FORT MYERS, Fla. – Trailing by four in its final at bat, the #24 FGCU baseball team (14-3) plated three runs in the frame, but its ninth-inning magic ultimately came up short as the Eagles fell to Ohio State (6-8), 5-4, Sunday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.

Despite hitting the ball hard for a good bit of the afternoon, the Green and Blue recorded only four hits heading into the ninth inning. However, much like Friday night, FGCU got things going late as three straight doubles plated a pair of runs to start the final frame.

After Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) started the inning with his team-leading eighth double of the season, freshman Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) drove him in with a double down the right field line. Two pitches later, Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) ripped a double of his own to left center to score Brait and make it a 5-3 ballgame. After Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) reached on an error to put runners on the corners, pinch hitter Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) sent a drive to deep right center, but it was caught on the track by Dominic Canzone to score Garcia and cut the Ohio State lead to 5-4. With two outs and Morey on second, Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS), arguably FGCU's hottest hitter over the last six games, grounded out to second base to end the game.

The loss snapped FGCU's 10-game win streak that dated back to the series opener against Bethune-Cookman on Friday, Feb. 24. The Eagles' win streak was not only tied for the second longest in Division I program history, but was also the fourth longest active streak in the NCAA at the start of this season. Even with the defeat, FGCU claimed the weekend series against the defending Big Ten Tournament champions, marking its fifth straight series win to start the season.

"We gave it another run there at the end but came up short this time," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "Our guys hit the ball hard for much of the game, but again struggled to find the holes. I give our guys credit for not quitting until the final out was recorded. Winning four games in a week against the caliber of teams we played is always a plus, and we'll continue to work hard heading into more tough games ahead."

Ohio State came out of the gates swinging as a leadoff single from Tre' Gantt was followed by a RBI triple from Jalen Washington to plate a run four pitches into the game. After FGCU starter Josh Dye (3-1, 2.81) retired the next two Buckeyes, he surrendered a two-run shot to Bo Coolen to give Ohio State the early 3-0 lead.

After FGCU left the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS) got the Eagles on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning as he blasted a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right center. It was Fehribach's first home run of the season.

However, Ohio State turned to a small-ball approach as Gantt executed a pair of safety squeezes in the fifth and seventh inning to add a pair of insurance runs and extend the team to 5-1.

The Eagles appeared to start a rally against Ohio State reliever Seth Kinker in the bottom of the eighth as Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) reached on a leadoff walk and Gonzalez followed with a single through the right side. However, the Buckeyes were able get a ground-ball double play to get out of the inning without any damage done before escaping FGCU's second ninth-inning rally of the weekend.

Lovell and Garcia led the way for the Eagles at the plate as each recorded a pair of hits, including their eighth and third doubles of the season, respectively.

On the mound, Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) tossed 6.1 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks. The Eagles bullpen combination of Ryan Ahern (Venice, Fla./State College of Florida/Venice HS), Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) and Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) held the Buckeyes scoreless in the final 2.2 innings and allowed only three hits.

UP NEXT
FGCU welcomes #2 FSU (13-3) to JetBlue Park for its second and final matchup of the season in the Spring Training home of the Boston Red Sox. First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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. Additionally, tickets for next Wednesday's games versus #2 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 504-299-3 record (.625) 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.