FORT MYERS, Fla. – With two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, Zach Spivey hit a single through the left side of the infield and Gage Morey was able to slide just around the tag of FAU catcher Gunnar Lambert to give FGCU (16-17, 2-1 A-Sun) a 3-2 win against No. 16 FAU (23-7, 9-3 C-USA) Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium.

Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) stepped to the plate 0-for-5 on the evening but came up big when it mattered most as he slapped a 1-0 pitch to the opposite field and brought home Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS). Morey reached base on a one-out single and was sacrificed to second by Nick Blasucci (Fort Myers, Fla./Riverdale HS) while leadoff hitter Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) was intentionally walked with first base open before the walk-off win.

FGCU starter Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) turned in his best outing of the season as he pitched a career-high 7.0 innings and allowed one unearned run on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Clint Knoblauch (3-0, 8.44) entered the game as it went into extra innings and held the Owls scoreless to earn the win.

Opposite the FGCU staff, FAU reliever Alex House (0-1, 2.75) suffered the loss after entering the game in the bottom of the 10th and allowing the game-winning run in the next frame.

"It's a big win to beat a ranked team and a good program like FAU," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "Mario was outstanding tonight for the second straight start, and our bullpen did a nice job. Clint, as a senior, that's a big win for him. We know we can play with anybody, but it was really good for this ball club to finally beat a ranked team, and I'll think we'll use it going into this weekend."

The Eagles broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning when Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) came around to score after Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC) reached on a fielder's choice and the ball got away from pitcher Devon Carr, who was covering first on the play.

Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) then entered the game in the top of the ninth as FGCU looked to close it out in regulation, but FAU was able to tie it with two outs in the inning as Jose Bonilla Traverso scored pinch runner Tyler Frank on a single to left field.

The Green and Blue had a golden opportunity to end it in the home half of the 10th after Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) and Selesky reached on back-to-back singles to start a rally. However, while attempting to sacrifice the runners up a base, Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) was forced to become defensive at the plate and bunted a ball in on his hands back to the pitcher, resulting in a 1-5-3 double play.

However, after Knoblauch (Wellington, Fla./Wellington HS) worked a perfect top of the 11th, Spivey stepped to the plate in the bottom of the frame and provided the late-inning heroics.

Hours earlier, FGCU got things going and took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Reardon hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Fehribach.

It didn't take long for the Owls to respond, though, as they took advantage of a failed pickoff attempt and tied it at one when Stephen Kerr singled to shortstop to score Lambert in the top of the next frame.

Both teams then went scoreless in their next four at-bats before the late-inning drama.

On the mound, freshman southpaw Cory Weiand (Crystal River, Fla/Seven Rivers Christian) also made an appearance in the eighth inning of a tie ballgame and worked around a one-out double to hold the FAU bats in check.

Offensively, Bottomley and Morey led the way with a pair of hits apiece, while Reardon and Selesky both extended impressive streaks. With a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning, Reardon broke Josh Chester's program record and has now hit safely in 25 consecutive games. Additionally, Selesky reached base twice on the evening to push his career-long, on-base streak to 26 consecutive games, passing Jake Noll's (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) season-long streak to start the season.

NEXT UP
The Green and Blue will welcome conference newcomer NJIT to Swanson Stadium for a three-game weekend series. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by game two Saturday at 2 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 479-281-3 record (.630) 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.