Coming into their home baseball game Friday against FGCU, the Bucs were 8-8.
First at bat for FGCU was a ground out to third baseman. Next at bat, FGCU’s next batter Tyler Selesky hit a shot to the right field wall, which resulted in a double.
Jake Noll hit a homer over the left field wall to give FGCU a quick 2-0 lead. The Bucs were able to avoid any further runs, forcing the next two outs to shortstop Robby McCabe (New Port Richey, Fl.).
On offense for the Bucs, lead off batter Jeremy Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) was able to get on base with a single hit to shortstop. Trey York (Knoxville, Tenn.) was able to put him in scoring position, getting a ground rule double to left field with a bounce over the wall.
Hagen Owenby (Knoxville, Tenn.) was able to drive in a run after a sacrifice fly to left field, which also advanced another runner in scoring position, giving FGCU a 2-1 lead.
Kevin Phillips (St. Louis, Mo.) was able to drive in a run after a sacrifice fly between middle and right field. The Bucs were able to end the first inning after a ground out to first base, which tied the game at 2.
To start the second inning, FGCU’s first at bat was a ground out to shortstop. However, FGCU was able to get one batter on base after a shot between shortstop and third base.
The next batter was walked, giving FGCU two batters on base with one out. It didn’t stop there after another shot between shortstop and third base got three batters on base.
Matt Reardon singled to left field, driving in a run and giving FGCU a 3-2 lead. Selesky singled to left field, driving in another run to increase FGCU lead to 4-2. Noll flied out to right field but was able to bring in a run, giving FGCU a 5-2 lead.
On offense, the Bucs were able to get two batters on base but weren’t able to get anything going offensively. After the second inning, the Bucs trailed 5-2.
The Bucs made a pitching change to Jamin McCann (Kingsport, Tenn.), who started slow after walking his first two batters. He was able able to strike out his next batter, giving the Bucs their first out with two batters on base.
The next at bat was a shot to left field, giving FGCU three batters on base with just one out. With a fly out, the Bucs had two outs followed by a ground out to second base to leave two runners on base.
On the offensive end, despite being able to get runners on base, they weren’t able to turn it into runs. The Bucs trailed in the fifth inning 7-4.
In the seventh inning, the Bucs had a clean defensive inning, not allowing FGCU to increase its lead.
In the end, despite being able to get runners on base in the next two innings, the Bucs weren’t able to score. The Bucs fell 7-4, dropping their record to 8-9.
Saturday was much different for the Bucs. They were able to contain the FGCU offense. The Bucs’ seniors stepped up, especially Kevin Phillips, who hit a home run to bring in two runs.
The Bucs won the Saturday match against Florida Gulf Coast 6-4 to bring their record to 9-9.
