Florida Atlantic baseball was unable to hang on to a two-run lead in the seventh inning, falling 7-5 to Florida Gulf Coast University Tuesday night in Fort Myers.

With the game tied at five in the top of the eighth, junior Spencer Levine doubled to left center, knocking in both junior Eli Lovell and freshman Marc Coffers to give FGCU (8-2) the lead. The Owls (4-2-1) had a chance to get back in it in the ninth, but senior Esteban Puerta, freshman Eric Rivera and sophomore Tyler Frank were unable to get on base.

Senior Stephen Kerr led FAU with two runs and one RBI, finishing 2-for-4 for the game.

FAU found itself down 2-0 in the first inning of the game, as senior Nick Rivera and Lovell both scored an unearned run. The Owls would battle back and scored two runs over the next two innings, but FAU was still down 3-2 heading into the fourth.

Junior David Miranda singled out to left field, allowing senior Austin Langham to score. Miranda would then score on a wild pitch, giving FAU its first lead of the night at 4-3.

The Owls would then extend the lead when freshman Pedro Pages singled to left side, bringing in freshman Gary Mattis for FAU’s final run of the game.

In the seventh, sophomore Jake Smith singled to right side, allowing Levine to score and trim the lead to one. On the very next play, junior Julio Gonzalez scored on a error, tying the game at five.

Levine led FGCU with two runs and three RBIs, and was 3-for-5 for the night.

FAU will now return home to face the University of Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at FAU Baseball Stadium.

Hans Belot Jr. is the sports editor of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him at @Don_Phenom_.