FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU cleanup hitter Eli Lovell finished off his first career four-hit performance with a walk-off single down the right-field line as the Eagles (32-16, 8-8 ASUN) claimed a 4-3 win in the series opener against Lipscomb (26-21, 8-8 ASUN) Friday night at Swanson Stadium.

After Lipscomb walked FGCU three-hole hitter Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the 11th, Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) stepped to the plate and carved a 3-2 fastball from Bisons reliever John Pryor just inside the right-field line to score Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) from third and end the game in walk-off fashion.

Earlier in the night, Lipscomb threatened to take a late lead with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth. However, FGCU reliever Kenton Hering (6-3, 2.37) entered the game and was able to get out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout.

Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) tossed 2.2 scoreless innings and allowed only one hit with one walk and two strikeouts en route to earning the win. Opposite Hering, Pryor (3-3, 6.68) suffered the loss as he pitched 3.1 innings and allowed the winning run in the bottom of the 11th.

The win marks FGCU's fourth straight, and the Eagles improve to 2-2 in extra-inning games this season. Additionally, it is the Green and Blue's first walk-off win of the season.

Coming off an offensive explosion two weekends ago at NJIT, FGCU registered 12 more hits in tonight's contest and has recorded double digit hits in a season-high four straight games.  

"A Friday-night game in the ASUN is always a dog fight," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We've had many battles with Lipscomb over the years and didn't expect anything different tonight. We had some chances to end it earlier, but we got the big hit from Eli in the 11th to win it. Kenton was huge. He's been our go-to guy for much of the year, and for him to get us out of the bases-loaded situation was huge."

Two-hole hitter Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) got the Eagles out to an early lead as he hit his second home run of the season and his career well over the right field fence in the bottom of the first inning. Two batters later, Lovell hit a no-doubter to left field to make it a 3-0 ballgame. It was Lovell's fifth home run of the season and fourth in his last six games.

FGCU put the first two base runners aboard and looked to add to its lead in the bottom of the fourth. However, a failed sacrifice bunt and 4-6-3 double play ended the inning without any damage done.

The next frame, Lipscomb got on the board as a sharp ground off the bat of leadoff hitter Michael Gigliotti went off the glove of Rivera at first base and allowed Tevin Symonette to score from third.

The Bisons then tied the game with two runs in its next at-bat. Jake Perry hit a RBI single to left field and advanced to second a fielding error by Lovell in left field. He later came around to score an unearned run on a RBI single from Lee Solomon to almost the same spot in left.

From there, both teams missed on multiple scoring opportunities as the Eagles and Bisons stranded a combined 14 runners from the seventh through the 10th innings. However, After loading the bases for the third time since the eighth inning, Lovell provided the aforementioned fireworks to end the game.

On the mound, FGCU starter Kutter Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS) allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched. He gave way to right hander Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS), who tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Offensively, Lovell went 4-for-5 with one run, three RBI and the previously mentioned no-doubt homerun. It was Lovell's fourth multi-hit effort in his last five games, and the cleanup hitter is 11-for-20 with three home runs and 10 RBI during the span. Rivera, Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) and Coffers also recorded two hits apiece.

UP NEXT
Due to a threat of rain late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, FGCU (32-16, 8-8 ASUN) and Lipscomb (26-21, 8-8 ASUN) have agreed to play a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Senior day festivities honoring the eight members of the FGCU baseball team are now scheduled to take place approximately 30 minutes prior to the 7 p.m. game. Please plan accordingly.

TICKETS
Single game tickets for this weekend 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 or by visiting either Alico Arena or the ticketing tent located outside of Swanson Stadium prior to the games.

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 522-312-3 record (.623) 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.