FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU baseball flipped the script on ETSU Saturday afternoon, scoring six runs late to defeat the Buccaneers 6-1 and even the weekend series. Scoreless through six, the Eagles (5-1) broke the deadlock and plated a pair of runs in the seventh before breaking the game open with a four-run eighth to take down the Bucs (3-2).

"(Dye) was awesome, "said head coach Dave Tollett. "It was like a video game out there. He was putting the ball where he wanted to, moving it up and down, in and out. When Josh is on like that, he's pretty good. ETSU is really good and for us to get three RBI from Christian Proffitt in the nine-hole, that's huge."

Both starters overcame rough first innings to post zeroes through six innings. Josh Dye (DeLand, Fla/DeLand HS) stranded two runners in scoring position in the first before scattering five hits the rest of the way en route to his first victory of the season. With two away in the seventh, Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) doubled down the line in right and came around to score on a Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) RBI single. One pitch later, Proffitt came home to score on a Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) double. Home runs off the bats of Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State) and Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) supplied the power in a four-run eighth that all but secured the win for FGCU as the Green and Blue bounced back from their first loss of the season.

With runners at second and third and nobody out, Dye was in an early jam against the Bucs but the redshirt-junior struck out the next three batters to keep ETSU off the board. FGCU also put a pair of runners on thanks to singles from Gilmore and Garcia but neither would cross the plate to keep the game scoreless.

After both sides exchanged hits in the second, ETSU threatened again in the third. A two-out double over the head of Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Kansas City Kansas Community College) put the Bucs in position to grab the game's first run. On a 1-2 count, ETSU's Caleb Longley found a hole on the left side. Lovell came up throwing, firing a strike to Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian Senior HS/Seminole State College) who applied the tag on Christian Bailey to keep the game scoreless.

As the game moved into the seventh, FGCU finally broke through. Smith hit the first pitch he saw down the line in right for a two-out, stand-up double. Proffitt then dug in, hitting an 0-1 offering back up the middle and off the second baseman's glove to bring around Smith. Coffers doubled the lead on a double to center that scored Proffitt from first.

Dye then gave way to Peyton Gray (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East HS/Gulf Coast State College) who worked around a two-out walk to preserve the 2-0 lead. ETSU would also go to the bullpen with a different result. After two home runs yesterday, Gilmore continued to swing a hot bat, hitting a 2-0 pitch over the wall in right-center to make it a 3-0 ballgame. Three pitches later, Garcia followed suit with his first long ball of the season.

The Green and Blue did not stop there, sending all nine batters to the plate including an RBI single from Proffitt that scored two more runs.

Gray conceded a run in the ninth but completed the victory and his first save of the year with a strikeout. Dye (1-0) allowed six hits with five strikeouts in his 7.0 innings of shutout ball. Gray allowed one run on one hit over the final 2.0 innings.

Gilmore led the Eagles with three hits while Proffitt collected three of FGCU's six RBI. Coffers, Garcia, Proffitt and Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) all tallied two hits in the win.

FGCU goes for the series victory tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the rubber match of the three-game series.
 
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 16th season, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 538-317-3 record (.626) as the only head coach in the program's history and is coming off the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. 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, including as high as #9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 49 All-Conference selections, 29 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.