FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the second consecutive Friday night, the FGCU baseball team (4-2) got off to a sluggish start and failed to come back from an early deficit as the Eagles dropped the series opener to Bethune-Cookman (4-0), 13-7, Friday night at Swanson Stadium.

An erratic command of the strike zone and shaky defense saw FGCU fall in an 8-0 hole through the top of the third inning. The Green and Blue were able to cut Bethune-Cookman's lead to five with runs in each of the next three home frames, but that's as close as they would get.

Redshirt junior right hander Kenton Hering (1-1, 6.75) was sharp out of the gate, but struggled with his command starting in the second inning and suffered the loss after allowing eight runs (five earned) on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched. Opposite Hering, Wildcat reliever Issak Gutierrez (1-0, 0.00) held the Eagles scoreless in the final 4.2 innings and earned the win.

"We have to throw strikes," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We walked four, hit another and committed three errors and most if not all of those runs scored. If we don't give away freebies, I think we're in this ballgame. Our offense played well enough to win. We had a good game plan going, but we didn't pitch tonight and we didn't play defense."

Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS), who had allowed only one earned run in his last 11.1 innings dating back to last season, had his stuff working early on as he retired four of the first six batters he faced via the strikeout. However, back-to-back two-out walks in the top of the second started a Bethune-Cookman rally as both runners eventually came in to score on RBI singles from nine-hole hitter Josten Heron and leadoff man Kyle Corbin.

From there, the Wildcats extended its lead to 8-0 with a six-run third. The Wildcats sent nine batters to the plate and took advantage of two FGCU errors, a walk and a hit batter to plate six runs on only three hits.

FGCU showed signs of life in the home half of the inning as junior catcher Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) stayed hot from the plate and sent a first-pitch fastball from Bethune-Cookman starter Tyler Norris over the fence in left-center field for a two-run home run – the first of his FGCU career.

After Bethune-Cookman scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fourth, Levine stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning and just about got the Green and Blue right back in it with one swing of the bat. The Miami native put a charge into a 1-1 off-speed pitch, but it was off the end of the bat just enough to stay in the yard and bring in Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS).

A leadoff triple from Heron in the following frame ran FGCU reliever Sebastian Gruszecki (Dudley, Mass./Shepherd Hill Regional HS) from the game and made way for Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS), who made his second straight appearance in a game and pitched a career-high 4.0 innings and tied a career high with four strikeouts. Heron nearly immediately scored on another RBI single from Corbin, who later came in to make it 12-3 on a RBI single from Jameel Edney.

However, the Eagles got back into it with four runs in the home half to cut the lead to 12-7. Freshman Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) led off the inning with a double and scored the first run of the frame on a wild pitch, before Gonzalez provided the big blow on a two-RBI single to left field that turned into more. Gonzalez advanced to third as the ball skipped under the glove of left fielder Bobby Stewart, who added insult to injury as his throw to third base got away and allowed the FGCU six-hole hitter to come all the way around and score.

From there, though, the Eagles' bats went quiet as they managed only two hits in the final four frames off Gutierrez.

Offensively, Levine led the way for the second straight night as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored and registered three RBI for the second consecutive game. Alongside the FGCU backstop, Gonzalez went 1-for-3 from the plate with two runs scored and two RBI.

UP NEXT
The Eagles and Wildcats are right back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. FGCU right hander Kutter Crawford (1-0, 1.50) will make the start for the Eagles coming off an 11-strikeout performance against Sacred Heart in his debut last weekend. Opposite Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS), Bethune-Cookman will run senior southpaw Donte Lindsay (0-0, 7.36) to the mound.

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 494-298-3 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.