SBU Sports: Baseball falls to FGCU in series opener
HOW IT HAPPENEDErik Paulsen lined out to start the game before Evan Goforth and Johnny Pilla recorded back-to-back hits. FGCU, however, turned a line-drive from Nico Azpilcueta into a double play to end the frame.
Smink struck out the first batter he faced but allowed back-to-back hits and later hit a batter to load the bases. He escaped the jam with a line-out to keep FGCU scoreless.
Chanz Doughty led off the second inning with a double to left-center, but the Eagles retired the next three Stony Brook hitters. Smink responded with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two batters.
FGCU took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI double to left-center. Smink stranded runners on second and third to limit the damage.
Smink came up big again in the fourth, ending the frame with a two-out strikeout while stranding a runner on third.
Chris Carson walked, and Matt Miceli singled to give the Seawolves runners on second and third with one out in the fifth. However, a line-out and ground-out ended the threat. Smink stranded another runner in scoring position to conclude his outing.
Stony Brook continued to apply pressure in the sixth, putting two runners on with two outs, but a diving catch by Nicholas Solorzano ended the frame.
Left-hander George Adams entered in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a batter with one out but striking out the next two to escape unscathed.
The Seawolves went down in order in the seventh. Adams responded by retiring three of four batters to keep the deficit at one.
Goforth led off the eighth with a single, but a line-drive double play quickly put the Seawolves down to their final out. Azpilcueta restarted the rally with a single, and pinch-runner James Schaffer stole second. Doughty delivered a game-tying RBI single to right-center, making it 1-1.
FGCU regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth, capitalizing on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch followed by a grand slam to seal the 6-1 victory.
Next up, the team returns to action on Feb. 22 for the second game of the three-game series against Florida Gulf Coast. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
