DELAND, Fla. – After defeating No. 6 Lipscomb (28-28, 9-12 ASUN), 3-1, in its first elimination game of the day, No. 3 FGCU (40-18, 13-8 ASUN) made its way to its second straight ASUN Championship Game behind a walk-off single from Matt Reardon to down No. 5 Kennesaw State (25-32, 10-11 ASUN), 6-5, Friday night at Melching Field.

After stranding 17 runners through the first eight innings, FGCU loaded the bases for the fourth time in the game in the top of the ninth. This time, Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) squared up a 2-2 fastball from Kennesaw State reliever Eric Stahl and drove it into the gap in left-center field to score Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) from third and send the Eagles into a frenzy in shallow right field.

The win marks the team's Division I program record 40th of the season, and the Green and Blue will take on No. 1 Jacksonville (36-22, 16-5 ASUN) Saturday at 1 p.m. The Eagles will need to defeat the Dolphins in back-to-back games in order to earn its first ASUN postseason title in program history.

"That was the clutch hit we had been looking for all night, and Matt has been playing with nothing but heart and guts right now," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We needed that. We're on fumes right now, but there's a little gas left in that tank. All of our pitchers did a great job today. Garrett (Anderson) turned in a heck of a performance in game one, and Mario (Leon) and Kenton (Hering) backed him up in game two. Kenton was really special. I don't know the last time I saw a performance like that in the backend. It gets us to 40 wins, and I think we can talk about a real chance at an at-large berth. We're playing for the automatic bid first and foremost, though."  

GAME ONE
Lipscomb struck in the top of the first inning, but that's all the Bisons would get against the FGCU pitching combination of Garrett Anderson (7-1, 3.48) and Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS), who allowed only four hits with a combined eight strikeouts in the game.

Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) issued a walk to Michael Gigliotti to start the game, and the speedster got Lipscomb out to an early lead as he advanced to third on a single to left and scored on a sac fly to center off the bat of Zeke Dodson.

The Eagles answered right back, though, as Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) started a two-out rally in the home half of the inning with a single into left field, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Richie Garcia's (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) RBI single up the middle to even the score at one.

Lipscomb's Hunter Hanks hit a leadoff single through the left side to start the top of the second inning, but some solid FGCU defense erased the second baseman on a failed sac bunt, and the Eagles got out of the inning on a 4-6-3 double play. Anderson retired 11 of the 12 Bisons he faced from the aforementioned point in the second inning through the fifth.

With Anderson turning in a gutsy performance on the mound and fighting through what appeared to be cramps in sixth inning, FGCU broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the frame. Garcia drew a two-out walk, advanced to second as Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) was hit by a pitch and scored the go-ahead run when Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS) flared a single into left field that was lost in the sun by Lipscomb outfielder Tevin Symonette.

After spending an extended amount of time in the dugout during a long bottom of the seventh inning when FGCU left the bases loaded, Anderson took the mound to start the top of the eighth and hit Lipscomb catcher Jeffrey Crisan with his first pitch of the frame. He then recorded the first out of the inning before giving way to Hering, who didn't allow a hit and struck out two batters in the final 1.2 innings en route to earning the save.

GAME TWO
Much like game one against the Bisons, Kennesaw State struck first one a trio of singles that found holes in the FGCU defense to take a 1-0 lead.

However, the Eagles answered right back with a first-inning run of their own for the second time in the day. Coffers stayed hot from the plate and extended his hit streak to six games with a RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) and tie the game.

Two innings later, the freshman from Naples drove in his second run of the game on a RBI single to right field to give FGCU the lead, and the Eagles extended its advantage as Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. However. Kennesaw State reliever Brock Turner retired the next two Eagles to minimize the damage and leave the bases loaded.

Coffers continued to produce at the plate as he came around for the third time in four innings and drove in his third run of the game on a sac fly to right field with the bases loaded and extended the lead to 4-1. Again, though, the Eagles left more runs on the base paths as two more were stranded in the frame.

Starting pitcher Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) retired 15 batters in a row from the first until the sixth inning and registered a career-high 10 strikeouts. He matched his previous career-best mark in his first 4.1 innings pitched and set a new mark in his first 5.2 frames. He was the second FGCU pitcher this season and of the ASUN Tournament to strike out 10 or more batters in a game. 

However, Kennesaw State was able to get to the redshirt junior right-hander with a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh. Three-hole hitter Austin Upshaw provided the big blow with a two-RBI single back up the middle to even things up, 5-5, and run Leon from the game.  

FGCU had opportunities to reclaim its lead by loading the bases in both the seventh and eighth innings, but the Eagles left them loaded on both occasions and the game remained tied. Hering (7-3, 2.11) was lights out in relief, though, as he tossed the final 2.1 innings and allowed only one hit with one walk and a season-high-matching six strikeouts en route to earning the win thanks to Reardon's theatrics. 

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 530-314-3 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, three 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.