FORT MYERS, Fla. – Trailing by two after the seventh inning stretch, the FGCU baseball team (7-2) delivered with clutch two-out hitting and came from behind to defeat in-state rival FAU (4-2-1), 7-5, Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium.

With the score tied, 5-5, and runners on the corners with two outs, junior catcher Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) stayed red hot from the plate and smoked a two-strike, two-RBI double into the left-center field gap to give FGCU the lead.

The inning prior, FGCU trailed, 3-5, and was in a similar position with runners on first and second with two outs. Sophomore infielder Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) promptly cut FAU's lead to one as he singled through the right side to score Levine. Two pitches later, Smith swiped second base and allowed Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) to score from third and tie the score as the throw from FAU catcher Pedro Pages got away.

All seven of FGCU's runs and all five of its RBI came with two outs, while the Eagles went 8-for-17 from the plate in the category.

After redshirt junior Kenton Hering (2-1, 5.79) retired all four batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, senior Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) entered the game in the ninth and retired the Owls in order to preserve the win. The save for Koerner was his second of the season and ninth of his FGCU career, placing him in a tie for third all-time.

With the win, FGCU improves to 11-6 in the all-time series with its cross-state rival and stays on pace with the team's best start to a season since 2013. Additionally, head coach Dave Tollett moves to 497-298-3 in his 15 years with the program and is three victories from hitting the 500-win plateau.

"Two-out hitting is the key to this game. If you get them, you tend to win," Tollett said. "Eli (Lovell) and Spencer had two quality at-bats at the end. It was huge for Eli to hang in there and draw the walk to get to one of the hottest sticks in the country. That's a big in-state win for this program. FAU is always good, and we're excited to get on the plane Thursday to try to keep this thing going."

In a back-and-forth affair, FGCU didn't take long to get on the scoreboard as the Eagles made FAU pay for a two-out error in the bottom of the first. With runners on second and third, Levine struck out on a ball in the dirt but reached first and allowed Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) to score as Pages attempt to tag his Eagle counterpart went awry and the ball got away. Four pitches later, Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) made the error even more costly as he hit a RBI single into right field.

FAU responded with a run in each of the next two innings to even the score. However, the Green and Blue reclaimed its early lead in the home half of the third when Levine ripped his first double of the game to right field and scored Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) from first.

Again, though, the Owls answered right back with two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. A leadoff walk to Austin Langham proved costly as he advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a RBI single from David Miranda. Miranda circled the bases on a failed pickoff attempt from FGCU starter Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and scored on a wild pitch to put the Owls ahead.

After FAU extended its lead behind a two-out rally of its own in the top of the sixth, the FGCU bats came back alive after being held scoreless in the middle innings and provided the aforementioned late-inning sparks to lift the Eagles to its come-from-behind win.

Offensively, Levine was the headliner as he went 3-for-5 with one run and three RBI, including the game winner. The junior backstop is now 10-for-18 with seven runs, four doubles and 10 RBI in his last five games. Alongside Levine, the middle of the order did much of the damage as Lovell, Garcia and Gonzalez all recorded a pair of hits. For Lovell, who reached base four times and scored three runs, and Gonzalez, it was their second straight two-hit game. Additionally, Garcia recorded multiple hits for the third straight contest. The freshman infielder is 7-for-12 with three runs and two RBI during the Eagles' three-game win streak.  

UP NEXT
FGCU hits the road for this first time this season as the Green and Blue travels to Wilmington, N.C., to take on UNC Wilmington in a three-game series from Friday through Sunday. The weekend series will mark the first time in program history the Eagles and Seahawks have met.

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 497-298-3 record (.623) 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.