For the fans sitting in the stands, FGCU’s game against the Florida Atlantic University Owls was a typical midweek game. However, for many Eagles on the field, it would be their last game playing inside Swanson Stadium.
The Eagles dominated their last non-conference game of the season against the Owls, winning 28-18.
The team was on a hot streak going into this game, winning their last two ASUN Conference series. They dropped one game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and another to the FAU Owls on May 7, making the Eagles have a 25-24 season record.
FAU entered the weekend, having lost three of their last four games. They looked to turn this momentum around against FGCU. The Owls have an opportunity to jump up to third in the American Atlantic Conference standings against Rice University Owls after playing FGCU.
The Owls started the game dominantly, going up 7-0 at the top of the first inning. This included a grand slam by junior right-fielder Jake Millan, the first of many throughout the game. FGCU followed this up with freshman first baseman Evan Dempsey’s home run, bringing him and two runners in to score. They ended the inning down 4-7.
This shortcoming quickly changed as the Eagles had one of their most dominant innings in program history, scoring 14 runs in the bottom of the second inning. Senior designated hitter Ian Farrow brought home the most RBIs during this period as he hit a grand slam.
FAU struggled to regain their lead. The closest they got to FGCU’s score was within five runs. The Eagles kept their ten-run lead no matter what the Owls did. Through the third and fourth innings, both teams scored four runs each to raise the score to 21-11.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, FGCU was outscored 3-7 by FAU through the next three innings to make the score 23-18. This would not last long as junior center-fielder Harrison Povey hit a single to right field, which was further aided by an error from the Owls in right field, allowing two Eagles in for runs.
The lead was extended to nine runs when freshman third baseman Javier Gorostola doubled to right field, bringing two more runners home. This put FGCU in the position to finish the game early, as a ten-run lead past the seventh inning automatically ends the game.
Redshirt junior second baseman Trevor Kole hit the walk-off run to left field, which allowed senior first baseman Robert Moya to score the winning run. The game ended with FGCU leading 28-18 to close out their non-conference schedule, bringing their record to 26-24 on the season.
Moya had a career game, setting a program record for runs in a single game. He scored six runs, hit three home runs and was on base 14 times throughout the afternoon. This marked the best offensive performance in FGCU history.
The Eagles travel to the University of North Florida to play the Ospreys for their final ASUN Conference series from May 16 to 18. The Ospreys have an 11-14-1 conference record as they vie for the last few spots in the postseason. FGCU holds a 17-9 record entering the final week of play. They have to win the series if they want an opportunity to be the first seed over the 18-9 Austin Peay State University Governors.
