FGCU Baseball vs Lipscomb Game Two Recap

The FGCU baseball team (21-9, 3-2 ASUN) staged the largest comeback in school history in order to earn a 10-9 win over Lipscomb (15-14, 3-5 ASUN) Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium. ­

The Eagles trailed 8-0 after five innings of play but scored two in the sixth, one in the seventh and a whopping seven in the eighth to take a 10-8 lead. FGCU then fended off a late rally from the visitors to complete the epic history-making comeback.

"In my 17 years here, I think that has to be the biggest comeback I've seen," head coach Dave Tollett said. "This was a huge win in order to win the series after being down 8-0. I think it says a lot about these players and this team. They just kept chipping away. Heiss was unbelievable on the mound, and for him to come in and put some zeros on the board helped us win. This is one that we will put in the archives and talk about for a long time. Our players won't quit now because they know they can come back from anything."

Prior to tonight, the school record for largest comeback was a seven-run deficit the Green and Blue overcame en route to a 12-11 victory over Penn State back in 2009. FGCU also scored seven runs in the eighth frame of that contest but needed 14 innings to complete the come-from-behind triumph.

Senior Evan Lumbert  made his seventh start for the Green and Blue and had to pitch against an aggressive Lipscomb offense. The Bison used a well-balanced attack to put up seven runs (five earned) against Lumbert over the course of the first five frames.

Lumbert, who had no run support from the Eagles, was relieved by sophomore Gus Carter in the fifth inning. He finished the day with a season-high seven strikeouts and walked just two batters. Carter was charged with a run after the Bison's Maddux Houghton put Lipscomb up 8-0 with a solo shot to left center.

Junior Brenden Heiss (1-0) took over the mound in the sixth with one runner on and ended the frame after a flyout to center field and a swinging strikeout.

Senior Keith Stevens breathed some life into the Eagles' offense with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth that scored freshman Joe Kinker and senior Jay Hayes. Junior Alex Brait chipped away at the lead with an RBI in the bottom of the seventh that plated classmate Elijah Eusebio and cut the advantage down to 8-3.

The Green and Blue's offense erupted in the eighth frame as FGCU used a seven-spot to surge into the lead. Eusebio got the scoring spree started with a single through the left side that brought in junior Kohl Gilmore. Senior Eric Gonzalez and junior Marc Coffers drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded that plated Stevens and junior Richie Garcia, putting the Eagles within two. Brait tied things up at 8-8 with a single that scored Gonzalez and Eusebio.

Hayes handed the Eagles the lead with a sac fly to right field that brought in Coffers. Gilmore, who had reached base after being hit by a pitch as the first batter of the inning, returned to the batter's box and added what would become an all-important insurance run with a double down the right field line that plated a hustling Brait from first base.

With a 10-8 advantage heading into the top of the ninth, FGCU called junior Hunter McGarry from the bullpen to get the last three outs and seal the victory. The Bisons used some two-out magic to get the bases loaded and threatened to regain their lead after an RBI on an infield single cut the Eagles' edge down to 10-9. Lipscomb would be denied, however, as McGarry and Brait combined to record the final out of the game with a force out at home plate.

McGarry picked up his fifth save of the season and is now in a four-way tie for eighth place on the single-season save charts. Heiss was awarded his first win of the season after pitching 2.2 scoreless innings, during which the Eagles took the lead.

The Eagles have now scored seven or more runs in a single inning on four occasions this season (full list below). There were only two such occurrences in all of 2018 and four total in the last three years combined.

7 RUNS OR MORE IN A SINGLE INNING IN 2019
8 in the sixth inning vs. Siena (March 1)
7 in the sixth inning vs. Siena (March 2)
7 in the seventh inning vs. Towson (March 30)
7 in the eighth inning vs. Lipscomb (April 6)

Up Next:
The Eagles and the Bisons will return to Swanson Stadium at noon tomorrow to cap off the series. FGCU will be gunning for its first sweep against an A-SUN opponent since taking down Kennesaw State in all three games to end the 2017 regular season.

Next week, the Green and Blue will face the Miami Hurricanes (19-11, 6-7 ACC) in a home-and-home midweek series. The first game will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The teams will then play at Swanson Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. The first game will be the 25th meeting in the series between the two teams, which the Hurricanes currently lead 19-5.