conference selections, 25 draft picks, 16 current minor leaguers, four A-Sun Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one MLB All-Star.

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 visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.