CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – After setting the single-season wins record, claiming its first ASUN Tournament Title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, No. 2 FGCU's (43-20) record-setting season came to a close with a 10-1 loss against No. 1 North Carolina (49-13) Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
The Eagles fell in an early hole against the Tar Heels as they trailed 3-0 through two innings, and the deficit proved to be too much against the #2 national seed as UNC was able to execute hit-and-runs and take the extra bases en route to advancing to the Chapel Hill Regional Final.
Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth, the Green and Blue
got on the scoreboard when starting pitcher Tyler Baum got into some trouble and was relieved by right-handed freshman Austin Bergner. However, with the bases loaded and one out, all the Eagles would get out of the inning was a run on a RBI groundout from
Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS).
From there, the Tar Heels extended their lead with a run in the seventh before opening things up in a four-run eighth to get to the eventual final of 10-1.
FGCU starting pitcher
Garrett Anderson (7-2, 3.90) suffered the loss as he allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Baum (7-0, 2.50) earned the win as he tossed 5.1 innings and allowed the lone run on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
"First of all, we were excited to be here for our first trip, but today Carolina was a lot better than us," said FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett. "We thought we had to come out and get the lead, put a little pressure on them. That never happened, and once they got ahead they could play the hit-and-run game and be able to run. So it really took us out of our game plan. I thought we had a couple chances with the walks, but when it got tough, Baum got tough also. It's been a great ride, and I'm proud of the guys for all they have accomplished."
UNC jumped out to an early lead after Brian Miller started the game with a single to center, stole second base and later scored on a RBI groundout from Kyle Datres.
The Tar Heels extended the lead in their next at-bat when Cody Roberts sent a hit-and-run single through the right side of the infield and Michael Busch came all the way around to score from first as the ball skipped under the glove of
Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) in right field. Roberts advanced to second on the error, and Miller then hit a RBI single through the right side to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
After
Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) worked a pair of scoreless frames in the third and fourth and
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) made a diving stab to start a double play in the top of the fifth, UNC added to its lead with a two-out double followed by back-to-back RBI singles up the middle to run Anderson from the game.
Junior right-hander
Peyton Gray (Columbus, Ind./Gulf Coast State/Columbus East HS) entered the game in relief and struck out three of the first four batters he faced. Gray ran into trouble in the eighth, though, and gave way to
Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS), who closed out his FGCU career by recording the final four outs.
A one-out hit-by-pitch, single from Coffers and walk loaded the bases for the Green and Blue in the aforementioned sixth to run Baum from the game. However, the Tar Heels and Bergner held the damage to the one run as a pair of groundouts ended the inning.
The loss caps off a season of firsts for FGCU as the Eagles not only achieved the highest ranking of any athletics program in school history by being tabbed as high as #9 in the country, but also earned wins against Florida, FSU and Miami in the same season for the first time ever. The team claimed its first ASUN Tournament Title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning four games out of the loser's bracket in less than 29 hours, and went on to defeat Michigan, 10-6, in its first-ever tournament game.
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 533-316-3 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 and one ASUN Tournament Championship. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets and has coached 49 All-Conference selections, 27 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 17 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.
