Saturday, May 08, 2010

FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 8, 2010) - The ETSU baseball team dropped both games of the doubleheader Saturday to Florida Gulf Coast 10-0 and 12-7 at Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.

FGCU out hit the Bucs 29-14 on the day as ETSU had only four hits in the shortened first game.

Junior Chas Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) was tabbed with the loss in game one after giving up eight runs on 11 hits in 6.0 innings. In game two, Starter Ben Booker (Knoxville, Tenn.) fell to 6-1 on the season as he surrendered seven runs on 11 hits in 4.0 innings of work.

Chris Sale went the distance for Florida Gulf Coast (30-16, 19-4 A-Sun) in the first game throwing 7.0 scoreless innings and striking out 11 to earn a complete game shutout, while Richie Erath earned the win in game two going 7.0 innings allowing only three runs on five hits while striking out eight.

The Bucs (27-20, 14-9 A-Sun) were led offensively by third baseman Bo Reeder (Cookeville, Tenn.) as he was a double short of the cycle in the second game.

Game One Recap:

The Eagles grabbed a 2-0 lead in bottom of the first as Tim Roberson drove a two-run home run over the fence in right.

Austin Gaines increased the FGCU lead to 4-0 in the fourth as he doubled in two runs. Later in the inning, Gaines came around to score on single by Joe Guarnaccia to make the score 5-0 Eagles.

In the seventh, Florida Gulf Coast scored five runs on three hits highlighted by a bases loaded double by Luke Smierciak to make the final 10-0.

Game Two Recap:

ETSU took a 1-0 in the first as Andrew Green (Powell, Tenn.) came in to score on a ball hit to first by catcher Derek Trent (Kingsport, Tenn.).

FGCU tied the game at 1-all in the bottom half on a RBI single by Josh Chester. The Eagles went in front 2-1 in the next at bat on a single by Zach Maxfield. Later in the inning, Gaines doubled in two runs to make the score 4-1.

The Bucs cut the FGCU lead to 4-3 in the second after an RBI double by Matthew Scruggs (Knoxville, Tenn.) and a RBI single by Green.

In the bottom of the second, Roberson drove a two-run home run over the fence in right for the second straight game to give Florida Gulf Coast a 6-3 advantage.

Roberson then came around to score in the fourth on a single by Smierciak to make the score 7-3

Guarnaccia added a run in the fifth to give the Eagles an 8-3 lead as he came around to score on an inside the park home run to left.

The Eagles extended their lead to 11-3 in the sixth on a three-run home run by Maxfield.

ETSU grabbed a couple runs in the eighth on a triple by Reeder and a ball hit to first by Kerry Doane (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) to make the score 12-5.

Reeder added a two-run home run in the ninth to make the final 12-7. The home run was the 16^th of the season for Reeder.

The Bucs are back in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. as they close out the series with the Eagles. For more information on ETSU baseball and all other Buccaneer athletic news please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.

Game 1: FGCU 10, ETSU 0 (7 innings)(May 8, 2010 at Fort Myers, Fla.)
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ETSU............ 000  000  0        -  0      4      0       (27-19, 14-8 A-Sun)

FGCU............ 200  300  5        - 10   12     0       (29-16, 18-4 A-Sun)

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Pitchers: ETSU - Chas Byrne; Joseph Timp (7); Pete Whittingslow (7)

FGCU - Chris Sale

Win - Chris Sale (8-0) Loss - Chas Byrne (3-6)               

HR - FGCU - Tim Roberson (11)

Game 2: FGCU 12, ETSU 7 (May 8, 2010 at Fort Myers, Fla.)
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ETSU............ 120  000  022  -  7    10     0       (27-20, 14-9 A-Sun)

FGCU............ 420  113  10x    - 12   17     0       (30-16, 19-4 A-Sun)

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Pitchers: ETSU - Ben Booker; Derek Bushey (5); Josh Means (7)

FGCU - Richie Erath; Rob Matthews (8); Jason Forget (8)

Win - Richie Erath (6-2) Loss - Ben Booker (6-1)            

HR - ETSU - Bo Reeder (16)

FGCU - Tim Roberson (12); Joe Guarnaccia (1); Zach Maxfield (7)