College roundup: FGCU baseball completes sweep of NJIT; Rivera tops 200 RBIs

The Florida Gulf Coast University baseball team got its first Atlantic Sun Conference sweep of the season Sunday, beating NJIT, 10-6, in Newark, New Jersey.

Senior Nick Rivera topped the 200 RBI mark for his career. He had four Sunday and nine in the series and to move into 10th place on the ASUN's all-time list and is 12 RBIs shy of cracking the top five.

FGCU (31-16, 7-8 ASUN) capped off the three-game series against the Highlanders with 37 runs on 47 hits, including 22 for extra bases. The team's 37 runs in a three-game series are the most since scoring 47 runs at Northern Kentucky in 2014. Additionally, its 47 hits are the most since registering 50 hits in three games at USC Upstate last season.

"We came in here and did what we needed to do," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "We challenged the guys earlier in the week, and they certainly responded. It's nice to get back in the win column, but there's still more work to do. We have two more midweeks and a couple of very important conference series left, and we're going to take it a game at a time."

Sunday's win not only marks the first time FGCU has registered 10 or more runs in back-to-back games since March10-11 versus Ohio State, but is also the first time this season the Eagles have turned in double digit hits in three straight contests.

The Eagles built an 8-0 lead behind a five-run third and a three-run fourth. Spencer Levine and Julio Gonzalez had back-to-back RBI doubles and Matt Reardon had an RBI triple in the third. Rivera then homered. In the fourth, Levine hit a two-run homer and Eli Lovell had a sacrifice fly. Rivera doubled home a run in the sixth for his 200th career RBI, then added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Garrett Anderson (4-1) got the win, allowing two runs on six hits in five innings. Peyton Gray and Sterling Koerner each had a scoreless inning of relief.

The Eagles play No. 26 USF in Tampa on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

SOFTBALL

FGCU 13, STETSON 3: Bri Innamorato had five RBIs to lead the Eagles (24-27, 6-8 ASUN) to the series win and they moved ahead of Jacksonville into fifth place in the conference; the top six make the conference tournament.

FGCU scored four runs in the first on Innamorato's RBI single, and the Eagles added runs on a fielder's choice and a bases-loaded walk before Bree Tourtillott hit a sacrifice fly. In the second, Innamorato smacked a three-run homer following singles from Jeanie Verderese and LuLu Newmark to make it 7-0. FGCU added six more runs in the third on Newmark's RBI single, Innamorato's bases-loaded walk, Brittany McGuire getting hit by a pitch, and RBIs from Morgan Sutherland and Natalie Lopez to go up 13-0.

"We hit the ball hard and hit the ball consistently and took advantage of their mistakes," FGCU coach David Deiros said. "Bri Innamorato had a phenomenal weekend and Huff and Jeanie played really well all weekend long. We were able to extend a couple innings and pile on. Riley was her usual efficient self and she did not a nice job of making sure they didn't make hard contact. They came out on a mission today and put the game away early."

Riley Randolph picked her 14th win of the season, striking out one. FGCU closes out the regular season with a three-game series at home against Lipscomb (7-8 ASUN) beginning Thursday.

FSW 4, CHIPOLA 0: The Bucs aadded the FCSAA state title to go with clinching an NJCAA tournament berth and winning the District G title a day earlier at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach.

The Bucs  (61-5) broke open the game late. Criza Bulanadi scored on Christian Quinn's single, Mikayla Werihako scored on an illegal pitch, and Quinn scored on a wild pitch.

FSW beat College of Central Florida, 5-2, and Seminole State College, 4-0, on Saturday to win the District G crown. The NJCAA Division I tournament is in St. George, Utah from May 17-20.