FGCU Baseball vs Siena Game Three & Four Recap

The FGCU baseball team (8-3) dropped the first of today's two games 2-1 but dominated the second 18-8 to capture the weekend series against Siena (3-7) Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.

It was a tale of two games today for the Green and Blue. The Eagles had great pitching in the first game, but struggled from the batter's box. Junior Mason Studstill pitched a quality start with one run on two hits and struck out 10 through six innings of work, finishing with a no decision.

Junior Richie Garcia was the only Eagle to cross home plate in the first game, scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second. The Saints got on the board with a homer by Matt Hamel that was sent over the right field wall. Craig Corliss scored the winning run for the visitors when he singled to left field, bringing in Evan St. Claire.

The first game was the Green and Blue's second-lowest offensive showing so far this season. The only time the Eagles finished with less than one run was when they got shutout during a midweek series against Ohio State.

"It's tough to play two games in one day. But we try to do it because if we get to the conference tournament we might end up having to play a doubleheader," head coach Dave Tollett said. "We pitched well in game one and in the second game we swung the bats all over the park. It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Overall, it was a pretty good weekend for us and we'll take tomorrow off to get ready for next week."

The second game of the day was a completely different ballgame for FGCU. Senior Jay Hayes was the first to put the Eagles in the run column when he brought in classmate Eric Gonzalez on an RBI single.

Both teams went back-and-forth through the first innings of play. Heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Eagles and the Saints were knotted up at six until redshirt junior Kohl Gilmore crushed a ball out of the park with the bases loaded. The Saints responded with a two-shot homer of their own off the bat of Matt Hamel in the top of the fifth. The two runs were their last of the day.

Gilmore, Garcia and Hayes finished the second game with three hits apiece, combining for nine RBIs overall. Both freshman Jalen Townsend and sophomore Brian Ellis recorded the first hits of their collegiate careers and scored for the Eagles. Townsend also led the team with two stolen bases that came on back-to-back pitches.

Senior Keith Stevens, junior Alex Brait, freshman Joe Kinker and Gonzalez also sprinkled in hits for the Eagles.

Junior Brenden Heiss started the game for the Green and Blue, but only made it through two innings. Junior Trey Vickery was the first reliever out of the bullpen and pitched one full inning before being retired by Gus Carter, who finished the day with his first win as an Eagle.

Freshman Chris Seymour and junior Hunter McGarry also made pitching appearances for the Green and Blue before the game ended in the seventh inning due to the ten-run rule. Seymour made his debut after graduating from Parka Vista High School.

The second game's 18 runs are the second-most generated by the Eagles offense so far this season. The only other time the Green and Blue scored more was during a 23-3 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 16. As of tonight, FGCU ranks 14th in the nation in scoring, averaging 9.4 runs per game.

Up Next:
The Eagles will hit the road for the first time this season, heading to Gainesville to take on No. 3 Florida for a two-day midweek series. Both games on Tuesday, March 5 and Wednesday, March 6 are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start time. Both games will be streamed on the SEC Network +.