TAMPA, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team snapped a four-game skid on Tuesday as they took down South Florida, 12-4, in the Battle of I-75. The Eagles avenge a loss to the Bulls earlier in the season and improve to 21-12 while USF falls to 19-14. The win also improves the Eagles record against the Bulls in Tampa to an impressive 11-2.
"I thought we really responded well tonight" said head coach
Dave Tollett. "We got contributions from up-and-down the lineup including Kyle [Machado] and Corey [Clement] off the bench. Batcher also gave us a great couple of innings when we really needed it to not only keep USF off the board but to save some arms as we head into a big series with UNF on Thursday."
Four different players had two RBI on the night in a balanced effort while junior
Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) had three hits and scored three runs. Freshman
Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) had two hits including a home run, and reached base five times in the game.
The Eagles used seven pitchers in the game with their most important being redshirt-sophomore
Daniel Batcher (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins/State College of Florida), who threw 2.1 scoreless innings in the middle of the game to keep the Eagles ahead and allow them to expand their lead.
After the two teams traded run-scoring groundouts in the first two innings, Povey gave the Eagles the lead in the fourth with his 10th home run of the season, a solo shot the opposite way. He is now the third Eagle in double-digits this season, joining sophomore
Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) and junior
Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS).
The Eagles were not done in the fourth inning as junior
Luis Rodriguez (Guarenas, Venezuela/Miami Christian HS/Santa Fe College/Dyersburg State) and graduate student
Logan Sartori (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Texas A&M/Hutchinson CC) each drew walks before coming into score on a single by redshirt-junior
Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS).
The Bulls answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but FGCU responded with three more runs in the fifth. Sartori singled in one run before sophomore
Kyle Machado (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) knocked in another run with his first hit of the season. A second run scored on the hit by Machado as the throw from right field to third base sailed into the dugout.
South Florida got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, but Batcher came in to limit the damage. After using four pitchers in the first 4.2 innings, Batcher provided much-needed relief as he threw 2.1 innings to get the game to the eighth inning.
The Eagles added a run in the eighth on a wild pitch before putting the game away in the ninth with four runs. After Povey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded,
Luis Rodriguez drove in two with a single, preceding a run-scoring base knock from junior
Corey Clement (Pembroke Pines, Fla./West Broward HS), his first hit and RBI of the season.
On the mound, junior
Darien Smith (Jacksonville, Fla./University Christian HS/Eastern Florida State College/Jacksonville) and sophomore
Mason Miller (Odessa, Fla./Mitchell HS) kept the game from getting exciting as they each threw a perfect inning to close out the game.
The Eagles will return to Swanson Stadium for the first time in two weeks this Thursday to begin a three-game set with North Florida. First pitch on Thursday and Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. while Saturday will begin at 1 p.m.
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COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 657-397-3 overall record (.623) and a 218-120 (.647) 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 58 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.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
#FEEDFGCU
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 89 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) 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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.
