FORT MYERS, Fla. – Behind a career-best performance from starting pitcher
Josh Dye (5-1, 2.82), #12 FGCU (22-3) claimed its eighth straight win and second straight weekend sweep with a 5-1 victory against Jackson State (18-11, 6-3 SWAC) Sunday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS), who tossed a career-high 7.0 innings and allowed only one run on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks, was in complete control of his whole arsenal of pitches as the lanky left hander threw 89 pitches with 70 going for strikes.
It took a while for the bats to get going as FGCU went down in order for the first three innings. However, the Eagles got on the scoreboard with a trio of runs in the home half of the fifth and never looked back against the visiting Tigers. It was the fifth straight game FGCU scored first, and the team improved to 15-0 when doing so this season.
The win marked the Eagles' eighth straight and 18th in their last 19 games with the lone loss coming against defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Ohio State, who handed #1 Oregon State its lone loss of the season so far. Not only was it the Green and Blue's second straight weekend sweep, but it was also the Eagles' third this season after becoming the first non-conference opponent to sweep UNC Wilmington at home since 1998 earlier this month. Additionally, the team is now one win away from matching the 2005 team for the best start in program history at 23-3.
"Anytime you can get a sweep, it's just awesome," said FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett. "Jackson State was a good team. We didn't have a lot on them coming into the weekend, but we played well enough to get three wins. With Miami coming in before starting conference play, it's a good place to be. There's no question about that. We're looking forward to hosting Miami, and are especially excited about playing the game in Swanson Stadium."
With only three combined hits in the first four and a half innings of play, FGCU struck first in the bottom of the fifth. After
Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) drew a one-out walk and
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) was hit by a pitch, leadoff man
Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla/Martin County HS) drove in the game's first run with a double down the right-field line. Three pitches later,
Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) drove in both Garcia and Reardon on a single to left field to extend the lead to 3-0.
As Dye continued to throw up zeros on the scoreboard, the offense tacked on another run in its next at-bat after Morey followed a one-out triple from
Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) with a nicely-executed safety squeeze that went for a hit.
Jackson State, who came into the weekend with the nation's fourth-highest team average at .333 but was held to a .216 (21-for-97) clip by the FGCU pitching staff, finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh. After Bryce Brown led off the inning with a single and Jesus Santana was hit by a pitch, both advanced 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt from Cornelius Copeland. Brown then came in to score on a fielder's choice from Jarvis Warner to cut the Eagles' lead to 4-1.
With Dye's day done after the seventh, FGCU's shutdown bullpen combination of
Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) and
Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) shut the door on Jackson State in the eighth and ninth, respectively. The Eagles' bullpen duo hasn't allowed an earned run in its last 18.2 combined innings, while Koerner has tossed six straight perfect frames in his last six appearances.
Capping off the scoring the for the weekend, Garcia led off the bottom of the eighth with a no-doubt solo home run over the left-field fence. With a 3-2 count, Garcia got the fastball he was looking for and didn't miss as his second home run of the season pushed the score to the eventual final of 5-1.
Offensively, Reardon and Smith collected a pair of hits for the Green and Blue, while Gonzalez drove in two runs. Additionally,
Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS) extended his current on-base streak to 20 games, while
Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) has now reached in 18 straight.
UP NEXT
FGCU hosts in-state foe Miami in an midweek showdown Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Swanson Stadium. The game marks just the second in program history hosted on campus against the Hurricanes.
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 512-299-3 record (.629) 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.
