FGCU baseball loses to Davidson in NCAA tourney

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. The Florida Gulf Coast baseball team fell to Davisdon College Saturday night 2-1 in the NCAA regional tournament.

The Wildcats jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second with consecutive singles from Brian Fortier, Eric Jones and Justin Lebek.

But FGCU pitcher Josh Dye managed to keep Davidson at bay before Richie Garcia made a diving catch in the hole to end the inning.

The Eagles lost an opportunity to score in the third when Jake Smith’s one-out single and Spencer Levine’s double to center field but runners on second and third. However, Julio Gonzalez and Gage Morley failed to deliver both grounded out.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the eighth when Davidson’s Eric Jones hit an RBI to sore Cam Johnson, extending the Wildcats’ lead 2-0.

FGCU managed to narrow Davidson’s two-run lead with Nick Rivera’s third homer of the tournament to right center in the ninth, but ultimately fell short.

The Eagles must now beat UNC in an elimination game Sunday at 1 p.m.