NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After advancing to its first-ever A-Sun Baseball Championship game with a 3-2 win against No. 2 UNF (39-19, 15-6 A-Sun) earlier in the day, No. 5 FGCU (27-32, 9-12 A-Sun) put together a two-out rally in the ninth, but its postseason run ultimately came to an end as they lost to No. 6 Stetson (29-29, 9-12 A-Sun), 5-4, Saturday afternoon at Lipscomb's Dugan Field.
 
With the loss, the Eagles' season, which saw them win three straight games when facing elimination this week, comes to an end. On the other hand, Stetson advances to the 2016 NCAA Baseball Tournament with the win.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "To respond the way we did from a loss in game one, it was unbelievable. They never gave up, as is evident by the end of today's games, and I'm proud to be their coach. We made our first-ever title game appearance, and we'll be back hungrier than ever next season."
 
GAME ONE
After the game had been knotted at two since the bottom of the fourth inning, Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC) stepped to the plate with one out in the ninth and provided the fireworks for the Green and Blue as he sent a first-pitch fastball from UNF reliever Corbin Olmstead off the scoreboard beyond the right-field fence to give FGCU the one-run advantage that ultimately proved to be the difference.
 
Relief pitcher Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) then worked around an error that allowed UNF's leadoff batter to reach as the game ended on a ground out to second base with the tying run 90 feet from scoring.
 
FGCU started each of the first three innings with a leadoff hit but couldn't push a run across as a pair of double plays, a caught stealing on a hit-and-run attempt and a bang-bang play at the plate erased a quartet of baserunners.
 
After retiring the first seven batters of the ballgame, Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) allowed back-to-back singles and issued a walk loaded the bases with one out. Dakota Higdon then hit a single thru the right side of the infield to bring in the game's first run, but Kyle Brooks ran through a stop sign around second base and was out on the play. With runners on the corners and two outs, Skinner popped out to shortstop as Leon did a good job to minimize the damage.
 
Immediately after, FGCU mounted a one-out rally as four consecutive batters reached base and Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) tied the game on a RBI single to right field, scoring Stefano Belmonte (Chicago, Ill./South Suburban College). Following a UNF pitching change, the Eagles took the lead as Fehribach drove in Spivey on a sacrifice fly to deep center field.
 
UNF answered right back, though, as Corbin Olmstead hit a double off the wall in right field to start the home half of the fourth before scoring on a RBI single through the right side from Nick Karmeris. After a sacrifice bunt moved a pair of Ospreys into scoring position with one out, Christian Townsend (Safety Harbor, Fla./Countryside HS) replaced Leon on the mound and did a great job to minimize the damage as he got a strikeout and ground out to end the frame.
 
Townsend played a major role in keeping the Eagles in the game he tossed a career-high 3.2 innings and allowed only one hit with one walk and three strikeouts. As the FGCU staff blanked the Ospreys for the final five innings, Fehribach blasted the Eagles to the win and their first-ever A-Sun Tournament title game with his solo home run in the ninth.
 
GAME TWO
After turning around to face No. 6 and undefeated Stetson less than an hour later, the Green and Blue once again refused to quit as they scored a pair of runs with two outs in their last at-bat but ultimately came up short.
 
With a runner on second, Morey laced a double into the gap in left center to plate Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and cut the deficit to two. A batter later, Fehribach singled to nearly the same spot to score Morey and draw within one. Then, after missing the last three games with a strained oblique, A-Sun Player of the Year Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) made a pinch hit appearance and drove a 2-2 fastball to deep center field. However, Stetson outfielder Vance Vizcaino made a leaping catch while fighting the sun and crashing into the wall to end the game and prevent the potential tying run from scoring.
 
To start the game, Stetson wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as Vizcaino hit a leadoff home run to right-center field in the bottom of the first. However, after Belmonte hit a single up the middle to start the top of the second, Zach Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) answered right back as he sent the first pitch he saw from Hatters pitcher Kevin Fagan down the right-field line and over the fence to push the Green and Blue ahead, 2-1. It was Spivey's first home run of the season.
 
Stetson turned in the game's second lead change in as many innings when they plated a pair of runs in the home half of the second. Jack Machonis hit a double into the left-center-field gap to score Will Mackenzie as they relay throw wasn't handled at the plate. Vizcaino then put the Hatters back ahead with a RBI groundout to first base before extending their lead on back-to-back doubles from Cory Reid and John Fussell to start the next frame.
 
The Hatters extended its lead to 5-2 on a solo home run from Austin Hale in the bottom of the sixth, while FGCU went scoreless from the third inning until they mounted the aforementioned ninth-inning rally that came up just short.
 
Following his impressive performance in Friday's win against No. 4 Lipscomb, Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) earned his way onto the A-Sun All-Tournament Team and was joined by teammate Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS), who finished the week with a .478 average, including a four-hit performance in game one Saturday afternoon.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 14 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 490-296-3 record (.623) 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.