Florida Gulf Coast Does It Again, Upending Miami
No. 11 Florida Gulf Coast got another strong midweek start from righthander Mario Leon on Wednesday and turned it into another win over a traditional Florida powerhouse.
| HOW THE TOP 25 FARED |
| (1) Oregon State: off |
| (2) Louisville: off |
| (3) Texas Christian: won, 18-2, vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley |
| (4) Texas Tech: won, 14-7, vs. Texas Southern |
| (5) Clemson: won, 6-5, vs. Winthrop in 11 innings |
| (6) South Carolina: off |
| (7) North Carolina: off |
| (8) Florida: off |
| (9) Louisiana State: off |
| (10) Cal State Fullerton: off |
| (11) Florida Gulf Coast: won, 4-0, vs. Miami |
| (12) Florida State: off |
| (13) Arizona: won, 3-2, vs. Grand Canyon |
| (14) St. John’s: won, 6-2, vs. Wagner |
| (15) Stanford: off |
| (16) Kentucky: off |
| (17) Oklahoma: off |
| (18) Auburn: off |
| (19) Virginia: won, 4-2, at Virginia Commonwealth |
| (20) Mississippi: off |
| (21) Arkansas: cancelled vs. Grambling State |
| (22) Baylor: off |
| (23) Houston: off |
| (24) Wake Forest: off |
| (25) East Carolina: off |
Leon threw seven scoreless innings against Miami, and FGCU went on to a 3-0 victory in front of a stadium-record crowd of 2,704. The Eagles extended their winning streak to nine games, and have won 19 of their last 20. They improved to 23-3, matching their 2005 team for the best start in program history.
FGCU is 4-0 against Florida, Florida State and Miami this year, and has now beaten the state’s three Power Five conference opponents in the same season for the first time in program history.
“It was extra special to be able to do it in front of an outstanding crowd at home,” coach Dave Tollett said. “I’ve never seen Swanson Stadium that electric in my 15 years at FGCU.”
Leon (3-1, 2.59), a redshirt junior, struck out six batters and held Miami (11-14) to two hits and a walk in seven innings. Relievers Kenton Hering and Sterling Koerner followed with a scoreless inning each to finish FGCU’s first shutout of the season. Koerner picked up his ninth save of the year to tie FGCU’s single-season record.
Miami righthander Greg Veliz (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K) matched Leon through six innings, but FGCU finally broke through in the seventh. Shortstop Julio Gonzalez (1-for-3, BB) hit a bases-loaded single against reliever Andrew Cabezas to bring home two runs, which proved to be the difference in the game. The Eagles also got a boost as freshman outfielder Marc Coffers (1-for-4, R) returned to the lineup after missing nearly four weeks due to a wrist injury.
Like FGCU, No. 4 Texas Tech (10), No. 5 Clemson (8) and No. 14 St. John’s (7) all extended their winning streaks Wednesday. With a 14-7 victory against Texas Southern, Texas Tech (24-4) became the 14th team to have a 10-game winning streak this season.
Clemson (22-4) needed extra innings to defeat Winthrop, but the Tigers got a walk-off single in the 11th from Reed Rohlman to see them through the victory. St. John’s defeated Wagner, 6-2, to improve to 19-2.
Boston College DH Donovan Casey hit for the cycle in a 13-1 victory against Massachusetts. The junior performed the feat in his first four at bats, becoming the first Eagle to hit for the cycle since 2003. Casey, a two-way star for BC, is hitting .277/.351/.373 and is 1-0, 2.45 in seven appearances on the mound this season.
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