The FGCU baseball team took down the FIU Panthers 13-3 on Tuesday evening at Swanson Stadium. The Eagles sit at 15-21 this season and 17-10 all time against the Panthers in what is beginning to look like a one-sided rivalry.
Right fielder Evan Dempsey led the effort, as he advanced to base in all six of his plate appearances. He racked up a pair of doubles, two runs and two RBIs with the whole lineup getting on base at least once.
Outfielder Jake McKee lit the lamp early on, scoring a run in the bottom of the first courtesy of a first baseman Robert Moya sacrifice fly to the infield.
The next two and a half innings went scoreless as the Eagles logged a single hit in two at-bats. Catcher Jon Embury got the ball rolling again in the bottom of the fourth when he homered to right field in what would be the only home run of the night. The game shaped up to be a low-scoring affair compared to previous matchups over the past several years, with the Eagles leading 2-0 after four innings of play.
Momentum shifted when the Panthers scored at the top of the fifth frame. Eagles’ relief pitcher Leo Giannoni struggled on the bump, giving up three runs on account of an error, a hit by pitch and three singles.
FIU’s success was short-lived, as they failed to register another run for the rest of the game.
The Eagles responded half a frame later, with five runs of their own, to reclaim the lead. FIU struggled to stop the bleeding as FGCU made its way through the entire batting order, taking advantage of two errors, a walk, two hits by pitches and a handful of singles. Povey, Hessemyer and Mummau all picked up RBIs.
The bats stayed hot into the sixth inning.
Eagles’ catcher Mac Moise hit a notable double down the right field line to set up a Dempsey run, with the next two players at bat picking up RBIs off of productive outs. If not for center fielder Harrison Povey’s outstanding grab at the top of the inning, the Eagles might have surrendered a run to the FIU runner on second.
Over the next two innings, the Eagles scored three runs to secure a run-rule victory in the eighth inning. Shortstop Jake Mummau had himself a game, notching the second-most hits on the team. Mattox Meeks led all pitchers, throwing two innings for zero runs, one hit and three strikeouts, three batters.
FGCU returns to Swanson Stadium on Tuesday, April 22, for the team’s third game against the FIU Panthers this season. The Eagles look to sweep the Panthers for the first time since 2019.
