FORT MYERS, Fla. – A patient approach at the plate along with four multi-run innings helped the FGCU baseball team take the series from former ASUN-foe ETSU Sunday with an 11-2 victory in the finale. After splitting the first two contests, FGCU (6-1) drew 11 walks and hit two home runs late to claim the series over the Buccaneers (3-3).

"Any time you win the series it's always good," said head coach Dave Tollett following his team's sixth win in seven tries to open the season, the program's best start since 2010. "It's Division I baseball and everyone is pretty good. Today, I thought we took advantage of their mistakes. We were winning the ballgame but they were out-hitting us at one point but we did a good job taking advantage of the walks and errors. Wilcox out of the bullpen, that's two-straight outings out of the freshman where he's done an unbelievable job."

Six of FGCU's runs came without a hit including a bases-loaded walk in the second, sacrifice flies in the second and third and a wild pitch in the fifth. Both starting pitchers were removed early in the contest and FGCU looked to freshman Bryan Wilcox (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) to provide long relief. In his second appearance, Wilcox earned his first career win after working 4.1 innings to keep the Eagles well in front throughout the afternoon. Leading 7-2 after six innings, home runs from Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) and Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) capped a drama-free Sunday matinee for the Green and Blue.

Making his first career start, Evan Lumbert (Orlando, Fla./Boone HS/South Florida State) got some help from Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian Senior HS/Seminole State College) behind the plate to end the first. Levine caught one runner stealing and picked another off at first to keep the Bucs off the board.

Meanwhile in the FGCU half, the Eagles had runners at second and third with one out for Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) who reached on an error that would have plated Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) anyway, but instead also allowed Brait to come through with a productive ground out to make it 2-0 after one inning of play.

ETSU pulled one run back in the second, only for the Eagles to load the bases with nobody out and utilize an infield single, a walk, and a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-1 ballgame.

The Eagles loaded the bases once again in the third, this time using a sacrifice fly from Coffers to add to their lead.

Lumbert got in a jam in the fourth as ETSU scored once and put runners at first and second with one out before Wilcox entered the game. The southpaw struck out the next two batters he faced to get out of the inning and continued to dominate the ETSU lineup, allowing just one hit during his 4.1 innings of work.

After a wild pitch scored FGCU's seventh run in the fifth, the Eagles struck again in the seventh when Brait hit his second home run of the season with a runner on to make it 9-2. The next inning, Hayes hit his first of the year to extend the lead to 11-2.

Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) and Trey Vickery (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) tossed the final 1.1 for the Green and Blue. Lumbert finished with three strikeouts over 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits but no walks. Wilcox (1-0) struck out six over his 4.1 innings of work, allowing just the one hit.

Coffers, Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State), and Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Kansas City Kansas Community College) all finished with two hits while Brait tallied three RBI to lead FGCU offensively.

UP NEXT
The Eagles hit the road for the first time this season. FGCU travels to Daytona Beach for a three-game series with Bethune-Cookman beginning Friday before heading to Tallahassee to face Florida A&M the following Tuesday.

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 539-317-3 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.