The FGCU baseball team (33-18, 15-6 A-SUN) came out on top of a 7-4 clash against Liberty (36-17, 14-8 A-SUN) Thursday night at Swanson Stadium.
"It was a great win against a team that was as good as we anticipated," head coach Dave Tollett said. "A come-from-behind win is always special. We got some big hits in some key situations and we got the ball to leave the park. When we turned the ball over to our bullpen, they were really good at ending the game."
Senior Keith Stevens, who is the reigning A-SUN Player of the Week, broke open a tight ballgame in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run shot that brought in junior Alex Brait and put the Eagles on top 6-4. From there, FGCU held on to its lead for the win.
The battle for the 2019 regular season title proved to be just that as neither team earned more than a two-run lead through the first seven innings.
In the opening frame, Brait stepped into the batter's box and sailed his fourth home run of the season over the left field wall to give the home team an early 1-0 lead. The Flames responded with a two-run push in the following inning after a single up the middle that made it a 2-1 game.
Liberty struck again in the top of the fourth, sending its third run of the night across after a single to left field. Ahead 3-1, the Flames managed to load up the bases later that inning, but the Eagles' junior starter Mason Studstill worked out of the jam.
Junior Richie Garcia tied the game up at three apiece after a long shot to left field that plated freshman Jalen Townsend in the bottom of the fourth. Liberty's Logan Mathieu answered in the following inning with a homer of his own that put Liberty back on top 4-3.
After five innings of work, Studstill was relieved by sophomore Tyler Shuck who started the top of the sixth. The starter left the game with a no-decision after allowing four earned runs on seven hits.
Over the next few innings, the Green and Blue led a three-run attack to regain the lead. After starting off the bottom of the sixth with a triple, senior Eric Gonzalez came in on a wild pitch and tied the game up at 4-4. Stevens capped off the spree with his two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
FGCU called junior Hunter McGarry out from the Green and Blue bullpen to start the eighth inning. Liberty put runners on the corners, but sophomore Christian Proffitt, Gonzalez and junior Kohl Gilmore ended the inning with a double play.
The Eagles loaded up the bases in the bottom of the eighth and Brait capitalized on the opportunity with a sac fly that brought in junior pinch runner Marc Coffers, putting the home team up 7-4. After allowing the first two runners on, McGarry closed out the game with three back-to-back Ks.
Shuck was awarded the win for his two scoreless innings of relief work and improved to 7-1 on the season. McGarry picked up his ninth save of the year, which ties for the second-most of any Eagle arm in program history. He needs three more to tie Sterling Koerner who holds the record with 12 (2017). Tonight's three home runs are the most in a single game since March 22 against UNF.
Up Next:
The teams will return to Swanson Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on Friday for game two of the series. The finale is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday. Prior to first pitch of game three, head coach Dave Tollett will honor all six members of the Class of 2019 – Justin Gill, Kohl Gilmore, Eric Gonzalez, Jay Hayes, Evan Lumbert and Keith Stevens. With one more win in the series, the Eagles will claim the 2019 A-SUN Regular Season Championship.
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