FGCU Baseball vs LIU Brooklyn Game Three Recap

The FGCU baseball team (5-2) ended the weekend with a 9-1 triumph over LIU Brooklyn (0-6) Sunday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.

The Eagles outscored the Blackbirds 29-2 and outhit the visitors 39-8. This was the first time in FGCU's NCAA Division I era that the Green and Blue held an opponent to two runs or fewer in a three-game series. The only other two such occurrences in school history came when the Eagles competed at the Division II level. FGCU held Albany State to two runs in 2005 and Clark Atlanta to one run in 2007.

The Eagles also continued their torrid pace at the plate, as they are now up to 67 runs through seven games. That mark is the highest run total for FGCU through the opening seven games to any season since 2010, and the run production is also the second-most in the NCAA Division I era.

"We swung the bats really well against a pretty good pitcher who started (an NCAA Regional) game for (LIU Brooklyn) last year. We came out and had a good approach at the plate," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "We also pitched well this weekend. Our starters were very good, and we had a lot of good production out of the bullpen. All the way around we played a great series."

Junior Mason Studstill (1-0) was dominant in 6.0 innings of work on the mound. He struck out 11 Blackbirds and gave up no runs with just one hit and one walk conceded.

Senior Evan Lumbert, junior Sebastian Gruszecki and junior Hunter McGarry all tossed an inning on the mound. Lumbert gave up just one run on one hit, and the final two hurlers did not allow a baserunner.

Juniors Marc Coffers and Alex Brait joined true freshman Joe Kinker with two hits each. The trio scored four combined runs. Seniors Eric Gonzalez and Keith Stevens both drove in a pair of teammates.

A suicide squeeze from sophomore Christian Proffitt got the Green and Blue on the board in the second frame. Gonzalez hit a two-RBI single to cap a three-run third, and the Eagles added two more in the fourth to take a comfortable 6-0 lead. LIU Brooklyn scored its lone run in the seventh, but FGCU came right back and added three insurance tallies in the eighth.

The lone hits of the day by the Blackbirds came from Andrew Smith and Rob Griswold. Griswold's RBI brought in Gregory Vaughn. Patrick Clyne (0-2) suffered the loss on the mound after conceding four runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. LIU utilized four more pitchers in the final 5.2 innings.

The sweep was the first of the young season for FGCU. The team finished with four sweeps last year.

Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for a four-game set with Siena College Feb. 28-March 2. The Saints (1-4) are currently wrapping up a series with reigning ASUN Conference champion Stetson and will play two more times against the Hatters before venturing to Fort Myers. Siena competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). First pitch is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start on Thursday.