SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The FGCU baseball team (20-24, 6-7 Atlantic Sun Conference) and USC Upstate (19-24, 2-10 A-Sun) were tied heading into the seventh inning, but a four-run bottom of the frame by the Spartans provided the winning margin as the Eagles dropped the series opener Friday night, 7-3.
 
Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS), Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) and Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) each had three hits for the Eagles. All three RBI came from the bottom of the order as Stefano Belmonte (Chicago, Ill./South Suburban College), Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) and Matt Roberts (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) each delivered one.
 
Redshirt senior Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) took the loss (5-5), despite tossing at least seven innings for the third-straight outing. He allowed 11 hits while striking out four and walking just one in seven innings of work. He finished with five earned runs of the seven total allowed as FGCU made four errors behind him.
 
With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Anderson led off the frame with his only walk of the night. A bunt single put runners on first and second before a throw by Anderson to first on a sacrifice bunt attempt couldn't be handled by Smith, who was charged with the error, and the ball got far enough away to plate the go-ahead run. The lead grew to four with the next batter as Cody Brittain hit a three-run homerun to left field to complete the scoring for the evening.
 
"We didn't get timely hits, and we didn't pick up Brady behind him in the field," surmised FGCU head coach Dave Tollett as the Eagles left 10 men on base. "Hopefully those two areas improve heading into the weekend as we still have a chance to win the series."
 
The Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with perfectly-executed small ball. After Smith led off the frame with a single, he was moved up to second base courtesy of a Hayes' sacrifice bunt. The freshman then scored on a Belmonte single back up the middle.
 
However, Upstate got that run and another back in the bottom of the frame. After retiring the first two batters, Anderson surrendered four-straight base hits, the last two which each plated a run to put the Spartans in front, 2-1.
 
That lead was extended to 3-1 in the fourth inning and it remained that way into the sixth when the Eagles tied the contest. With one out, Hayes doubled to right center and then traded places with Morey when he delivered an RBI double to left. After moving to third base on a wild pitch, Morey scored the tying run on a Roberts' single to left.
 
The game remained knotted at 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh when the Spartans exploded for the aforementioned four runs to provide the winning margin.
 
FGCU will look to even the series in game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) is scheduled to start for the Eagles, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
 
DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 483-287-3 record (.627) 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.