FORT MYERS, Fla. – In a back-and-forth battle with the scrappy Jackson State Tigers, the #12 FGCU baseball team (20-3) used a three-run bottom of the eighth inning to break a tie and ultimately defeat Jackson State (18-9, 6-3 SWAC), 7-4, Friday night at Swanson Stadium.

With one out and the bases loaded in the home half of the eighth, Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) drew a walk to bring in what proved to be the game winning run. The Eagles then used another bases-loaded walk from Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) to extend its lead to 6-4, before Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS) nearly put an exclamation point on the night with a deep drive to right field. With the wind blowing in, though, the ball got caught up in the air just enough to stay in the yard. It did, however, bring in an additional insurance run for the Green and Blue and cap off the scoring for the night.  

From there, it was in the hands of ASUN saves leader Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS), who entered the game tied third in the country in the category. With his fifth consecutive perfect inning to close out a game, Koerner not only recorded his eighth save of the season, but also set the FGCU saves record with 15 in his career – eclipsing J.J. Crumbly's record that has stood since 2008.

The win was not only the Eagles' sixth straight but also marked the team's 16th in its last 17 games. FGCU's only loss since Feb. 24 was at the hands of defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Ohio State, who handed #1 Oregon State its only loss of the season thus far.

"Every Friday night win is a big win," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "It gives you a chance to win the series on Saturday. We didn't play exceptionally well, but we played well enough to win. At the end of the day, it's the left-hand column versus the right-hand column, and we'll take it. We're really happy for Sterling – a four-year player for us – to get the career saves record. Hopefully he puts it out of reach and it stands for a long, long time."

FGCU scored first for the 13th time this season and improved to 13-0 in such games as Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) hit a chopper to second base and beat out the potential double-play ball to score Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) in the bottom of the second inning.

However, Jackson State was able to start a rally after Bryce Brown's one-out double in the top of the fourth. With two outs and Brown on third, Cornelius Copeland hit a RBI single to left field to tie the game, before leadoff man CJ Newsome hit a two-RBI single to center field to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

The Green and Blue answered right back and reclaimed the lead with a trio of unearned runs in the home half of the frame. Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) reached on a one-out error and later came around to score when Morey's speed forced Jackson State shortstop Wesley Reyes to rush his throw on another potential double-play ball and throw it away. Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) followed with a RBI double to left-center to tie the game at three, before Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) put the Eagles back in front with a RBI single through the right side of the infield.

The visiting Tigers wouldn't go away, though, as they tied the score, 4-4, with an unearned run in the top of the sixth. After reaching on an error to start the inning, Copeland scored on a bases-loaded single from Reyes and Jackson State threatened to take the lead again. However, FGCU reliever Kenton Hering (4-1, 2.86) induced a huge 1-2-3 double play to get out of the inning without any further damage.

From there, Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) continued to hold the Tigers in check, and the FGCU offense produced when it needed to in order to secure the hard-fought win.

With 5.0 shutout innings between Christian Townsend (Safety Harbor, Fla./Countryside HS), Ryan Ahern (Venice, Fla./State College of Florida/Venice HS), Hering and Koerner, the FGCU bullpen hasn't allowed an earned run in its last 27.1 innings pitched, dating all the way back to the series opener versus Ohio State on Mar. 10.

Offensively, five Eagles accounted for 10 of FGCU's 11 hits with multi-hit games. Reardon, Gonzalez and Garcia each collected two hits while also driving in a run. Additionally, Lovell and Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) also recorded a pair of base knocks.

UP NEXT
Game two between the Eagles and Tigers is on tap for Saturday at 2 p.m. FGCU will use the combination of junior pitchers Peyton Gray (2-0, 4.21) and Kutter Crawford (4-0, 1.04) on the mound, while Jackson State's probable starter is Jordan Bolden (4-2, 4.29).

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.

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 510-299-3 record (.628) 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, 15 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.