FORT MYERS, Fla. – With defending Big Ten Champion Illinois in town, the FGCU baseball team (1-4) dropped a hard-fought home opener to the Fighting Illini (2-2) by a final margin of 4-2 Friday night at Swanson Stadium.

The Eagles hung in tough and took a 2-2 tie into the sixth inning before Illinois plated a pair of runs after a lead-off double from Jason Goldstein followed by a single to right field off the bat of Pat McInerney. FGCU starter Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) suffered the loss while Illinois right hander Cody Sedlock earned the win and sidearm left hander J.D. Nielsen received the save.

"It was a tough sixth inning for us," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We could've made a couple more plays or executed a few more pitches, and it came back to bite us. We'll be right back after it tomorrow and expect our guys to bounce back."

With the score tied, 2-2, Goldstein led off the sixth inning with a drive to left field that looked to be bound for the palm trees beyond the outfield fence. However, a stiff wind knocked the ball down at the warning track and left fielder Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) was unable to adjust on the play. McInerney followed with a single to right field and the Illini put runners on the corners with nobody out. Later, a one-out, RBI groundout from Doran Turchin brought in Goldstein for the go-ahead run, and McInerney came in to score on a wild pitch.

Koerner, who allowed four earned runs on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout in 6.0 innings of work, was relieved by Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) to start the seventh. The Jupiter native pitched a career-high 3.0 innings of scoreless relief and struck out a career-high four batters to hold the Fighting Illini in check and give the FGCU offense the shot at a comeback. However, the bats couldn't get going as the Green and Blue registered two hits in the final three frames.

Opposite Koerner, Sedlock allowed two runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Nielsen turned in a near-perfect performance as he allowed one hit and struck out three in 2.0 innings of relief.

Illinois threated from the get go as Adam Walton and Michael Hurwitz reached on back-to-back singles to start the game. However, with the bases loaded and one out, Koerner induced Illinois designated hitter Anthony Drago into a huge 1-2-3 double play to end the inning and hold the Illini scoreless.

After a lead-off single to start the top of the second, Illinois struck first with a two-out, RBI single from Jack Yalowitz, scoring Turchin. FGCU quickly responded in the bottom of the frame after Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) hit a double in the right-center field gap and Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Fla./West Georgia CC) drove him in on a RBI single up the middle.

After a scoreless third inning, the Fighting Illini reclaimed its lead with a run in the fourth. McInerney reached on a lead-off single and later scored on a RBI single from Turchin with one out. Again, the Eagles responded and tied the game, 2-2, in the bottom of the inning when Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) hit a leadoff triple that rattled around in the right-field corner and was driven in on the next pitch when Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) hit a single to right.

Offensively, Rivera led FGCU after going 2-for-4 with one RBI while Anderson went 2-for-3 from the plate.

The Fighting Illini received a trio of multi-hit games, led by Turchin's 3-for-4, two-RBI performance. Illinois put the leadoff man aboard in five of nine innings and scored all four runs after doing so.

Game two of the three-game set is on tap for tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Swanson Stadium. FGCU will send right hander Brady Anderson (0-1, 5.79) to the mound to face Illinois southpaw Doug Hayes (0-1, 4.50).

NEXT UP
Following its home-opening series against Illinois, FGCU will travel to Coral Gables, Fla., for an in-state showdown against 2015 College World Series participant and preseason No. 4 Miami. The Eagles are 2-11 all-time against the Hurricanes, including registering an 8-1 win against then-No. 13 Miami a season ago.
 
DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 464-268-3 record (.633) 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.