FORT MYERS, Fla. – After tempers started to flare in Saturday's contest, emotions ran high again today and #9 FGCU (24-5, 1-2 ASUN) ultimately dropped the 11-inning rubber match against Jacksonville (14-16, 2-1 ASUN), 5-2, Sunday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.

With the game tied, 2-2, after nine innings of play, Jacksonville came to bat in the top of the 10th and loaded the bases with two outs against FGCU reliever Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS). However, with lightning in an eight-mile radius of the ballpark, the game went into a 45-minute weather delay.

As play resumed, closer Sterling Koerner (1-2, 4.30) took the mound in the bases-loaded situation and induced a ground ball to third base to get out of the bases-loaded jam.

After the Green and Blue went quietly in the home half, Nathan Koslowski and Scott Dubrule hit back-to-back one-out singles to put a pair aboard for Jacksonville. Angel Camacho then stepped in the box against Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) and lifted a 2-1 fastball that carried over the fence in left field to give the Dolphins a 5-2 lead.

FGCU sent the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 11th, but Jacksonville reliever Tyler Santana got three-hole hitter Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) swinging to end the game.

Jacksonville claimed the conference-opening series with the win and handed the Green and Blue back-to-back losses for the first time this season. It marked the second straight game FGCU lost when leading after seven innings. The Eagles were 21-0 in the category prior to yesterday's game.

"What we have to learn with our success is that we have a big target on our back," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "Teams are going to play their best when they play us. It's conference. It's always going to be intense, and we need to learn that we have to come to play and match the other team's intensity every game."

In what had been a smooth game to that point, emotions ran high on both sides in the top of the eighth inning. After Jacksonville tied the game on a two-RBI single from Sam Armstrong, the Dolphins looked to score the go-ahead run as they loaded the bases with one out later in the frame. Chris Lehane stepped to the box and hit a line drive to left field, but Lovell made the catch with his momentum coming forward and fired a perfect throw to the plate, which beat Armstrong by three steps. However, the Jacksonville third baseman lowered his shoulder on FGCU catcher Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS), who applied the tag and held on to the ball. Dugouts cleared as Levine and Armstrong had to be separated by home plate umpire Randy Olhausen following the collision, and multiple ejections for both teams were handed out following the play.

When the dust settled, FGCU put its first two batters aboard in the bottom of the eighth but was unable to push the go-ahead run across. Then, after Hering held Jacksonville in check in the top of the ninth, the Eagles loaded the bases in the home half. With Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS), who had been robbed of extra bases on a few occasions this weekend, at the plate, Olhausen called the FGCU cleanup hitter out on strikes on a curveball from Spencer Stockton that appeared to curve around the plate.

Earlier in the afternoon, it didn't take long for the Green and Blue to get on the scoreboard as freshman Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) hit a two-out RBI single back up the middle in the bottom of the first inning.

From there, though, starting pitchers Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) and Casey Kulina controlled the game as neither team crossed the plate again until the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff walk by Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) and single to left from Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) ran Kulina from the game and Spencer Stockon entered from the bullpen. Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) greeted the Jacksonville reliever with a RBI single thru the left side of the infield. However, Stockton made a nice play on an attempted sacrifice bunt to get the lead runner at third base and retire the next two batters.

The highly-intense eighth inning followed, as did the 45-minute lightning delay, and the game was ultimately decided four hours and 48 minutes after first pitch.

Anderson was impressive on the mound as the senior right hander went one batter into the eighth inning and allowed one run on six hits with a pair of strikeouts. Much like yesterday, the Dolphins battled at the plate and finished the game with 16 hits.

For the Green and Blue, Rivera led the way by going 2-for-2 from the plate, while Morey added a pair of hits. It was Morey's sixth straight game with a hit as the redshirt junior outfielder has raised his average nearly 50 points over the span.

UP NEXT
FGCU heads to Tallahassee, Fla., for a two-game midweek series against #10 FSU. Game one will be played Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium, with game two following the next day at 4 p.m. The Eagles have won three straight games in the in-state rivalry, but FSU leads the all-time series, 7-4.

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 514-301-3 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.