FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (5-2) paired a solid performance on the mound with timely hitting at the plate to hand Bethune-Cookman (4-1) its first loss of the season as the Eagles defeated the Wildcats, 7-4, Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.

Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Green and Blue used a five-run frame to take the lead for good. With one run in, two outs and the bases loaded, redshirt senior first baseman Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS) hit a two-RBI double down the right line to give FGCU the lead. Two pitches later, redshirt junior outfielder Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) picked a good time to drive in his first runs of the season as his RBI single scored two more and extended the lead to the eventual final of 7-4.

From there, the FGCU bullpen backed up another solid performance from junior right hander Kutter Crawford (2-0, 2.25) as the Eagles held Bethune-Cookman scoreless and allowed only one hit in the final four frames. Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS) earned his second win in as many starts as he tossed 6.0 innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. With nine more punchouts today, Crawford has now struck out 20 batters in 12.0 innings pitched to start his FGCU career.

Playing with a three-run lead, the Eagles used the combination of right hander Christian Townsend (Safety Harbor, Fla./Countryside HS) and lefty specialist Ryan Ahern (Venice, Fla./State College of Florida/Venice HS) to hold the Wildcats scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings, before Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) came in to earn his first save of the season and eighth of his career with a perfect ninth inning.

"Corey's big double put us up and Gage's single extended the lead, and that was huge for us," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We left some guys on in the second, but we got some timely hitting from then on and that was great. I thought our pitching staff was a lot better than it was last night. We'll be right back out here tomorrow to try and win this series."

After Crawford retired the first two batters of the game to start the game, Bethune-Cookman put together a two-out rally as a double from Jameel Edney and single from Danny Rodriguez gave the visitors a quick 1-0 lead.

However, FGCU answered with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) stayed hot from the plate as he hit a one-out single and later scored from third on a wild pitch. Fehribach then gave the Eagles the lead with his first RBI of the afternoon as his single through the right side scored Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) from second.

The Wildcats reclaimed its early advantage with three runs in the top of the fifth. Jordan Stacy reached on a one-out, infield single and came all the way around to score when Josten Heron reached and advanced to second on an error. With Stacy running on the play, Heron hit a ground ball to third that was stabbed by Garcia. However, the freshman third baseman's throw brought Fehribach off the bag at first, and a collision with Heron jarred the ball lose down the first base line and allowed Stacy to tie the game. Kyle Corbin followed the wild play with a single through the right side to score Heron, and Corbin later scored to extend the lead to two runs on a sacrifice fly from Edney.

After going quietly in the bottom of the fifth, FGCU put together its big inning in the next frame as Fehribach and Morey came through with the clutch, two-out hits. The Eagles went 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position on the day.

Fehribach led the way offensively as the senior leader went 2-for-3 with a run scored and three more driven in. Garcia and Levine also turned in two-hit games and scored a pair of runs. It was Levine's third straight game with multiple hits. The junior backstop is 7-for-11 with five runs scored, two doubles, one home run and seven RBI in three games this week.

UP NEXT
The rubber match between FGCU and Bethune-Cookman is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Sophomore left hander Josh Dye (1-0, 3.00) will toe the rubber for the Green and Blue opposite Wildcat freshman Anthony Maldonado (1-0, 0.00).

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 495-298-3 record (.622) 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.