TAMPA, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team had its seven-game win streak end Tuesday night at the hands of the USF Bulls. The Eagles (13-3) were unable to overcome a five-run fourth, falling to the Bulls (11-6) 10-3.
"USF was simply the better team tonight," said head coach
Dave Tollett. "We didn't do the things we needed to do to win the ballgame. USF is a good baseball team and when you give them some extra opportunities, you risk them taking advantage. We've got to get back to work, fix what went wrong and get back out there this weekend against Rutgers."
FGCU entered the contest with a 7-0 record against USF in Tampa but a five-run fourth followed by a two-run fifth gave the Eagles their first road loss in the in-state rivalry. The Green and Blue threatened in the first, loading the bases only for a line drive turn into an inning-ending double play. Meanwhile, the hosts plated a run in the first on a bases loaded hit by pitch, before breaking the game open in the fourth. FGCU cut into the lead in the fifth on a
Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) double, but could not close the gap any further, falling 10-3.
FGCU's first inning could have gone much differently had it not been for an unlucky, hard hit ball hit directly at the third baseman. After Coffers led off the game with a single through the left side, the Eagles loaded the bases after
Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State) was hit by a pitch and
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) singled to right. With
Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) at the plate, the first baseman lined a 1-2 pitch to third, where it was caught and Coffers was doubled off to end the inning.
USF also loaded the bases in the first against starter
Peyton Gray (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East HS/Gulf Coast State College) and with two outs, scored on a hit by pitch, though Gray limited the damage to just the one run.
Gray settled down, retiring seven of the next nine batters until hitting another batter with one out in the fourth. After an error on an errant pickoff throw and another hit batter,
Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) entered the game attempting to limit the damage but the Bulls scored five runs in the inning to make it a 6-0 ballgame.
The Eagles came through in the top of the fifth when Coffers brought in
Eric Gonzalez (Miami, Fla./American Senior HS/ASA College), making it 6-1 only for the Bulls to score twice in the bottom half and once again in the sixth.
Following another Bulls' tally in the seventh, FGCU scored runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to conclude the scoring.
Gray (0-1) suffered the loss, tossing 3.1 innings, allowing three runs in that time on a pair of hits while striking out eight. Shuck fanned one in his 1.0 inning of work while
Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) kept the Bulls off the board during his 0.2 innings.
Trey Vickery (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek HS),
Sebastian Gruszecki (Dudley, Mass./Shepherd Hill Regional HS), and
Bryan Wilcox (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) each worked 1.0 inning to close out the game.
Coffers, Garcia, and Gonzalez
led FGCU at the plate, all of whom recorded two hits.
UP NEXT
FGCU welcomes Big Ten foe Rutgers to the Swanson Stadium for a weekend series beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.
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 546-319-3 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.
