FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FIU baseball program fell to the FGCU Eagles in a high-scoring 15-8 decision on Tuesday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
The Panthers (22-18) jumped out to a 6-1 lead by the sixth inning, but the Eagles (16-24) rallied with five runs in the bottom of the sixth and eight more in the seventh to complete a season sweep of FIU.
FIU opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single to left from Andrew Ildefonso. FGCU answered with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half to even the score at 1-1.
The Panthers' offense came alive in the third inning with a five-run outburst. Kishon Frett got things started with an RBI double to deep center field, scoring Brylan West. Two batters later, Ildefonso launched a three-run homer to left-center—his fifth long ball of the season. Cole Cleveland capped off the inning with an RBI single to give FIU a 6-1 advantage.
FGCU responded with a five-run sixth inning, highlighted by a game-tying three-run homer. The Eagles followed that with an eight-run seventh inning, including a grand slam from Tyler Herb, to take a commanding 14-6 lead.
The Panthers added two solo home runs in the eighth—one from freshman Marc Hersh (his second of the season) and another from Frett, who blasted his team-leading 16th homer. FGCU tacked on one more run in the bottom half to seal the win.
FIU tallied 12 hits, with all nine starters reaching base. Frett led the way with a three-hit effort—his 13th multi-hit game of the season—and his 16 homers tie his career high. Ildefonso chipped in two hits and matched a career-high with four RBIs. Alex Ulloa added two hits, including a double. Cleveland, Javier Crespo, Hersh, Adonys Velez, and Brylan West each added a hit. Austin Dearing extended his on-base streak to 18 games, while West pushed his to 16.
On the mound, Jaydon Bishop made his first career start, allowing one earned run over two innings. Logan Runde provided 3.1 innings of relief, surrendering two earned runs and striking out one. David Eckaus took the loss after giving up seven runs in the seventh. Tracen Cameron, Toby Haarer, and Shane Tucker also saw action out of the bullpen.
UP NEXT
FIU hosts the Miami Hurricanes in a crosstown clash on Wednesday, April 23 at 6 p.m.. It will be streamed live on ESPN+ from FIU Baseball Stadium.
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