EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The FGCU baseball team (13-15) fell behind early and couldn't overcome the deficit in a pair of losses to Evansville (15-11) Saturday at Braun Stadium. The Eagles dropped the first of two against the Purple Aces, 5-1, before also falling in the series finale, 13-7.

"Our performance this weekend isn't going to get the job done," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We'll head back home and try to get some things sorted out before Tuesday."

GAME ONE
FGCU fell behind early as Evansville assumed a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and the Eagles were unable to stage a comeback as they were held to a season-low four hits for the second straight game.

The Purple Aces jumped out to an early lead on a Trey Hair RBI single followed by a Boomer Synek RBI triple and Jonathan Ramon sacrifice fly. Three innings later, Evansville added a run on a RBI single from Jeff Christian in the bottom of the fourth and tacked on another on a RBI knock from Synek in the next frame.

The Green and Blue cut the deficit to four runs as Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS), who extended his hit streak to 19 games earlier in the contest, scored Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georiga CC) on a sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the eighth inning.

However, it was too little, too late as the Aces' early lead was insurmountable.

FGCU starter Garrett Anderson (1-1, 4.46) suffered his first loss of the season after allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits to go along with one walk and matched a season-high with six strikeouts. Opposite Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS), Evansville starter Patrick Schnieders (3-1, 2.03) went the distance and earned the win.

A pair of freshman in Cory Weiand (Crystal River, Fla./Seven Rivers Christian) and Philip Sieli (Wellington, Fla./Wellington HS) combined the pitch the final 3.0 innings in scoreless fashion, but the Evansville lead was insurmountable during another game when the bats went quiet for the Green and Blue.

GAME TWO
A five-run bottom of the third inning and five-run bottom of the fourth was the breaking point as the Eagles fell, 13-7, to the Evansville Aces in the series finale of the three-game set..
 
Although the Aces scored one early on in the first off FGCU's Ryan Lang (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS), the Eagles responded to tie the game in the second inning when Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) singled through the left side, scoring Ryan Shinn (Jobstown, N.J./Northern Burlington HS).
 
It was Evansville's Josh Jyawook who hit a three-run home run off Lang in the bottom of the third inning, tallying five runs for the Aces and giving them a 6-1 lead.
 
The Eagles fired back by cutting the deficit to two in the top of the fourth inning when Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) hit a home run down the right field line on the first pitch, tallying his third home run of the season. Selesky's long ball scored Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) and Reardon, who both reached on singles earlier in the inning.
 
The Aces hot bats continued in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five runs on five hits off reliever Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS).
 
Selesky hit another single through the right side and scored Reardon in the sixth, though Evansville still controlled the game.
 
The Green and Blue made a push in the eighth, scoring two runs on a Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) double to the left and a Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) sac fly to center, bringing in Selesky.
 
Selesky went 3-for-5 with four RBI's on the day, including his third home run of the season, while Reardon recorded two hits with two walks and scored three runs for the Eagles. The sophomore shortstop has now hit safely in 20 consecutive games, ranking as the third-longest streak in program history and four games off the school record.
 
FGCU tallied 11 hits in the contest, while Evansville recorded 17 hits in the final game of the series.
 
Lang (2-3, 7.04) pitched 3.0 innings, giving up nine hits and six runs (five earned) with one walk and one strikeout and suffered the loss for FGCU. He gave way to Leon and Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS), who allowed one run in the final 2.0 innings of play.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU returns to Fort Myers to host in-state rival and No. 2 Miami in a midweek showdown at Hammond Stadium, the Spring Training home of MLB's Minnesota Twins, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Earlier this season, the Eagles traveled to Coral Gables, Fla., and suffered a 6-2 loss to the Hurricanes. 

DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 476-279-3 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.