SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The FGCU baseball team dropped the series opener to USC Upstate Friday night 7-6. The Eagles (25-11, 3-4 ASUN) held a brief lead, but a two-run home run put the Spartans (21-20-1, 4-6) back in front for good in the sixth, holding off a late rally from the Green and Blue who loaded the bases in the ninth but could push across the tying run.

"We talked a lot about energy after the Miami game," said head coach Dave Tollett. "We did some good things; we scored six runs on a Friday night, which should give us the win, but there are still some things we need to work on. We have to bounce back tomorrow and try to win this series. "

Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) led off the game with a leadoff double but was stranded on the bases, allowing the Spartans to take a 2-0 lead into the second. FGCU got one run back when Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) scored on a wild pitch, beginning a back-and-forth affair.

After the Spartans scored another in the third, FGCU loaded the bases in the fourth, scoring on a Coffers single to center that brought Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) to make it 3-2.

USC Upstate again tacked on another to make it 4-2, but FGCU had an answer again in the top of the fifth thanks to Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State). The redshirt-sophomore hit his ninth home run of the season to right to cut the deficit to 4-3.

FGCU then took the lead in the sixth when Coffers homered to left, also bringing Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) home. The lead was short-lived, however, as USC Upstate used a two-run home of its own to regain the lead 6-5.

Another run in the bottom of the seventh made it 7-5, though the Spartans stranded a pair.

The Eagles threatened again in the eighth, putting the tying run on base but came away scoreless.

FGCU had another chance to tie the game or take the lead in the ninth, loading the bases with one out. Coffers brought in one on a bases-loaded walk to cut the lead to 7-6 but the Eagles left the bases loaded as the game came to an end.

Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) went 5.2 innings, allowing six runs on six hits. Leon was hit with the loss and moves to 5-2. Trey Vickery (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) tossed 0.1 innings, conceding one run on one hit. Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Viera HS/Eastern Florida State College) then entered and tossed the final 2.0 innings, allowing one hit in that time.

UP NEXT
FGCU tries to even the series tomorrow at 2 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG
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DAVE TOLLETT
In his 16th season, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 558-327-3 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.