Florida Gulf Coast Rallies Past UMass Baseball, 5-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Massachusetts	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	4	13	0
FGCU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	5	9	1

Massachusetts

FGCU

April 26, 2015

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The UMass baseball team took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth, but Florida Gulf Coast rallied for five runs, capped off by a walk off homer in the ninth to defeat the Minutemen, 5-4. Following the setback, UMass sits at 11-20 on the season, while the Eagles improve to 24-19-1.

The Minutemen began the contest with a run in the top of the first. Redshirt senior Kyle Adie singled through the left side, moved up to second on a sacrifice and scored on a two-out RBI single by sophomore Mike Geannelis.

UMass added its second run of the day in the top of the fourth. Geannelis reached on a fielder's choice and the next batter, redshirt senior Adam Picard, drove him in with a double to center.

In the top of the seventh, the Minutemen pushed their lead to 4-0. Freshman Brett Evangelista and Adie reached base with back-to-back one-out singles. With junior Vinny Scifo attempting to bunt the runners over, an error on the throw to first allowed Evangelista to score. Then with two away, Geannelis plated Adie with a single through the right side.

However, FGCU made it a one-run game with three runs on two hits in the bottom of the eighth. Following a pair of one-out walks to Nick Rivera and Zach Spivey and a single by Colton Bottomley that loaded the bases, Blake Berger sent a bases-clearing double into left center that brought the score to 4-3.

In the bottom of the ninth after a four-pitch walk to the leadoff man Tyler Selesky, Rivera hit a two-run homer to right center that gave the Eagles the 5-4 victory.

Junior Ben Panunzio took the loss (1-1) for UMass after allowing two runs on one hit with one walk in one-third of an inning out of the bullpen. Starter Conor LeBlanc worked six shutout innings and scattered six hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Sterling Koerner earned the win (5-4) in relief for FGCU as he tossed one scoreless inning and allowed two hits, while striking out one.

Adie led the Minutemen offense in the contest, going 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Geannelis hit 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while Picard finished 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

For the Eagles, Rivera batted 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Berger was 1-for-2 with three RBI.

UMass will be back in action on Tuesday evening, Apr. 28, when the squad will head to Worcester, Mass., to face Holy Cross at 5 p.m.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

Adie Kyle

Geannelis Mike

McLam Rob

Picard Adam

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics