FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (6-9) split Saturday's doubleheader with Quinnipiac (5-6) after winning game one, 10-4, behind a trio of home runs and dropping a back-and-forth game two in a dramatic ninth inning, 10-9, at Swanson Stadium.

Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) and Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla/Bishop Verot HS) powered the FGCU offense past the Bobcats in game one as the duo combined to hit three home runs in the game. Noll hit a pair, his third and fourth of the season with all four coming in the team's last four games, while Rivera hit one, his first of the season and 25th of his career, placing him in sole possession of third place in FGCU history. Brady Anderson (1-3, 1.82) earned the win after allowing one unearned run in 6.0 innings and matching a season high with six strikeouts.

In game two, the Eagles entered the ninth inning of a highly entertaining game trailing 10-9. After Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) hit a leadoff single to right field, Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) and Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC) drew a pair of two-out walks to load the bases. Then, with a full count and nowhere to put the batter, Quinnipiac closer Alex Vargas got Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) swinging to end the game with the tying run 90 feet from home.

"We had some good things going from the plate in game one and it was good to see Brady get some run support," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We have to finish the afternoon, though. We left too many runners on base in game two and allowed Quinnipiac to have a couple of big innings. We'll be right back at it tomorrow to look for the series win."

GAME ONE
The Eagles scored a run in each of the first two innings and led from start to finish in a 10-4 win. Quinnipiac threatened in the top of the second inning after a pair of FGCU errors extended he frame, but Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam to hold the Bobcats scoreless.

The redshirt-senior pitcher issued a strikeout in each inning pitched and matched a season high with six on the night. Additionally, Anderson pitched his best when it mattered most as Quinnipiac went 3-for-22 with runners and base and 2-for-13 when they were in scoring position.

With a 2-0 advantage entering the home half of the fifth, FGCU extended its lead behind a pair of home runs from Noll and Rivera. The Eagle second baseman led off the inning with a solo shot to left-center field before Rivera followed a Bottomley double with a two-run shot down the left-field line to push the lead to 5-0. Noll stepped to the plate again in the sixth, this time with two runners on and one out, and popped a three-run shot over the outfield fence in almost the same spot as his first of the afternoon.

The A-Sun Preseason Unanimous All-Conference Selections combined to go 6-for-9 in the game with four extra-base hits, five runs scored and seven RBI. Bottomley also turned in a multi-hit performance as he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

FGCU added an insurance run in the seventh inning when Fehribach drove in Rivera on a single to right and answered Quinnipiac's two runs in the top of the eighth with a run of their own after Rivera scored Bottomley on a RBI double to deep center field in the home half. The Bobcats then plated another run in the final frame to get to the 10-4 final as Philip Sieli (Wellington, Fla./Wellington HS) made his collegiate debut and finished the game.

GAME TWO
After scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning and jumping out to a 5-1 lead, FGCU and starting pitcher Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) couldn't hold the lead as Quinnipiac answered with a four-run inning of their own.

The long ball played a key role in game one, but it was small ball that got the Eagles on the scoreboard in game two. After a sac bunt from Morey put runners on second and third with one out, Zachary Orchard (Cambridge, Ontario, Canada/Jacob Hespeler Secondary School) hit a sac fly to right field before Noll kept things going with a RBI single to right center and Bottomley hit a two-RBI double down the left-field line.

However, the Bobcats scored the aforementioned four runs in the third innings and followed it with a two-run top of the fourth and one-run top of the fifth to assume an 8-5 lead.

FGCU then chipped away with two runs in the home half of the fifth behind a RBI groundout from Noll and a big two-out RBI single up the middle from Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) to cut into the Bobcats' lead. Then, after Quinnipiac scored another run in the top of the sixth, the Eagles plated two more in the bottom of the frame and tied the score, 9-9. Morey drove in Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) on a RBI single to left field before Matt Roberts (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) tied the score with a RBI double down the left-field line to score Fehribach.

Their lead didn't last long as Quinnipiac scored for the sixth straight inning in the top of the seventh to take the lead for good. After being hit by a pitch from Ryan Lang (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS), Matthew Batten was put in motion from first base and came all the way around on a RBI single up the middle from Robert Pescitelli to score the go-ahead run. FGCU then put the tying run on third base in each of the last two innings but got nothing to show as they lost by the 10-9 margin. The Eagles left 18 runners on base in the second game.

Lang (2-2, 6.20) suffered the loss for the Green and Blue while Quinnipiac reliever Gregory Egan earned the win for the Bobcats.

Bottomley tallied a team-high six hits in the doubleheader while Noll drove in six runs and has now recorded 11 RBI in the first three games of the series. The Punta Gorda native also recorded a hit in each game Saturday afternoon and extended his current hit streak to 13 games and his on-base streak to 25 games dating back to last season.

The Eagles and Bobcats will have a quick turnaround and be right back at it tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in the series finale. Right hander Mario Leon (0-1, 3.77) will toe the rubber as the Green and Blue looks to claim its second straight series win, while Quinnipiac will send Taylor Luciani (2-0, 2.77) to the mound.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 469-273-3 record (.632) 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.