NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The FGCU baseball team (32-21, 8-13 ASUN) started off its doubleheader with a 5-1 victory over Lipscomb (23-28, 9-12 ASUN) but its postseason hopes came to an end Saturday evening in game two as the Eagles fell 11-4 at Dugan Field.

"We came out in game one and got the job done," said head coach Dave Tollett. "In our second game, it was a close one up until the fifth where it just got away from us in which ultimately we couldn't recover from in the end."

FGCU kicked off the afternoon with a 5-1 win behind Josh Dye's complete three-hit outing as the Green and Blue posted crooked numbers in the first and fifth before falling in game two 11-4 after Lipscomb pulled away using an eight-run fifth.

GAME ONE: FGCU 5, Lipscomb 1
FGCU got off to a fast start in a must-win game for the Green and Blue. Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) got the game started, getting hit by a pitch before moving to third on an Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) single through the right side. Both runners came around to score on a one-out double off the bat of Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State). FGCU loaded the bases but left all three on.

Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) retired the first seven batters he faced before the Bisons scored a run on two hits in the third.

Leading 2-1, Coffers fouled out to left but drove in Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS), who led off the fourth inning with a walk.

The next inning, FGCU extended its lead. The Eagles loaded the bases once more, taking advantage of two walks and a hit batter. Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) dug in and drove in both Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian Senior HS/Seminole State College) and Gilmore with a base hit up the middle to take a 5-1 lead into the sixth.

Dye (8-4) kept the Lipscomb bats at bay throughout, holding the home club to just three hits with the final coming in the seventh.  The left-hander threw 112 pitches for his second complete game of the season. Dye struck out eight batters and walked none.
 
GAME TWO: FGCU 4 , Lipscomb 11
FGCU and Lipscomb were tied at zero through the first two innings thanks to some quality pitching from Justin Gill (Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region HS/Polk State). The Eagles stranded four runners through the first three innings, sending the game into the bottom half scoreless.

Lipscomb pushed across a run in the bottom of the third on a two-out RBI single through the right side.

Neither side was able to produce a baserunner in the fourth but the momentum quickly swung in favor of the Bisons in the bottom of the fifth. Highlighted by two home runs, Lipscomb broke open the ballgame producing eight runs on eight hits to jump ahead 9-0 after five frames.

Soon after, the home side tacked on two more an inning later before FGCU got its first run in the top of the seventh. With one out, Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) got things going with a single, as two more base hits from Coffers and Brait filled the bags. After a pitching change from Lipscomb, Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) singled to center scoring Proffitt.

Not going away without a fight, FGCU pushed three across in the top of the ninth. Coffers tripled to left-center with one away, and would later score on a grounder by Brait. One batter later, Garcia's second hit of the night came through as a double, setting up Gilmore to blast his 11th homer of the year to left as the Eagles fell to Lipscomb 11-4.

Gill (1-3) gets tagged with the loss after four innings of work, giving up three runs on three hits. Coffers capped off his night going 3-for-4 as Garcia and Gilmore each finished 2-for-5.

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 565-337-3 record (.629) 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 six-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.