FORT MYERS, Fla. – Steady pitching that did not issue a walk and solid defense carried the day for FGCU in the second game of an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader as the Eagles registered a 2-1 victory over Queens at Swanson Stadium Friday evening.
The win was the second of the day, following an
11-0 (7-inning) run-rule victory for FGCU earlier in the afternoon that marked the ASUN opener for both teams.
Florida Gulf Coast (15-4, 2-0 ASUN) took the lead in the third inning and extended it in the seventh. In between, the Eagles retired 14 consecutive Queens batters. QUC (4-15, 0-2) would scratch one across in the ninth, but
Ashton Pocol (1) secured his first save of the year by retiring the only two batters he would face.
Hyatt Richardson (3-0) was credited with the win, allowing only one hit and striking out two in 3 2/3 innings in relief. He entered the game after play was halted for 64 minutes due to lightning in the area, sending starter
Chris Diaz to the locker room. Diaz only faced four batters, retired all four and struck out two of them. Sebastian Lippman was steady in the middle, striking out five over 3 1/3 innings while allowing just one run on two hits.
Keaton Kangas reached base twice, with a hit and a walk, and scored a run.
Javier Gorostola contributed with a hit and an RBI in four plate appearances, extending his school record hitting streak to 37 games.
Jon Embury collected two hits and drove in a run during his four trips to the plate.
The game saw Florida Gulf Coast open the scoring in the third inning.
Nathan Gagnon was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a single by
Wilfred Gonzalez.
Javier Gorostola drove in Gagnon with a single to left center, giving the Eagles a 1–0 lead after three innings.
In the seventh inning,
Keaton Kangas, who had come on as a pinch hitter, walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gagnon.
Jon Embury then singled to right field, driving in Kangas and extending the Green & Blue's lead to 2–0 through seven innings.
Queens attempted a comeback in the ninth inning. Thomas Mathay singled and advanced to second after Anibal Rivera was hit by a pitch. Logan Norris, pinch running for Rivera, moved to second on Bradley Brown's RBI single, which scored Mathay. That is when Pocol entered, retiring the next two batters to secure the win.
Bradley Brown emerged as a key contributor for QUC with one hit and one RBI in four plate appearances, capitalizing on an opportunity with the bases loaded. Joseph Ruller delivered a strong performance on the mound, pitching seven innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out three batters. Grayson Childers provided a boost with his bat, securing a double in his four at-bats, highlighting his ability to advance runners in scoring positions.
The Eagles look to sweep the Royals for the first time in program history in the series finale on Sunday, March 15, at 1 p.m.
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Game Notes:
- Chris Diaz recorded 2 strikeouts, exceeding his career average of 1.33.
- Jeremy Comer recorded a season-high total of 4 putouts.
- Jon Embury recorded at least 2 hits in 3 consecutive games.
- Florida Gulf Coast now leads the all-time series over Queens, 10-4.
- This marks the first doubleheader sweep the Eagles have recorded since a pair of wins at West Georgia on May 9, 2025.
- Javier Gorostola extended his hitting streak to 37 games, expanding upon his program record.
- Florida Gulf Coast pitchers recorded 10 strikeouts in the game, making it 21 strikeouts on the day in total.
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