FORT MYERS, Fla. -
Robert Moya's opposite-field single scored
Charles Davalan with two outs in the eighth inning as Florida Gulf Coast University opened up the home portion of its baseball schedule for the season with a 5-4 win over Bethune-Cookman Friday night at Swanson Stadium.
The win came as FGCU (1-4) limited the Wildcats to just four hits on the night. The Eagles also played a clean game in the field as they turned in their second game of the season without an error.
"It was good for our club to get to experience a win against a real good club," said FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett. "[Bethune-Cookman] was 3-1 with a big win midweek at FIU, so we knew it was going to be a dog fight. I thought
Lucas Hartman was pretty special at the end. I thought
Alejandro Valiente was good for the first two innings he was out there."
Starting pitcher
Anthony Ursitti had the longest outing of his collegiate career, working four solid innings and allowing just two runs on two hits. "From last Friday to this Friday, he was so much better," said Coach Tollett. "I'm happy for Anthony."
Jacob Lojewski's RBI single in the first put the Eagles on top, but Bethune-Cookman (3-2) came back with runs in the second and the fourth to grab a 2-1 lead. FGCU answered in the bottom of the fourth as
Dalton Robinson ripped a double into the right field corner, scoring
Harrison Povey from first to knot the score, 2-2.
A sacrifice fly off the bat of
Ian Farrow scored
Mac Moise in the fifth to give the Eagles a 3-2 advantage. A sacrifice fly by the Wildcats in the top of the seventh would tie the score again, but Povey lined a single back up the middle in the bottom of the inning to plate Farrow and put FGCU on top, 4-3.
That set the stage for the score to bounce back and forth one more time in the eighth. A two-out solo homer off the bat of the Wildcats' Jorge Gonzalez Febo tied the score 4-4. The Green & Blue would strike back one last time. With two men out, Davalan legged out an infield hit. After a four-pitch walk to Farrow, Moya stepped to the plate with the opportunity to be the hero and break an 0-for-16 slump. The senior would deliver with an inside-out cut at an 0-1 pitch for a shot through the right side. Davalan sprinted and slid home with the go-ahead run, and the Eagles had the 5-4 lead.
Hartman came out to pitch the ninth and closed out his 2.2 innings of relief in style, retiring the side in order to give FGCU its first win of the season.
The two sides will continue the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in a game available via ESPN+.
