FGCU Baseball @ USF Recap

The FGCU baseball team (19-9, 1-2 A-SUN) fell 15-4 to USF (13-14, 1-5 AAC) Tuesday night in Tampa.

"The third inning was the telling point of the game," head coach Dave Tollett said. "Instead of getting out with just one run, we gave up seven."

The Eagles managed to get the bases loaded right away. Senior Marc Coffers and junior Alex Brait cranked out back-to-back hits and senior Jay Hayes drew a walk. Freshman Joe Kinker reached on an error, giving FGCU its first run of the game. This was the fourth consecutive game that FGCU scored in its opening frame.

The Bulls responded to the Green and Blue's early push by getting two runs across the plate to take a 2-1 edge.

Brait and Hayes regained FGCU's lead with back-to-back RBIs in the second, but it was the team's last advantage of the night.

Junior Trey Vickery started on the bump for the Green and Blue. After two innings, he was retired for the night and tagged with his first loss of the season.

USF used an eight-spot in the bottom of the third to blow up its lead. Four different pitchers made appearances for the Green and Blue in the inning with three of the runs being charged to Vickery. The other five were unearned due to a fielding error.

The Eagles had a solid chance to score in the fifth inning when they managed to get the bases loaded, but the team could not capitalize on the opportunity.

The Bulls tacked on to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, putting up three runs that extended their lead to 13-3.

Junior Brenden Heiss pitched the final two frames for the Green and Blue. He struck out three, gave up two hits and was charged with two earned runs that gave the Bulls their final 15-3 lead.

The 12 hits are the second-most in a loss for the Eagles this season. FGCU cranked out 14 in a 15-0 midweek loss at No. 5 Florida back in March. Both teams left 13 runners stranded on base.

Up Next
FGCU will take on Lipscomb (13-12, 2-3 A-SUN) in an A-SUN Conference matchup next weekend at Swanson Stadium. It will be the Eagles' first conference series that they have hosted so far this season. The Green and Blue currently hold a 22-18 advantage in the series, including a 12-6 mark at Swanson. Last year, the Eagles dropped two of three at Lipscomb's Dugan Field. Prior to that series, they had won seven games straight.