FGCU Baseball vs FIU Recap

The FGCU baseball team (15-8, 1-2 A-SUN) shut out in-state rival FIU (11-13, 2-4 C-USA) 3-0 in the first game of a home-and-home series Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium.

"I was really excited to see how the program came back tonight after a tough conference loss on Sunday," head coach Dave Tollett said. "Tyler Shuck was really, really good tonight in a time where we need to find a third or fourth starter. He's definitely earned that. Our upperclassmen stepped up tonight, too. Gilmore had a big RBI for us, Richie had two hits and Brait had two hits. They're our guys. We've been patient, they've been patient, but they are starting to heat up."

Three different pitchers made appearances in tonight's shutout. Sophomore Tyler Shuck (4-0) started on the bump for the Green and Blue and earned his fourth win of the season. Through six innings of work, he allowed one hit, one walk and faced just one batter over the minimum. Shuck matched his career high with six strikeouts, four of which were back-to-back.

After giving up his second hit of the night, Shuck was relieved by junior Sebastian Gruszecki who tossed the next 1.1 frames. Gruszecki entered the game with a runner on third, but struck out a Panther to end the inning. He faced five batters and recorded two Ks before handing the mound over to junior Hunter McGarry. McGarry recorded the final three outs of the game and picked up his third save of the season.

FGCU outhit its opponent, 7-2. Juniors Alex Brait and Richie Garcia led the Green and Blue with two hits apiece. Juniors Marc Coffers and Kohl Gilmore, as well as senior Keith Stevens each tacked on one hit.

Coffers recorded his first run of the night when he was plated on a groundout by Gilmore in the first inning. Senior Eric Gonzalez was brought in by Brait in the fourth inning, giving the Green and Blue a 2-0 edge. Coffers scored again two plays later and awarded FGCU with its final 3-0 lead.

Tonight's game marks the fourth time this season that the Eagles have held an opponent to two hits or fewer. In the past four years combined, the team has only achieved this feat three times.

Up Next:
The Eagles will cross Alligator Alley tomorrow to take on the Panthers at their home stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Miami.