FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball lost a tough contest to Kennesaw State Friday night in the series opener. The Eagles (28-12, 5-5 ASUN) dropped the affair 2-1 to the league-leading Owls (24-18, 10-3 ASUN) in a hard-fought pitcher's duel.
 
"We didn't do the simple things today to come away with a win," said head coach Dave Tollett. "Mario pitched really well tonight but give Kennesaw State credit. That's a good ballclub and they came to play. We need to be better tomorrow to even up the series."
 
Neither team was able to push a run across in the first but the visitors scored one in the second. FGCU then countered in the third on a Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) RBI single to even up the score. The Owls, however, took advantage of an error in the fourth that turned out to be the winning run. Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) kept FGCU in the game, but the Eagles were unable to come back in the opener.
 
Both teams squandered opportunities to score in the first before the Owls nabbed the lead in the second when KSU used a leadoff double and a pair of groundouts to take a slim 1-0 advantage.
 
FGCU tied the game in the third, compliments of Proffitt's RBI single. The inning began with an Eric Gonzalez (Miami, Fla./American Senior HS/ASA College) walk before Elijah Eusebio (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior HS) put runners at the corners with his third single in four at-bats. Proffitt delivered for the second-straight game, hitting a shallow single to left center to tie the game. The Eagles, however, left a runner on the bases to keep the game tied at 1-1.
 
KSU regained the advantage in the fourth, taking advantage of a two-base wild pitch and an error.
 
Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) entered in the eighth with one out and the bases empty and worked 1.2 scoreless innings to keep FGCU within 2-1.
 
FGCU was forced to wait until the eighth for its next baserunner when Proffitt tallied his second hit of the evening but the freshman was left at second.
 
The Eagles had another baserunner in the ninth but a pickoff ended the game.
 
Leon (5-3) tossed 7.1 strong innings, allowing two runs on nine hits while striking out five.
 
 UP NEXT
FGCU tries to even up the series Saturday at 2 p.m. In addition, it was announced prior to tonight's game that Sunday's finale will now begin at 12.
 
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 561-328-3 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.