GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Florida Gulf Coast University held on for a 3-2 win at McKethan Stadium Wednesday night, delivering Florida its first home loss of the season.
 
FGCU (12-2) held a 3-1 lead for much of the game despite Florida (10-4) scoring first in its first at bat.
 
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first, the Gators offense scuffled along for seven innings before a late rally in the ninth that was inches away from tying the game.
 
JJ Schwarz led off the ninth with a solo home run, his first of the season, to cut the Eagles' lead to one run. Pinch hitter Mark Kolozsvary singled with one out, as UF appeared to be on the verge of a game-tying rally.
 
Jonathan India stepped to the plate and battled FGCU closer Sterling Koerner, fighting off several pitches before lining a 2-2 pitch to right center field – where Eagles' center fielder Gage Morey made a diving catch to rob India and end the game.
 
Left-hander Austin Langworthy made his first career start on the mound and pitched 3.2 innings with three runs allowed on five hits. After the bullpen took over, the Gators limited FGCU to two hits and no runs over the final 5.1 innings.
 
Freshmen Kirby McMullen and Tyler Dyson each pitched two scoreless innings out of the pen and junior Nick Horvath tossed 1.1 innings with no runs allowed.
 
Florida scored in the first inning for just the third time this season. Leadoff man Blake Reese drew a walk then moved to third on a hit-and-run single from Dalton Guthrie. A wild pitch scored Reese from third to give the Gators a 1-0 lead.
 
The Eagles responded in the second after a pair of leadoff walks set them up with a scoring opportunity. A sacrifice advanced both runners and Elijah Euseibo hit a two-out single to left field to give FGCU a 2-1 lead.
 
The visiting team took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning on a RBI single from Corey Fehribach, scoring Nick Rivera from second who led off the inning with a single.
 
The Gators will host three games against Seton Hall starting Friday in its final non-conference weekend series. All three games will be streamed live on SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app.
 
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
"The positives…we played good defense, we threw three freshmen out there again and they threw the ball very well, just like last night with Garrett [Milchin] and Nick Long – who I thought threw the ball very well. I thought we got off to a good start, we talked about we've only scored twice in 13 games in the first inning. We got on the board there in the first, but just did not make any adjustments in innings two and three. The other positive is we battled there in the ninth inning. We've got to pull something out of that.
 
"We're getting pitched the same way, some guys are getting pitched the same way, and there's not a whole lot of adjustments. We've got to make box adjustments, guys are worried about both sides of the plate. They're off the fastball, they're late to the fastball, and they're chasing off-speed. You've got to pick one or the other. We'll continue to work on approach, but we've got to get some of our better players going. It's just that simple. And they will. It is a bit surprising that we're 14 games in – we swung the bat really well in the fall and preseason, some of you guys were out here and you've seen it. But for whatever reason, teams go through this, players go through difficult stretches, we just so happen to go through it to start the season.
 
"Our guys are our guys, our players are who we have. They're going to continue to work hard and get batter. Hopefully we can continue to build off that last inning. Their center fielder made a heck of a play. JJ [Schwarz] started off the inning with a home run, Nelly hit a line drive to left, Kolo came off the bench in the six hole and got a hit on a breaking ball. India put a good charge into the ball, the center fielder just made a heck of a play. It's that simple."