FGCU Baseball vs Siena Game Two Recap

The FGCU baseball team (7-2) dug out their second win in the series against Siena (2-6) Friday night at Swanson Stadium, earning a 17-6 victory.

Tonight's victory marks the fifth-straight win by the Green and Blue. Over the past five games, the Eagles have scored 38 runs compared to eight by their visitors. The team's current average of 9.4 runs per game puts them at 14th in the nation in scoring offense.

"I think it's all about offense for us," FGCU head coach Dave Tollett said. "Shuck was also really, really good. He kept us in the ballgame until we took the lead and he did exactly what we needed him to do. For Gonzalez, it was his first time leading off and he finished with four hits. Brait had three hits and Kinker had two hits, so tonight the top of the lineup really did it for us."

The Eagles started off the game with hot bats, driving in five runs in the first inning. Senior Eric Gonzalez, junior Alex Brait and freshman Joe Kinker all scored for the home team.

In the third inning, the Saints responded with five runs of their own to even things up. Both teams were knotted at six runs heading into the sixth inning. Kinker provided the go-ahead run with a single up the middle that drove in Brait and from there, the Eagles never looked back.

Junior Richie Garcia led the Green and Blue, finishing with three RBIs on three hits. Gonzalez was 4-for-6 and scored three runs, Brait finished the game with three hits and a pair of runs and Kinker was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Senior Keith Stevens, junior Elijah Eusebio, sophomore Christian Proffitt and freshman Nic Nolan each tacked on a hit for the Eagles.

Sophomore Nikolas Bitner started the game for FGCU and, despite only making it through two innings, struck out five. Juniors Garrett Bye and Gus Carter let up a combined five runs in their quick relief appearances.

With things knotted up at six runs, the Eagles called on sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Shuck (3-0) to take over the game. Shuck faced 26 batters through 6.1 innings of work, allowing just one run and fanning four while picking up his third win of the season.

The Saints' six runs all came from different players. Ryan McGee, Brian Kelly, Nico Ramos, Eddie Sweeney, Carson Dunkel and Evan St. Claire all crossed home plate for the visiting team. The six runs also match the most let up by FGCU this season. The only other time the Eagles let up more than five runs was against Bethune-Cookman during the teams' season opener on Friday, Feb. 15.

Up Next:
The Eagles will wrap up their series against Siena with a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon. The first game is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the finale following directly after.