BOCA RATON, Fla. – Two timely hits and aggressive baserunning proved to be the difference Wednesday night as the FGCU baseball team defeated #22 FAU 4-2. The Eagles (28-11) never trailed and held off multiple chances for the Owls (29-10-1), who entered the day No. 15 in the RPI, before coming away with the win.

"This was a really big win for us," said head coach Dave Tollett. "They've had a great season and are a very talented ballclub. Lumbert got us off to a strong start and we made some big defensive plays early with those double plays. Offensively we were able to string some hits together and got some big at-bats from Proffitt and Garcia."

FGCU got on the board in the second behind the first of two RBI for Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS). The freshman tacked on the second in the fourth, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead. After FAU scored one in the bottom half of the inning, Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) got the run right back for the Green and Blue in the fifth. The sophomore found the palm trees in left field to put FGCU in front 3-1. Garcia provided some energy again in the eighth, using his speed to produce another run only for FAU to score in the bottom half to make it 4-2. The Eagles were able to close out the win, stranding eight Owls on the basepaths in the process.

FGCU recorded one-out hits in each of the first two innings, the second coming off the bat of Eric Gonzalez (Miami, Fla./American Senior HS/ASA College) who would later score the game's first run. After his single, Gonzalez went first to third on a Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) single and advanced another 90 feet on a Proffitt high chopper to give FGCU a 1-0 lead.

Evan Lumbert (Orlando, Fla./Boone HS/South Florida State) forced two double plays over the first three innings, allowing him to face the minimum through three frames, keeping the Owls off the board.

Proffitt picked up another RBI in the fourth, following singles from Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Kansas City Kansas Community College) and Elijah Eusebio (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior HS). Proffitt's two-out single brought in Lovell, who led off the inning with a single to right, while Eusebio's base hit up the middle was the first hit of his career.

Lumbert got in a jam in the fourth following a close call a first. A one-out single led to nearly another double play but the relay throw to first was just late. After a walk and a hit by pitch, the Owls had the bases loaded when another hit by pitch plated the first run for FAU. Lumbert limited the damage, forcing a fly out to right to end the inning.

Garcia, however, got the run back for FGCU in the fifth, hitting his sixth home run of the season to left to make it 3-1 in favor of the Eagles. The RBI was Garcia's conference-leading 41st.

Offense led to defense in the fifth when a two-out single led to a strong throw from Lovell that was cut off by Garcia. The Owl baserunner took an aggressive turn around third, allowing Garcia just enough time to flip to Proffitt who applied the tag to end the inning.

Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) entered in the sixth and stranded one before working a clean seventh, sending FGCU back to the plate.

Garcia was again involved in the eighth when the third baseman walked to lead off the inning and went first to third on a single to left from Lovell. The throw from left was in late and Lovell attempted to go to second. The throw to second got away, allowing Garcia to score to make it 4-1.

Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Viera HS/Eastern Florida State College) then came on in the eighth and allowed one in the inning but stranded two. The redshirt-senior then worked a scoreless ninth to secure the win.

Lumbert (5-2) worked 5.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits with one strikeout. Hamilton struck out two in his 1.1 innings of relief. Hering earned his seventh save in his 2.0 innings of work.

UP NEXT
FGCU returns home to face Kennesaw State. The three-game series with the Owls begins 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 561-327-3 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.