NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After scoring a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings to take a 4-3 lead, the FGCU baseball team (22-26, 7-9 A-Sun) suffered a heart-breaking loss to Lipscomb (26-23, 9-7 A-Sun) as the Bisons won, 5-4, in walk-off fashion Friday night at Dugan Field.
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With one out and a runner on second base, Lipscomb three-hole hitter Adam Lee hit a two-run home run to left field to give Lipscomb the walk-off win.
Garrett Anderson (1-2, 6.30) suffered the loss for FGCU after entering the game in replace of an injured
Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS), who took a comebacker off the knee earlier in the inning.
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Opposite the FGCU staff, Jaesung Hwang (2-1, 6.00) earned the win after replacing Bisons starter Brady Puckett with one out in the ninth inning. Hwang allowed the go-ahead run to score in the Eagles final at-bat, which was charged to Puckett, but Lee let them both off the hook with his walk-off homer.
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"That's a tough one to lose," said FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett. "We're both neck-and-neck in the conference and played that way for the entirety of the game. We just came out on the wrong end of it tonight."
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In a back and forth affair, both teams got on the scoreboard in the opening frame as
Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) hit a leadoff single and later scored on passed ball by Lipscomb catcher Chucky Vazquez.
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However, the Bisons answered right back as the first two batters reached and advanced into scoring position on a balk from FGCU starter
Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS). With one out, Zeke Dodson then hit a RBI groundout to shortstop to tie the score at one.
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FGCU reclaimed its early lead in the top of the fourth after
Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) hit a leadoff double and scored two batters later on
Gage Morey's (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) sacrifice fly to right field.
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Again, though, Lipscomb responded and took its first lead of the game with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning as they capitalized on a pair of FGCU fielding miscues. Allan Hooker hit a dribbler in front of the plate that was fielded and thrown away by catcher
Matt Roberts (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) before Vazquez brought him in on a double down the left-field line. After being sacrificed to third, Vazquez scored on a failed pickoff attempt from
Brady Anderson to give the Bisons a 3-2 lead.
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FGCU fought back to tie the score in the top of the eighth after
Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) led off the inning with a triple and later scored on a sacrifice fly from
Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS).
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Then, in a critical turn of events in the home half of the eighth, Morey gunned down the potential go-ahead run in the form of pinch runner Quinn Moynihan at the plate with a perfect throw from center field on a single up the middle from Hooker.
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After Morey kept the score tied with a defensive highlight, he hit a one-out single in the top of the ninth and later gave the Eagles their third lead of the ballgame as he scored from second on Reardon's clutch two-out single through the right side of the infield.
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However, the FGCU bullpen couldn't close it out after Koerner left the game with one out in the final frame and
Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) replaced him before giving up the homer to Lee.
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Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for 3 p.m. tomorrow when FGCU will take a by-committee approach with their start still to be determined to take on Lipscomb starter Jeffrey Passantino (5-3, 3.16).
DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 485-290-3 record (.625) 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/foodpantryÂ
and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
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