FORT MYERS, Fla. –
Chris Diaz worked seven strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits with nine strikeouts as Florida Gulf Coast University defeated Queens University of Charlotte 7-1 in the second game of an Atlantic Sun Conference baseball series at Swanson Stadium on Saturday.
After striking out 10 Royals two weekends ago on the road, Diaz was sharp again Saturday. He tossed a season-high 102 pitches, ringing up nine strikeouts while allowing a lone run in the third inning. Saturday's outing marked the third start for the Miami transfer in ASUN play in which he allowed two runs or fewer.
The Eagles (18-24, 7-10 ASUN) trailed until the home half of the fifth. After a leadoff walk and a stolen base by
Jaret Nelson,
Jake McKee ripped a drive to right-center that got down in the gap and bounced to the wall. Nelson motored home and McKee popped into third with the game-tying triple. Three batters later,
Harrison Povey continued his weekend tear. The senior connected on a 410-foot blast to right that gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead.
Diaz kept working against the Royals, striking out the final two batters he faced to finish the seventh. In the eighth,
Ashton Pocol came on in relief and whiffed a pair of Royals to keep the score 3-1 heading to the bottom of the inning. FGCU stretched the lead farther than the Royals could manage in the home half of the inning, getting four consecutive two-out hits.
Jon Embury started the parade with a no-doubt, 400-foot blast over the wall in left to make it 4-1.
"I was just looking for something I could get out in front of," said Embury, who hit his second homer of the weekend. "I was late on the first pitch, so mentally I knew I needed to be a little bit earlier so I could get something I could get the bat head to. There were two outs and we were trying to do damage."
After a
Tyler Herb single and a double off the bat of Nelson,
Jake McKee stepped to the plate. For most of the day, the wind blew across Swanson Stadium from right to left, but as McKee climbed into the batter's box, the wind swirled and went from left to right. McKee lifted a 1-0 offering into the jet stream and over the fence in right, 368 feet away, giving McKee his third homer of the season and the Eagles a 7-1 lead. Pocol tallied two more strikeouts in the ninth to earn the save, and the Eagles clinched the series with the victory.
Queens (5-35, 3-17 ASUN) got an RBI single from Jay Polite in the third inning. Ryan Brown had a multi-hit day for the guests.
The Eagles will wrap up the series with Queens Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Prior to the game, FGCU will honor the seniors from the school's women's golf team. Tickets are available at the FGCU Ticket Office or by visiting
FGCUTickets.com.
