FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University baseball dropped an extra-inning battle Sunday 11-10 in the series finale against Fairfield at Swanson Stadium.
FGCU had a chance to extend the game to the 11th inning. Down one in the 10th, freshman Aiden Corn produced a leadoff single up the middle to put the pressure back on Fairfield. Corn finished the day 5-for-6 with a double and two runs scored. Corn stole second on the second strikeout of the inning, giving FGCU hope with the tying runner in scoring position. Tyler Herb drew a two-out walk, but the Stags captured series victory with an infield groundout for the final out.
Herb delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give the Eagles back a one-run lead, 10-9, heading into the final frame. Fairfield responded with a run in the top of the ninth to send it to extras.
In the 10th, Fairfield used a two-out double to deep left-center to bring home the go-ahead and eventual winning run off of Anthony Ursitti, who was credited with the loss. Brendon Miller earned the win for the Stags, pitching the final 2.1 innings.
Eight combined runs were scored in the first inning Sunday. Fairfield started the game with a three-spot, but Harrison Povey connected on a three-run shot for the Eagles to tie it up. Two batters later, Mac Moise sent one over the wall to give FGCU a 5-3 lead.
The Eagles would hold that lead until the fifth. The Stags pushed across four more runs in the fifth inning off a single, triple and sac fly to take an 8-6 lead. Evan Dempsey nearly robbed a home run ball in the fifth, but he knocked the potential homer back into play to limit the hit to a triple. Dempsey would steal an extra-base hit in the top of the eight with a diving catch.
Javier Gorostola hit FGCU's third homer of the game in the bottom of the eight, tying the game once again at 9-9. Moise and Gorostola both had multiple hits Sunday as FGCU and Fairfield tallied 13 hits apiece.
FGCU shifts its focus to Tuesday, hosting Indiana State for a two-game series at Swanson Stadium. Indiana State has made an NCAA Regional the last two years.
