FORT MYERS, Fla. – After getting out to an early lead behind a two-run home run from Jake Noll in the bottom of the first, the FGCU baseball team (24-28, 9-10 A-Sun) was stymied by Kennesaw State (27-25, 15-4 A-Sun), who took game one, 7-2, en route to claiming its first A-Sun Regular Season Title.
 
Noll's (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) 12th home run of the season gave the Eagles an early 2-0 lead, but the Owls responded with seven unanswered runs behind Justin Motley's big night to claim the series opener.
 
FGCU starter Ryan Lang (2-5, 5.87) matched a season high as he tossed 7.1 innings but suffered the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Kennesaw State southpaw Chris Erwin (3-2, 5.66) recorded the win as his lone blemish came in the opening frame.
 
"We couldn't get anything going past the first inning today, and that's not going to be enough to win against a tough team like Kennesaw State," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We made a few mistakes on the mound, and they made us pay."
 
Lang (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) got through the top of the first in only six pitches and went on to retire the first two batters of the next inning. However, after back-to-back two-out singles, Motley drove a fastball off the left-field foul pole to push the Owls ahead, 3-2.
 
Both teams went scoreless in their next three at-bats as Lang recovered from the three-run homer to retire Kennesaw State in order in each of the three frames. Then, in the top of the sixth, the Owls extended their lead to 4-2 when Brennan Morgan hit a RBI single to center field to score Austin Upshaw.
 
The Owls added a trio of insurance runs in the top of the eighth when they drew a pair of walks to start the frame. With runners on second and third and one out, Jeremy Howell drove in a run on a single past the glove of a diving Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) at third base, before Taylor Allum followed it with a RBI groundout and Motley stayed hot with a RBI triple to left center.
 
Offensively, Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) went 3-for-3 from the plate with one run scored and extended his season-high hit streak to 11 games with multiple hits in eighth contests during the hot streak. Selesky added a pair of hits in the contest, while Noll hit the first-inning homer.
 
With USC Upstate claiming a 4-3 win in extra innings against Jacksonville, the Owls claimed the A-Sun Regular Season with tonight's outcome. As Stetson and Lipscomb battle in a three-game series this weekend, FGCU will have no worse than the fifth seed in next week's conference tournament with at least one win this weekend.

The two teams will be right back at it tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Swanson Stadium. FGCU's starter in game two is yet to be determined, while Kennesaw State is projected to send Gabe Friese (6-1, 4.14) to the mound.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 14 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 487-292-3 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/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.