"This was a big Friday night win for us," head coach Dave Tollett said. "Studstill gave us a great start, McGarry came in and did what he does and we had a big pinch hit from Gonzalez. Those two seniors tonight were absolutely huge. It was a great win for us because Friday night wins in this league are tough to get. We respect Lipscomb, we knew exactly what we were going to get and that it was going to be a good ball game."
Junior Mason Studstill started on the bump for the Green and Blue. He sat down the first three batters that he faced but gave up a two-run shot in the top of the second, giving the Bisons an early 2-0 lead.
The Eagles, who have started off hot their last few games, worked slowly in the first few frames and were unable to get on the board until the fifth inning. Senior Keith Stevens reached base with a leadoff double and junior Richie Garcia followed up with a walk. Gonzalez stepped into the batter's box as a pinch hitter and blasted the ball over the left field wall on the second pitch that he saw. The three-run shot gave FGCU its first lead of the night.
The Bison evened things up in the sixth with an RBI that knotted the teams at 3-3. Studstill made it through another full frame before leaving the game with a no-decision. The junior threw 7.0 innings, struck out eight, walked three and gave up three runs on as many hits. He was relieved by junior Hunter McGarrry (3-1).
Junior Alex Brait reached base as the leading run after he singled through the right side in the bottom of the eighth. Hayes did the team one better and smoked a ball over the left center wall that awarded the Green and Blue with its final 5-3 lead.
The Bison managed to get two on in the top of the ninth and a sac bunt sent the runners over to second and third. McGarry ended the game with a groundout, a strikeout looking and a line drive that sailed right into the glove of Gonzalez at shortstop. McGarry was awarded his third win of the season and Lipscomb's reliever Tyler Guilfoil was tagged with his first loss of the year.
This was the only game of the season where the Eagles' only scoring plays were on home runs, and the five hits are the lowest that the Green and Blue have cranked out in a victory. Gonzalez' pinch-hit homer was the second of the season. Junior Elijah Eusebio did so in the seventh inning of a 14-8 loss at North Florida on March 24.
Up Next:
The Eagles and the Bison will be back at Swanson Stadium tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the second game of the series. The finale is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
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