Gabe Lacques

USA TODAY Sports

Jose Fernandez was upset following an argument with his girlfriend and summoned two friends for the late-night boating expedition that ended in the death of the 24-year-old Miami Marlins pitcher and his companions, according to reports that detailed the final evening of his life.

Eddy Rivero and Emilio Macias were killed along with Fernandez when a 32-foot fishing boat – which authorities said Monday was owned by Fernandez – crashed into a jetty sometime before 3 a.m. Sunday morning as it traveled southbound back toward Miami Beach.

Fernandez's friends joined him only after Marlins teammates turned down his offer to go on the late-night trip on the water.

"That night I told him, ‘Don’t go out,’” outfielder Marcell Ozuna told the Miami Herald. “Everybody knew he was crazy about that boat and loved being out on the water. I told him I couldn’t go out that night because I had the kids and my wife waiting for me.

“He told me if I didn’t hear from him by 10 a.m. (Sunday) to call him and wake him up so he could get back to the ballpark on time for the game. I told him, ‘yeah no problem, I’ll call you.’ I woke up Sunday and that’s when I found out. I cried and cried."

Will Bernal, a close friend of Rivero’s, exchanged text messages with Rivero after midnight urging him not to go on the boat and posted the exchange on his Instagram account Monday.

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“Yo, please be careful bro,” Bernal told Rivero, 25. “Try to keep him close to shore.”

“Trust me it’s not my time yet,” Rivero responded.

Bernal urged Rivero to keep his iPhone tracker activated and he followed the boat’s movements to its stop at American Social, a dockside restaurant and bar where managers confirmed Fernandez visited. Macias, 27, lived near the restaurant and they picked him up there.

Authorities said signs of drugs or alcohol were not present at the crash site. Toxicology reports are pending.

Bernal and others described Fernandez as under some stress Saturday; the Miami Herald said the impetus was an argument with his girlfriend, who is pregnant with their first child. Yahoo Sports reported that Fernandez asked Marlins teammates to join him on the expedition, but they declined.

Fernandez contacted Rivero sometime after the Marlins’ game against the Atlanta Braves, which ended at 10:30 p.m. ET, and Rivero left a birthday party to join him. They picked up Macias on the boat thereafter.

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Kaught Looking – spelled with a backward K, to symbolize a batter striking out without swinging – was a 32-foot SeaVee vessel that can reach top speeds of between 50 and 65 mph, depending on its engine size.

Authorities still have not stipulated which of the three were driving the boat, nor is it clear that they have made that determination. Bernal told Yahoo Sports that Rivero did not have a boating license.

Rivero did have a tattoo that read, “Life is Short. Heaven is Forever.”

His friends and supporters aimed to find solace in that sentiment Monday.

“Eddy was always the type of guy who would put others before him,” Bernal told Yahoo. “He was a genuinely nice, caring person. The type of human you want to meet and have as a friend. It’s so hard to find friends like that.

“He lost his life being a good friend.”