Box Score (PDF)A-Sun Championship CentralFORT MYERS, Fla. – The top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast Eagles held on to a 5-3 victory over the North Florida Ospreys in the opening game of the Atlantic Sun Baseball Tournament. The loss puts the Ospreys in an elimination game tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.
The game featured two of the top Atlantic Sun's top pitchers in FGCU's Pitcher of the Year Michael Murray and First Team All-Conference right-hander
David Trexler. Murray ended up getting credit with his nation-leading, 13
th win of the season after 6.1 innings pitched and three earned runs. Trexler struck out six batters in six innings of work. He allowed four runs on seven hits in his 14
th start of the season.
The North Florida offense out-hit the Eagles, 10-8 in the contest. It was the 27
th time this season that the Ospreys have out-hit an opponent. North Florida came into the tournament as the league's top-hitting team at .304.
After two hitless innings to start the game, FGCU broke through in the bottom of the third with four-straight singles. The first run of the game came off the bat of First Team All-Conference outfielder Michael Suchy on single to left. A Trexler bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly from Cody Hoffner gave the Eagles an early, 3-0 advantage.
The Ospreys responded with three hits of their own in the top of the fourth.
Drew Weeks led the inning off with his school record, 94
th hit of the year. The Ospreys' leading RBI man this season,
Trent Higginbothem stepped in and lined a double down the left field line that scored Weeks all the way from first. Sophomore
Corbin Olmstead followed up with a single to left center that scored Higginbothem, cutting the FGCU lead to 3-2.
FGCU was able to fight off two scoring innings from the Ospreys to maintain a two-run lead. In the bottom half of the inning, the Eagles got a run back with two outs on an RBI single by Colton Bottomly. The Ospreys plated a run again in the top of the seventh to get within a run on an RBI ground out by
Patrick Ervin. Just as the momentum tried to swing North Florida's way, FGCU first baseman Nick Rivera belted a solo home run to give the No. 1 seed a 5-3 lead.
The Eagles bullpen proved to be the difference in the game, tossing two scoreless frames. Sterling Koerner and Zack Tillery combined to face nine batters in 2.1 innings to preserve the victory. Tillery struck out two and earned his fifth save of the season.
In the elimination round tomorrow, the Ospreys will take on the winner of cross-town rival Jacksonville tomorrow at 1:15 p.m.
