FORT MYERS, Fla. – In a game that saw a combined 21 runs on 34 hits and lasted nearly four hours, the FGCU baseball team (20-22, 6-5 A-Sun) ultimately dropped an 11-10, 12-inning decision to UNF (27-15, 6-5 A-Sun) Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
 
After FGCU forced extra innings in the bottom of the ninth on Matt Reardon's (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) two-RBI single to left field , UNF center fielder Chris Thibideau led off the 12th inning with a solo home run to left field, his second of the game, and lifted the Ospreys past the Eagles in the extra-inning contest.
 
Sterling Koerner (2-5, 4.69) pitched two near-perfect innings of relief before giving up the solo home run to Thibideau and suffered the loss. Opposite the Green and Blue, two-way player Corbin Olmstead (4-0, 1.42) earned the win after previously blowing the save in the home half of the ninth.
 
"That's one of those game where things can change in the blink of an eye, and we saw that today," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We allowed to many free passes, and it came back to bite us in the end. The guys did another good job of responding to force extra innings, but we need to find ways to win more of these close ballgames."
 
The first three innings of the back-and-forth affair saw a combined 15 runs scored as FGCU jumped out to a 5-3 lead behind a four-run bottom of the second inning before surrendering it right back in a five-run third.
 
UNF got on the scoreboard in the opening frame as Dakota Higdon hit a one-out double to left center and advanced to third on a bobble in the outfield before scoring on a RBI groundout by Olmstead.
 
However, FGCU responded with three consecutive singles to start the home half and tied the game when Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) drove in Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) for his team leading 45th RBI of the season.
 
After Thibideau hit the first of his two home runs in the top of the second to give the Ospreys a 3-1 lead, the Eagles put four runs on the board in the bottom of the frame to reclaim the lead, 5-3. Nine batters came to the plate for FGCU with Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC) and Matt Roberts (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) each recording RBI singles to run UNF starter Brad Deppermann from the mound and tie the game. Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) then gave the Eagles their first lead with a  two-out, two-RBI single to center field off reliever Tyler DuPont.
 
Still, UNF came right back to regain the lead with a five-run third inning as 11 Ospreys stepped to the plate in the top of the frame. Second baseman Zach Drury provided the big hit as his bases-loaded, two-run double pushed the lead to 8-5 and forced FGCU starter Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) to exit the game.
 
The Green and Blue cut into the UNF lead on Reardon's two-RBI single in the bottom of the third and later tied it on Colton Bottomley's (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) RBI knock in the sixth.
 
However, UNF scored a run in each of the seventh and eighth innings to build a two-run cushion before Reardon's game-tying hit in the bottom of the ninth.
 
It appeared as though the Green and Blue might end things in the home half of the 10th when pinch hitter Stefano Belmonte (Chicago, Ill./South Suburban College) stepped to the plate with two runners in scoring position and squared up a fastball, but hit it right in the tracks Higdon in left field.
 
Reardon tied a career high with four hits in the game to go along with a career high four RBI. Additionally, freshman Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) matched a program record as he went 5-for-5 before drawing an intentional walk in the bottom of the 10th and scored three runs. Noll and Selesky also recorded multi-hit games, while Morey extended his career-long hit streak to 12.
 
The rubber match between the Eagles and Ospreys is on tap for Sunday at noon, when FGCU will send Mario Leon (3-3, 4.02) to the mound to oppose UNF starter Austin Drury (3-1, 4.87).

DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 483-286-3 record (.628) 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.