GAINESVILLE, Fla. – FGCU baseball's attempt at a third-straight upset win over Florida fell short Tuesday night as the #22 Eagles (22-6) suffered an 8-4 loss to the #1 Gators (26-5).

"We performed really well at the plate," said head coach Dave Tollett. "To get 11 hits off maybe the best staff in the country is saying something. We did what we wanted to do offensively, the game just turned on a couple plays in the sixth. We got in a cluster of a play and it changed the whole momentum. We'll forget about this and get back out there Thursday and try to win a championship but we leave here knowing we can play."

The Eagles tallied a run in the first only for the home side to respond with a run in the first three innings. FGCU kept the game close, closing the gap in the fourth to 3-2 with the tying run 90 feet away. The score remained 3-2 when Eric Gonzalez (Miami, Fla./American Senior HS/ASA College) was robbed of a home run that would have put the Eagles in front in the sixth. It was in the bottom half that Florida plated five runs to take an 8-2 lead on a pair of errors to put the game out of reach. As the game moved to the eighth, Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State) hit his eighth home run of the year, to make it 8-4 and conclude the scoring.
 
The Eagles got off to a near-perfect start when Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) doubled down the line in left, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and crossed the plate on a Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) single to right. Two batters later, Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) found the gap in right-center, but it was cut off and the relay home was perfect to cut down Garcia, keeping it at a 1-0 lead for FGCU.

The Gators tied the game in the first on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and took a 3-1 lead into the fourth following single runs in the second and third.

The Green and Blue cut into the deficit in the fourth behind consecutive singles off the bats of Gilmore and Hayes. Following a balk to advance both runners, Gilmore scored on a passed ball though Hayes was left at third when the inning ended.

Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) helped keep the Gators off the board in the fifth, denying a second-straight one-out single, making a diving play up the middle to keep the ball in the infield and retire the lead runner.

In the sixth, Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) kept the inning going with a two-out single back up the middle allowing Gonzalez to step in. On a 1-0 pitch, the junior was robbed of a home run that would have given FGCU the lead.

Florida then broke the game open in the bottom half of the inning, scoring five runs, including a three-run home run to make it 8-2. The Gators took advantage of two FGCU errors, including one on a rundown that allowed a run to score and another on the very next chance that also scored a run.

In the eighth, Morey got the Eagles started with a single to left, allowing Gilmore to come up with one on and one out. After working the count full, Gilmore crushed his eighth home run of the season, clearing the scoreboard in right-center to make it 8-4.
 
Evan Lumbert (Orlando, Fla./Boone HS/South Florida State) fought through 5.0 innings but suffered his first loss of the season (4-1), allowing two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Justin Gill (Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region HS/Polk State) surrendered two earned on two hits over 0.1 of an inning. Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) worked 0.2 of an inning, conceding a run on two hits while Trey Vickery (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) tossed 1.1 innings, walking one and striking out two. Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) completed the final 0.2 of an inning.

Hayes tallied three hits in the loss while Gilmore scored twice and brought in two more.

UP NEXT
FGCU opens ASUN conference play Friday when NJIT makes the trip to Fort Myers. The three-game series 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 555-322-3 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.