DELAND, Fla. – After Nick Rivera tied the game with a two-out base knock in the top of the eighth, #9 FGCU (24-8, 1-3 ASUN) and Stetson (14-18, 4-0 ASUN) battled into extra innings, but the Hatters ultimately came out on top, 2-1, thanks to a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th Friday night at Melching Field.

With the bases loaded for the second straight inning, this time with nobody out, Jorge Arenas hit a RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Mike Spooner, who led off the inning with a single, and give the Hatters the walk-off win.

Right hander Kenton Hering (4-3, 2.29) pitched the final 2.2 innings in relief and suffered the tough-luck loss after entering the game in a tough situation and getting out of a pair of jams prior to the 10th inning. Opposite Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS), Stetson southpaw Tyler Keller (1-2, 2.79) earned the win.

Both starting pitchers were as advertised in the game as FGCU's Kutter Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS) allowed just one run on five hits in 6.1 innings pitched. His counterpart, Brooks Wilson, went 8.0 innings and allowed one run on seven hits.

The loss for FGCU is the team's fifth straight after starting the season a program best 24-3. Out of the five straight losses, the last three have been by one-run. Additionally, two have been in walk-off fashion with two also occurring in extra innings.

"We didn't do enough things right to win the game tonight," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "Stetson battled at the plate and fought off tough pitches to stay alive in their at-bats. There were a couple of plays we could've made defensively, and a couple of situations offensively where we didn't come up with the big hit. We'll need to correct a couple of things tomorrow and go out there to try and even this series."

Stetson struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning as Austin Bogart hit first-pitch curveball from Crawford through the left side of the infield. The RBI single scored Andrew MacNeil, who led off the inning with a single.

FGCU then threatened with a trio of hits in the top of the sixth, but Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) was caught stealing to record the second out of the frame and two were stranded.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Hering entered in relief of Crawford. Seven pitches into his outing, the FGCU reliever got Stetson leadoff man Jacob Koos to line out to center field, and Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) fired to second to double off Colton Lightner and end the frame.

FGCU turned the good defense into good offense as they tied the game in the top of the eighth. With two outs and runners on first and second, Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) stepped to the plate and delivered a clutch two-out single to left field to score Morey, who led off the inning with a single, and tie the game.

Stetson threatened in each of its next two at-bats, but Hering did a good job to hold the Hatters in check. The redshirt-junior struck out Austin Bogart with a runner on third to end the eighth before also getting Andrew MacNeil to ground out with the bases loaded in the home half of the ninth and send the game into extras.

After FGCU went quietly in the top of the 10th, Stetson ended the game in the aforementioned bottom of the frame. Mike Spooner and Jack Gonzalez reached on back-to-back singles before Bogart was intentionally walked to load the bases. Arena then came through with the game-winning hit.

Offensively, Gonzlaez recorded his third straight game with multiple hits and extended his season-long hit streak to 10 games. The junior shortstop is 9-for-his-last-12 dating back to the series finale versus Jacksonville. Additionally, Rivera went 2-for-4 from the plate and has now reached base in 25 straight games. It was the redshirt senior slugger's fifth straight game with a hit and third straight with a RBI.

UP NEXT
Game two of the three-game set between the Eagles and Hatters is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Melching Field. FGCU will send southpaw Josh Dye (5-1, 3.14) to the mound to take on Stetson right hander Jack Perkins (3-3, 2.67).   
 
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 514-304-3 record (.626) 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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.