FORT MYERS, Fla. - A grand slam off the bat of
Tyler Herb put an exclamation point on an eight-run seventh inning as Florida Gulf Coast University rallied from a 6-1 deficit to defeat FIU 15-8 Tuesday afternoon at Swanson Stadium in baseball action.
"Today was great to see some great games out of our freshmen," said FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett. "We got 10 RBIs from the freshman group, so that's always good to see. The most impressive thing to me was for us to come from behind like that. As we get towards the finish, these games are going to get bigger and bigger and we're going to findout how we respond."
Trailing 6-1 heading to the home half of the sixth, the Eagles put fie on the board to knot the score. After an RBI ground out by
Mac Moise made it 6-2,
Cayden Hessemyer chopped the first pitch he saw back up the middle to plate a run and make it 6-3. An infield hit by
Harrison Povey put two men on for
Jon Embury. The freshman would turn on the first pitch he saw and send it over the wall in left for a three-run blast, tying the game at 6-6.
FGCU (16-24) would surge into the lead in the seventh. The first five batters of the inning would reach as
Jake McKee singled, then
Evan Dempsey doubled with McKee running on the pitch.
Robert Moya would be plunked to load the bases for Moise. The fifth-year catcher would fall behind 0-2 but battled back to draw a bases loaded walk and give the Eagles their first lead 7-6. After the long at-bat by Moise, Hessemyer swung at the first pitch he saw and sent it back up the middle for an RBI single and an 8-6 advantage.
The Eagles kept applying the pressure. With one out and the bags still full, Embury would be hit by a pitch to bring home another run. Pinch hitter
Nathan Gagnon would be hit one batter later to add another run and make it 10-6. Herb would then step to the plate with a chance to put the game out of reach. On an 0-1 offering, the freshman would lift a fly ball to right center that kept carrying in the wind. It would eventually sail over the wall for the grandest homer of them all, making it 14-6.
"I think coming back like this shows the character that we need," said Tollett. It's a character that we maybe haven't had in the past with this team, but maybe they're starting to turn it around. Today was the first step in the right direction."
FIU (22-18) would chip away with two runs in the eighth, but the Eagles answered back with a run of their own. Moise would walk and steal second before coming home on Hessemyer's double to left to push the lead back up to seven.
Both teams would score a run in the first, with FGCU's coming by virtue of a Moise sacrifice fly.
Nine different pitchers saw action for the Eagles, with six of them having scoreless outings.
Preston Rogers,
Leo Giannoni,
Chase Kriebel,
Ashton Pocol,
Jordan Vera and
Logan Baisley each worked at least an inning without allowing a run. Giannoni would have the longest outing with 1.1 innings of work. Vera (2-5) would take the win in the game.
FGCU finished with 13 hits on the day, with Hessemyer putting up a season-best four. Dempsey, Moya and Embry each also recorded a pair of hits.
The Eagles will be back in action this weekend as they take on Queens University of Charlotte in Atlantic Sun Conference play. First pitch in Friday's contest at Swanson Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting FGCUTickets.com or by calling 1-866-FGCU-TIX (342-8849).
