The FGCU baseball team’s season ended in DeLand Thursday afternoon after falling to No. 5 UNF in an elimination game in the 2019 ASUN championship. The Eagles (34-21) tied the game up once but ultimately trailed the Ospreys (32-24) for the whole game and eventually fell by a score of 10-5 at Melching Field.
“Obviously, this was not how pictured this season ending,” head coach Dave Tollett said. “I’ve said it before, but in this league it doesn’t matter who the best team is. It matters who plays the best on any given day. We wanted it today, but it didn’t happen for us. Our seniors helped shape this season for us. We got here in August and wanted to flip the script after what happened last season and they helped us do that.”
UNF put up three multi-run innings to advance in the postseason tournament. After taking an early 3-0 lead, the Ospreys controlled the rest of the game and ultimately defeated the regular season champs.
North Florida challenged senior Evan Lumbert from the start of the game, loading up the bases in both the first and second innings. UNF managed to get on the board in the top of the second after a bases-loaded hit by pitch, bringing a run in the easy way. A single in the top of the third pushed another two runs across for the Ospreys and handed the fifth-seeded team an early 3-0 advantage.
After a slow start to the game, the Eagles’ offense got to work in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back RBI groundouts off the bats of seniors Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, FL/Lyman HS) and Keith Stevens sent freshman Jalen Townsend (Oviedo, FL/Winter Park HS) and junior Richie Garcia (Davie, FL/West Broward HS) home. A bases-loaded walk by juniorKohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, FL/John Carroll HS/Indian River) brought in classmate Alex Brait (Viera, FL/Viera HS) and tied the game up at 3-3 before a strikeout ended the spree.
Junior Trey Vickery relieved Lumbert (Orlando, FL/Boone HS/South Florida State) in the top of the fourth after the starter allowed a lead-off walk. UNF took advantage of the pitching change and sent three runs across to regain their lead at 6-3. After the Ospreys pushed a fourth run across, junior Sebastian Gruszecki took over the mound from Vickery (Port Orange, FL/Spruce Creek HS).
Gruszecki (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional HS) tossed the next inning and allowed just one batter to reach before handing the mound over to sophomore Tyler Shuck at the start of the sixth. Shuck (Cape Coral, FL/Canterbury HS) sat down all three Ospreys that he faced, finishing the first 1-2-3 inning of the ballgame.
UNF’s starter held the Eagles to just two hits during his time on the mound. After the Ospreys made a pitching change at the start of the home half of the seventh, freshman Joe Kinker (Northport, FL/Venice HS) smacked the ball down the left field line for a two-RBI double that brought in Stevens (Miami, FL/Miami Killian HS/Hillsborough CC) and senior Eric Gonzalez (Miami, FL/American HS/ASA College). The scoring effort brought the Green and Blue within two at 7-5.
The Ospreys responded to the push with a three-spot in the eighth inning, using a two-RBI single and a sac fly to pull away from FGCU. The offensive run put UNF up 10-5 with just nine outs left in the game.
FGCU had a solid chance to score in the bottom of the eighth, as both Brait(Viera, FL/Viera HS) and Stevens reached, but the UNF defense battled back and kept the team from scoring. Another two reached for the Green and Blue in the bottom of the ninth, but the Ospreys recorded the last out of the ballgame and held on to their win.
With the loss, the 2019 FGCU baseball season has come to an end. The Eagles graduated six seniors – Justin Gill, Kohl Gilmore, Eric Gonzalez, Jay Hayes, Evan Lumbert and Keith Stevens – who all made their mark on the program during their time with the Green and Blue. The Eagles, who failed to make the postseason in 2018, captured the 2019 regular season title and etched their names in the FGCU record books in multiple categories.
Most games finishedin a season
1. 24 – MCGARRY, Hunter – 2019
2. 20 – KOERNER, Sterling – 2017
3. 19 – HERING, Kenton – 2018
4. 18 – WAGONER, Jack – 2010
18 – HERING, Kenton – 2017
6. 17 – CRUMBLEY, J.J. – 2007
7. 16 – ANDERSON, Brady – 2012
16 – SHAW, Derek – 2009
16 – CRUMBLEY, J.J. – 2008
10. 14 – COONEY, Harrison – 2013
Lowest season opponent batting avg. (min. 35 IP)
1. .166 – BIXLER, Brandon (59.0 IP) – 2012
2. .172 – STUDSTILL, Mason (86.2 IP) – 2019
3. .182 – BIXLER, Brandon (50.0 IP) – 2013
4. .194 – CRAWFORD, Kutter (84.0 IP) – 2017
5. .212 – CAHILL, Chris (46.1 IP) – 2003
6. .215 – MCGARRY, Hunter (44.1 IP) – 2019
7. .216 – DESGUIN, Jordan (62.0 IP) – 2015
8. .218 – SALE, Chris (103.0 IP) – 2010
9. .221 – SHAW, Derek (39.2 IP) – 2007
10. .222 – CRUMBLEY, J.J. (59.1 IP) – 2007
Most season strikeouts
1. 146 – SALE, Chris – 2010
2. 104 – SALE, Chris – 2009
3. 99 – CRAWFORD, Kutter – 2017
4. 96 – STUDSTILL, Mason – 2019
5. 91 – HASSEN, Chris – 2005
91 – MURRAY, Michael – 2015
7. 87 – PARDO, Luis – 2007
8. 85 – HASSEN, Chris – 2003
9. 84 – Kiley, J. – 2007
10. 83 – FORJET, Jason – 2012
Most season saves
1. 12 – KOERNER, Sterling – 2017
2. 9 – MCGARRY, Hunter – 2019
9 – WAGONER, Jack – 2010
4. 8 – HERING, Kenton – 2018
5. 7 – ANDERSON, Brady – 2014
7 – HERING, Kenton – 2017
7. 6 – SHAW, Derek – 2009
6 – COLEMAN, Casey – 2006
9. 5 – CRUMBLEY, J.J. – 2008
5 – COONEY, Harrison – 2013
Highest season stolen base pct. (min. 5 attempts)
1. 1.000 – MOLLICA, Derek (5-5) – 2005
1.000 – BRAIT, Alex (10-10) – 2019
1.000 – COX, David (5-5) – 2005
1.000 – HOWARD, Mike (7-7) – 2003
1.000 – BURNS, Kevin (5-5) – 2005
1.000 – SUCHY, Michael (5-5) – 2012
7. .938 – UPCHURCH, Josh (15-16) – 2006
8. .923 – STUBBE, Pat (12-13) – 2005
9. .909 – TOWNSEND, Jalen (10-11) – 2019
.909 – CUNNINGHAM, Travis (10-11) – 2004
Highest season fielding pct. (min. 120 chances)
1. 1.000 – MASINO, Adam (124-12-0) – 2004
1.000 – SMITH, Graig (216-29-0) – 2008
1.000 – FIBBE, Paul (142-19-0) – 2008
1.000 – FIBBE, Paul (226-21-0) – 2007
1.000 – COFFERS, Marc (125-5-0) – 2019
1.000 – UPCHURCH, Josh (125-3-0) – 2008
1.000 – GEBHART, Ryan (166-5-0) – 2012
8. .998 – BRAIT, Alex (391-27-1) – 2019
9. .997 – REEVES, Mike (328-32-1) – 2013
10. .996 – ROBERTS, Brad (243-12-1) – 2009
Most caught stealing in a season by
1. 23 – GREENE, Robert – 2009
2. 22 – SMITH, Graig – 2006
3. 17 – SMITH, Graig – 2007
4. 16 – VALENCIA, Andrew – 2014
5. 15 – VALENCIA, Andrew – 2012
15 – ROBERTS, Matt – 2016
7. 13 – SMITH, Graig – 2008
13 – ROBERSON, Tim – 2010
9. 12 – LEVINE, Spencer – 2017
10. 11 – COOPER, Jason – 2004
11 – BRAIT, Alex – 2019
FOLLOW ALONG
For constant news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the baseball team on Twitter @FGCU_Baseball, Instagram @FGCU_Baseball or on Facebook: Facebook.con/FGCUBaseball. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 599-358-3 overall record (.625) and a 199-109 (.646) record in the ASUN. He is the only head coach in the program’s history and led the program to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. He is a five-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to five ASUN Regular Season Championships and one ASUN Tournament Championship. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions, including as high as No. 9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 54 all-conference selections, 31 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 15 current minor leaguers, four ASUN Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, three ASUN Players of the Year, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one seven-time MLB All-Star.
5X CHAMPS
The 2017 season was a magical one for the Green and Blue that ended in the program’s first Division I NCAA Championship tournament berth. The Eagles ended the year 43-20, which included a midweek sweep over No. 2 Florida, single wins over No. 1 Florida State, Miami, and a three-game sweep at UNC Wilmington. The wins over Miami, FSU, and UF marked the first time FGCU defeated all three programs in the same season.
Reaching as high as No. 9 in the polls, the highest of any program at FGCU, the Eagles struggled in April but bounced back to finish third in the ASUN. During the ASUN Championship, FGCU won four games in a span of 29 hours for their first tournament crown.
The Green and Blue earned the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, defeating Michigan 10-6 before losses to Davidson and North Carolina ended their season. The tournament title added to FGCU’s four regular-season crowns.