FGCU Baseball vs Ohio State Recap

The FGCU baseball team (2-2) dropped a close 2-0 battle to Big Ten power Ohio State (4-0) Monday night at Swanson Stadium.

The Eagles played in front of 1,109 fans, which marked the third-highest home total for the Green and Blue against an opponent outside the state of Florida during the NCAA Division I era (since 2008).

"Tonight was a pitching duel. I thought (Evan) Lumbert was really good," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "We just couldn't get a big hit to get us going. Sometimes in a game like this a big hit can be contagious. Credit to Ohio State. They kept us off-balance. They threw a lot of 3-1 breaking balls in some big counts."

Senior Keith Stevens finished with two of FGCU's three hits on the evening. He also drew a nine-pitch walk in the ninth that quite nearly started a rally for the Green and Blue. The other hit was roped by junior Kohl Gilmore in the bottom of the ninth. His two-out infield single was followed by Stevens' walk, but the Buckeyes were able to get out of the jam and hold on for the win.

Senior Evan Lumbert (0-1) took a hard-luck loss after allowing just one run on four hits across 5.0 innings. He struck out five batters.

Junior Sebastian Gruszecki, sophomore Gus Carter and junior Hunter McGarry combined to shut down the Buckeyes in the final 3.2 frames. They allowed no runs on just here hits, while striking out three and walking just one. McGarry was making his debut for the Green and Blue after spending his freshman and sophomore years at NJCAA State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) with fellow junior and teammate Anthony Gonnella.

The two runs were both scored by Brady Cherry. He went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in the second. He scored again in the sixth after singling and coming around thanks to an RBI single from Noah West. Nate Romans also finished 3-for-3 for the Buckeyes.

Griffan Smith (1-0) earned the win after throwing 5.0 shutout innings that included seven strikeouts, no walks and one hit conceded. Andrew Magno collected his first save of the year after tossing the ninth. He struck out one, but he also issued a walk and a hit. Bayden Root bridged the 3.0-inning gap between Smith and Magno and fanned five, while allowing one hit and one walk.

Up Next:
The Eagles continue their start to the season that includes 11-consecutive home games. They will play host to a new opponent in LIU Brooklyn Feb. 22-24 at Swanson Stadium. The first game will be contested at 6:30 p.m. Friday, with first pitch for Saturday's clash slated for 11 a.m. Sunday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m.