In his first career collegiate game,
Javier Gorostola went 3-for-6 with four RBI, including the game-winner, as Florida Gulf Coast University defeated its cross-state rivals from the University of Miami 12-10 in 12 innings Wednesday night in Coral Gables.
"What a great night for your first career start, and to do it in your hometown," said FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett. "It's one of those stories that sometimes needs to be written again, and it was tonight. It was the first time we could get him in the lineup this year and it really paid off."
The game was the longest for FGCU since a 5-3 16-inning win over Bethune-Cookman Feb. 29, 2020. While the wait was long, the victory was worth it as the Eagles made it back-to-back wins in the all-time series for just the second time in program history.
Robert Moya started the scoring with a two-run blast to left center in the first to stake the Eagles (3-5) to a 2-0 lead. Miami (5-3) came back with four runs in the second, but the Eagles didn't wilt away. In his second collegiate at-bat, Gorostola sent a 1-0 offering through the left side of the infield to plate a pair and tie the game at 4-all.
The Hurricanes manufactured a run in the fifth, then tacked on two more in the sixth to lead by three. It was there that Coach Tollett said the experiences of the early-season games at No. 5 Texas Christian came back to help the squad. "Miami had a lot of momentum, but I think the TCU games for an inexperienced team paid a lot of dividends tonight," Coach Tollett said. "They got down three, but they just kept playing."
Moya would continue his hot hitting at the plate with an RBI single back up the middle to make it 7-5.
Derek Crum worked around a one-out walk in the seventh to retire Miami, and the FGCU offense returned to work in the eighth. After a one-out double by Gorostola put two men in scoring position,
Jake McKee - who entered as a defensive substitution in the sixth - went after the first pitch he saw and sent it into center for a two-run single to tie the game. When the throw home bounced away, McKee would find himself 90-feet away from home with the go-ahead run. One batter later,
Trevor Kole did his job. A sacrifice fly to center scored McKee from third and the Eagles reclaimed the lead, 8-7.
Miami would tie the game back up with a leadoff homer in the eighth, and a replay review would give Miami a runner on first under strange circumstances.
Alejandro Valiente would come in from the bullpen and get out of the would-be jam thanks to his own heads-up defense. Miami attempted to bunt the runner into scoring position, and when the throw went to first, the runner already on the bases kept charging towards third. Valiente would get to the bag to receive the throw from first, then fielded the throw on a hop and laid down the tag to get the runner. Replay review favored the guests this time and the score stayed 8-8.
The Eagles left a runner on third in the ninth, but Miami would do the same after
Lucas Hartman came in with a runner on and no one out to get FGCU out of the inning. The pitching change would be the last one Coach Tollett would make as Hartman stayed on the bump deep into extra innings.
The Green & Blue finally punched through for good in the 12th. With the bases loaded,
Harrison Povey's fly ball to center was deep enough to score
Mac Moise and make it 9-8.
Jacob Lojewski would then hit a ground ball deep down the line at third. The throw across to get Lojewski was late, and when it sailed to the railing behind first base,
Ian Farrow came home to make it 10-8. Now with two men in scoring position, Gorostola put a cap on a night he'll never forget as his single through the left side on a 1-2 count scored both runners to give FGCU a 12-8 lead.
A tiring Hartman would retake the mound in the home half of the inning. The hurler would have to throw 33 pitches in the inning, and while Miami scored twice and loaded the bases, he would get a fly ball to Farrow in right to end the game and give the Eagles the win.
"Lucas made a lot of great pitches," said Coach Tollett. "I thought he only made one bad pitch. Crum had a great outing with three punchouts. The whole bullpen really did a job for us."
The Eagles will be back in action Friday at Swanson Stadium for the opening game of a three-game set against Xavier. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
