TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (10-6) was handed a 9-6 loss in the first of four games against Florida A&M (4-14) on Friday night at Moore-Kittles field. Though the Eagles had a chance to take the lead after putting up a pair of runs in the top of the ninth, they were unable to overcome the deficit.

Junior Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) led the team at the plate, finishing his night 3-for-4 with four RBI and one run scored. He was one of two players to turn in a multi-hit game, joined by senior Cameron Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS), who tallied a pair of knocks.

"You have to give credit to Florida A&M because they were able to score all but two of their runs with two outs," head coach Dave Tollett said. "I haven't seen that happen much in the game of baseball. We need to figure out how to get the final out in those situations."

Senior Mason Studstill (Titusville, Fla./Rockledge HS/Miami/Eastern Florida State) began the game by retiring six-straight Rattlers, taking one down swinging. An FGCU miscue in the bottom of the third allowed the Rattlers to push a trio of unearned runs across, handing the home team an early 3-0 advantage.

After struggling to string together something offensively in the opening innings, the Eagles were able to get on the board in their half of the fifth. Sophomore Johnny Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS), who was plunked, and freshman Zac Calhoon (Osprey, Fla./Venice HS), who reached on a throwing error, were both driven in after Ellis tripled, scoring the team's first two runs of the night. Senior Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) then tied things up at 3-3 with a sac fly that plated Ellis.  

The teams did not remain knotted up for long, as a wild pitch scored the Rattlers' fourth run of the night during the bottom of the frame. Florida A&M threatened to do more damage by loading up the bases, but Studstill bounced back with a strikeout and got out of the inning.

In the following frame, the Eagles made their first pitching change of the night and brought out freshman Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Pa./East Ridge HS) from the bullpen. The rookie cruised through his first inning of work and retired the Rattlers in order.

FGCU's offense went cold after the spurt in the fifth, as Florida A&M was able to retire six-straight over the next two innings. The Rattlers took advantage of the opportunity and added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh, using back-to-back RBI singles to extend their edge to 6-3.

Sophomore Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) brought the team within two runs with a solo shot in the top of the eighth. His third home run of the season cut the lead down to 6-4, but was the only run that the Eagles were able to tag up.

The Rattlers then went on to score for the second-consecutive inning and re-distanced themselves from the visiting team with a three-run outburst. A two-RBI single kicked off the scoring and ended the night for Victor, who turned things over to redshirt-freshman Levi Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS). The reliever allowed one of the inherited runners to score, making it a 9-4 ballgame, but ended things with a strikeout.

FGCU attempted to stage a rally in the top of the ninth, pushing a pair of two-out runs across with Ellis' two-RBI single. With the tying run at the plate, the Rattlers opted to make a pitching change and the new arm recorded the final out, cementing the home team's 9-6 victory.

With the result, Studstill was tagged with his first loss of the season, moving him to 2-1 on the year.

The teams will continue the series on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader at Moore-Kittles Field. The first game is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch. Following Saturday's action, the teams will wrap up the series at Noon on Sunday.

For complete coverage of FGCU baseball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_Baseball and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU baseball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 619-370-3 overall record (.625) and a 199-109 (.646) record in the ASUN. He is the only head coach in the program's history and led the program to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. He is a five-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to five ASUN Regular Season Championships and one ASUN Tournament Championship. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions, including as high as No. 9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 54 all-conference selections, 33 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 13 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 seven-time MLB All-Star.

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FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM—