FORT MYERS, Fla. - Behind five shutout innings from Joe Jacques in his first collegiate start, Manhattan led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Florida Gulf Coast then scored six times in the sixth and added six more in the seventh on its way to a 13-3 victory over the Jaspers in the first game of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader.
In game two, the Jaspers trailed 3-1 heading into the ninth inning and pushed across a run before there were any outs. Florida Gulf Coast's Brady Anderson then escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam by inducing a forceout at the plate, getting a pickoff at third base and a game-ending groundout.
Game 1 Recap | Box Score
Manhattan got runners into scoring position in the first two innings and loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second inning. Yoandry Galan lofted a fly ball to left field that Vin Teixeira tagged up on, trying to score, but Cody Hoffner's throw from left field nailed Teixeira at the plate to end the inning and keep the Jaspers off the board.
An inning later, Manhattan took advantage of a misplayed fly ball off the bat of Andrew Gorecki as Chris Kalousdian came around from second to score the game's first run.
Meanwhile, Jacques was stellar through five innings. The freshman southpaw allowed just three base hits over five innings before Florida Gulf Coast got to him in the sixth.
The Eagles scored six times in the sixth, taking advantage of four walks and three hit batters. In the seventh, the Eagles added six runs on seven hits to pull ahead, 12-1.
Manhattan scored twice in the ninth without the benefit of a base hit, using two walks, two errors and a wild pitch to score a pair.
Game 2 Recap | Box Score
Starters William Fabra and Zack Tillery matched zeroes over the first five innings. Neither pitcher allowed a base hit until Gage Morey stroked a triple in the bottom of the sixth inning to score Kevin Young with the first run of the game.
After the Eagles made it 2-0 in the sixth, Christian Santisteban slugged his first home run of the year in the next half-inning to make it a 2-1 game.
Florida Gulf Coast led 3-1 heading into the ninth. Leadoff man Jose Carrera beat out an infield single to get things started, then Chris Kalousdian drew a base on balls.
Carrera came around to score when Eagles' closer Brady Anderson misplayed a ball on the infield and fired it down the right field line for a two-base error. Anderson issued an intentional walk to Santisteban to load the bases with nobody out as the Jaspers appeared poised to tie or take the lead.
Anderson beared down to induce a forceout at the plate. Florida Gulf Coast catcher Andrew Valencia then picked off the tying run at third base for the second out. Anderson then got a game-ending ground ball to escape the jam and give the Eagles a 3-2 win.
Manhattan and Florida Gulf Coast will finish the weekend series on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m.