BOCA RATON, Fla. – Coming off a dramatic week during which three of four games were won in walk-off fashion, the FGCU baseball team (19-18, 5-1 A-Sun) dropped a midweek matchup against No. 17 FAU (26-8, 11-4 C-USA) by a 5-2 decision Tuesday night at the FAU Baseball Stadium.

Nonetheless, after last week's extra-inning, walk-off win against the nationally-ranked Owls, FGCU split the season series with its in-state rival from Boca Raton.

Philip Sieli (0-1, 6.52) made the first start of his FGCU and collegiate career and suffered the loss. Out of the opposite dugout, FAU starter Nick Swan received the win while Cameron Ragsdale earned his 10th save of the season.

"We dug ourselves in an early whole and didn't have the ability to bring ourselves back tonight," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We hit some balls hard, but the top of the seventh inning was a big one for us and we could've used to push a couple more runs across."

Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) didn't take long to get things going as his leadoff triple extended the nation's longest active hitting streak to 29 games, which also matches Western Kentucky's Danny Hudzina for the season's longest streak. Two batters later, Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) drove him in on a sacrifice fly to left field, his conference-leading 43rd run driven in this season.

However, FAU was quick to respond as they took advantage of some control issues from Sieli (Wellington, Fla./Wellington HS), who allowed the first run to score on a bases-loaded walk before designated hitter Sean Lasban hit a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Owls then extended its lead to 3-1 in the home half of the third when Esteban Puerta's single to right field scored CJ Chatham.

After both teams went scoreless in the middle innings, FGCU looked poised for a big inning in the top of the seventh. The Green and Blue had the bases loaded with nobody out after a trio of singles to start the frame, but were plagued by a 6-4-3 double play that scored Zach Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) but prevented the possibility of further damage.

Again, FAU responded quickly and extended its lead to 5-2 with two runs in the home half of the inning. Chatham hit a RBI single to right center to score Stephen Kerr before coming around to score his third run of the game on pinch hitter Tyler Frank's bloop single to right field.

FGCU put good swings on the ball in the top of the eighth but couldn't find any gaps in the FAU defense and the comeback effort came up short.

Offensively, Noll led the way with a 3-for-3 performance, his seventh three-hit games of the season, while Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) recorded his fourth multi-hit game in the last five contests with a 2-for-4 night.

On the mound, FGCU right hander Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State College) made his first appearance in more than a month and held the Owls scoreless in three straight innings before running into some trouble in the seventh. Additionally, Clint Knoblauch (Wellington, Fla./Wellington HS) recorded the final four outs in near-perfect fashion.

NEXT UP
FGCU travels to Jacksonville for its first A-Sun road series of the season this weekend. Game one against the Dolphins, who currently sit one place behind FGCU in the conference standings, is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m., and will be followed by game two Saturday at 1 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. The Eagles currently hold a 16-9 advantage in the all-time series against Jacksonville.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 482-282-3 record (.631) 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.