The FGCU men’s baseball team was swept in a three-game series against Miami this past week.
The first loss in the series came on Tuesday April 9, where FGCU lost 13-9 in a high scoring game against Miami.
In a game with both offenses coming alive, FGCU got out to an early lead of 3-0 in the first inning with a triple from Alex Brait, and singles from Jay Hayes and Richie Garcia.
The Eagles starting pitcher Brenden Heiss had a rough night as he gave up four runs on one hit and five walks in one and one thirds inning. He also added three strikeouts to his line as well.
Seven FGCU pitchers were on the mound and combined to give up thirteen hits over a span of nine innings. The only FGCU pitcher to last two innings was Keegan Collett, but he also gave up two runs on three hits and three walks.
Miami then went on to score nine runs over the course of four innings, bringing the score to 9-3 at the bottom of the fourth.
A couple of errors would allow FGCU to tack on three more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but Miami would score again after an RBI single brought the lead up to 11-6.
Two home runs courtesy of FGCU’s Alex Brait and Jay Hayes cut the deficit to 11-9 going into the bottom of the eighth.
Miami would score two more runs in the bottom half of the eighth and close out the game to give them the first win of the series.
Wednesday’s game on April 10 proved tough for FGCU as they struggled to get the offense going, losing by a score of 10-1.
“Tonight, Miami threw one of the better arms that we’ve seen all season,” head coach Dave Tollett said. “He was really good and he threw well consistently. But midweeks in this state are always competitive, if not the toughest in the country. Everyone here is good.”
Miami’s starting pitcher Slade Cecconi struck out seven and gave up no hits across five innings. All Hurricane pitchers combined to give up three hits and strike out thirteen FGCU hitters.
Eagles starting pitcher Justin Gill had a less than impressive outing as he gave up four runs on eight hits, but struck out six after only lasting six innings. Reliever Sebastian Gruszecki also had a rough night as he only lasted a third of an inning, letting in six runs on four hits and two walks.
The first hit of the night for the Eagles was in the seventh inning, when Eric Gonzalez hit a double down the right field line with two outs in the seventh.
FGCU’s first run of the game came when Christian Proffitt doubled to bring Cameron Krzeminski from first all the way to home, keeping Miami from shutting the Eagles out.
Pitcher Sebastian Gruszecki started for the Eagles in the last game of the series on Tuesday, April 16. He lasted four and two-third innings, rendering five runs on five hits and three walks.
Miami got out to a quick lead in the first with a wild pitch and a double that scored two. FGCU would cut that lead to one in the third with a sacrifice fly from Jay Hayes. The two teams would trade runs up and by the fifth inning, Miami was winning 5-3.
The sixth inning is where the Hurricanes erupted with eight runs and boosted their lead up to 13-4 by the start of the seventh inning.
FGCU would score one more run on a single to the pitcher from Eric Gonzalez, this being the last run of the night. Marc Coffers was FGCU’s best hitter of the night, getting two hits in five at-bats and driving in two runs as well.
All FGCU pitchers combined to give up 10 hits, but collectively struck nine Miami hitters as well.
Next, the FGCU men’s baseball team will be opening up a three-game series with Jacksonville at home. The first game will be on Thursday, April 18 at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday’s game will begin at 2 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday starts at 2 p.m.
