FORT MYERS, Fla. – After getting off to a sluggish start and falling in a 6-0 hole through four innings in game one, the FGCU baseball team (2-1) received a huge boost off the bench from freshman Richie Garcia, who hit the go-ahead home run in the comeback win and helped the Eagles take a pair from Sacred Heart (1-2) Saturday at Swanson Stadium.

Much like the season opener Friday, the Eagles fell behind early in large part due to a five-run fourth inning from the Pioneers. However, after scoring a pair in the fifth to cut the lead to four, a six-run sixth behind a pair of three-run blasts from Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) and Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) ignited the offense and gave FGCU a lead it never surrendered.

The Green and Blue tacked on five more runs in the seventh behind a two-RBI double from Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC) and two-RBI single from Garcia, his fourth and fifth RBI of the game, and went on to win by a 13-8 margin.

Game two was a different story as the Eagles jumped out early lead with a seven-run second inning and used stellar pitching to cruise to a 9-3 win. The inning started with small ball as a squeeze from Gonzalez brought in the first run of the game, but Lovell and Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS), who registered five hits on the day, did most of the damage with a pair of two-RBI doubles.

The combination of FGCU starter Josh Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) and Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) had it from there as they retired the first 17 Sacred Heart batters to step to the plate.  
 
"What a difference 24 hours makes," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "To come from behind in game one after going down 6-0, I think that's something we can build on. It gave us the momentum to put seven on them in the second inning of game two and allow our pitching to do the rest. We threw a lot of strikes today, and that was the big difference. To comeback like that, it could go a long way for us."

Offensively, Coffers joined Garcia and Gonzalez with a big day as he backed up a 3-for-3 performance in game one by going 2-for-5 in game two. He also scored four runs and drove in three on the day. Additionally, Lovell matched Garcia with five RBI in the two games and scored three times.

GAME ONE
Making his FGCU debut, right hander Peyton Gray (Columbus, Ind./Gulf Coast State/Columbus East HS) was impressive out of the gate as he struck out six of the first nine Pioneer batters he faced. However, Sacred Heart got the best of him the second time through the order as three straight two-out hits made it a 1-0 game in the third.

Gray came back out to start the fourth, but a shaky FGCU defense and a solid approach at the plate by Sacred Heart led to the aforementioned five-run inning. Gray recorded only one out before giving way to Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) out of the bullpen.

Koerner (1-0, 3.18) stymied the Pioneer offense from there as the senior hurler pitched the final 5.2 innings of the game and allowed only two runs en route to earning the win in relief.

With Koerner holding Sacred Heart in check, the FGCU bats came alive in the comeback effort. After a hit-by-pitch and walk put runners on first and second with nobody out in the sixth, Gonzalez sent a 1-0 fastball from reliever Mike Lembo onto the softball field behind the fence in right field to cut the lead to 7-5. With two outs and two on, Garcia, who made his FGCU debut as a defensive replacement the inning prior, drove a first-pitch fastball from Kevin Czapelski over the wall in left-center field to propel the Eagles out in front, 8-7.

The aforementioned five-run seventh extended the Eagles lead to 13-7, and Sacred Heart was able to scratch one more run across in the ninth before Koerner shut the door on a 13-8 final score.

GAME TWO
Pitching was the story in game two as FGCU didn't allow a base runner until there was two outs in the sixth inning. Dye, making his first start since 2015 after sitting out last season with an injured elbow, started the game with 3.0 perfect innings of work and four strikeouts.

With the lanky lefty on a pitch count, Hering, who was arguably the Eagles best pitcher at the end of last season, picked up right where Dye left off as he retired the first five eight Pioneers he faced, with three coming via the strikeout.

Playing with confidence and a comfortable lead thanks to the previously described seven-run second inning, the FGCU pitching staff allowed only four base runners until the ninth inning. Hering (1-0, 1.80) tossed 5.0 innings and allowed only one run with five strikeouts en route to earning the win.  

After hitting the ball on the screws all night long, Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) drove in two more in the eighth on a two-out, two-RBI double to center field to cap off the offensive output for the Green and Blue.

Freshman pitcher Matt Rumpf (Coconut Creek, Fla./Monarch HS) got his feet wet as he made his FGCU debut in the ninth and recorded two of his three outs in the frame on strikeouts, including one to end the game.

UP NEXT
The Eagles and Pioneers square off in the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. FGCU will send Junior College transfer Kutter Crawford (Okechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS) to the mound to make his FGCU debut opposite Sacred Heart southpaw James Taubl.

2017 SCHEDULE
The Eagles' schedule features eight teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Base­ball Tournament including a pair of College World Series participants in preseason #2 Florida and preseason #8 Miami along with Super Regional participant and preseason #3 FSU. The five remaining NCAA Tournament teams include defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Ohio State, defending ASUN Tournament Champion Stetson, defending CAA Champion UNC Wilmington, defending C-USA Champion FAU and defending MEAC Tournament Champion Bethune-Cookman. Twenty-six of FGCU's first 30 games will be contested in Southwest Florida with 24 games scheduled to be played at Swanson Stadium and two additional games at JetBlue Park, the Spring Training home of the Boston Red Sox. From Feb. 24 through Mar. 15, the Eagles are scheduled to play 13 consecutive games against five of the aforementioned NCAA Tournament teams.

TICKETS
Single game and season ticket packages for the 2017 FGCU baseball season are now on sale. Season tickets for games contested at Swanson Stadium can be purchased for $99, while single game tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youth (12 and under), military and groups. For questions or more information, please contact the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145. Additonally, tickets for games versus preseason #2 Florida and preseason #3 FSU can be purchased online by clicking here or by calling the JetBlue Park Ticket Office at 239-334-4700.

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.

DAVE TOLLETT
In his 15th season of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 492-297-3 record (.621) as the only head coach in the program's history. He is a four-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four ASUN Regular Season Championships. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets and has coached 42 All-Conference selections, 27 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 19 current minor leaguers, four ASUN Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, two ASUN Players of the Year, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one five-time MLB All-Star.

#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.