GAME 1 vs. Fordham - BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Mike Murray (1-1): 7.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO
LP | Brett Kennedy (0-2): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
SV | Garrett Anderson (1): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

GAME 2 vs. No. 26 Illinois - BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Drasen Johnson (1-0): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
LP | Josh Dye (0-1): 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (2-4) began the day with a statement win over Fordham on the strength of a Mike Murray gem but would go down to No. 26 Illinois in game two no thanks in large part to a seven-run sixth inning from the Fighting Illini. The Eagles will be off Saturday and will return to Swanson Stadium to face both teams again in a doubleheader set to begin at 11 a.m.

Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forrest Hill HS) took the mound for the Green and Blue in game one opposite Fordham and dominated in typical Murray fashion. The junior cruised through 7.2 innings of work, striking out eleven while allowing just five hits to pick up his first win of the season. Through 12.2 innings on the hill in 2015, Murray has collected 20 strikeouts and with the win on Friday afternoon he now has 19 in his career which ranks 13th in the NCAA among active pitchers.

Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) took over for Murray and struck out two over an inning and a third to pick up his first save of the season and second of his career. Adam Eggnatz (Tampa, Fla./Middle Georgia College) was the lone Eagle to collect multiple hits opposite the Rams going 2-3 with an RBI single.

Josh Dye (Deland, Fla./Deland HS) made his FGCU debut on the mound, getting the start in game two opposite nationally ranked Illinois. The freshman made it through 3.0 innings and struck out two but would allow three runs on five hits to fall in line for his first loss. Seven other FGCU pitchers would combine to pitch the remaining six frames and gave up 10 more runs on eight more hits. Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) would have the lone RBI single in the third for the Eagles that drove in both FGCU runs.

"Mike pitched extremely well for us," head coach Dave Tollett said. "He was as good today as he ever has been and he's only getting better. He's added the strikeout to his game which makes him extremely dangerous going forward. It was nice to get an early win and feel good heading into the game with Illinois. Josh Dye showed some good signs in the beginning but his inexperience showed a little bit when he got in trouble in the fourth. We needed our bullpen to be better tonight. That big inning took the air out of the whole team and that can't happen."

GAME 1
Murray kicked off the contest with two punch outs in the first and two more in the second giving up just one hit in the process. The Eagles led off the bottom of the second with a pair walks bringing up Blake Berger (Jacksonville, Fla./Santa Fe College) who laid down a bunt and beat the play to first then advanced to second on a throwing error by the first baseman. The error would allow Bottomley to score from second for the first run of the ball game. Eggnatz then came to the plate with one out and runners on second and third and singled through the right side to make it 2-0.

The Preseason All-American right-hander took over from there striking out seven over the next 5.2 innings while allowing just three hits the rest of the way. Murray would throw 109 pitches on Friday afternoon with no walks to his credit while lowering his ERA to 1.42 after taking the loss to Central Michigan a week ago.

The Eagles would manage just six hits offensively off the Fordham arms with five coming off starter Brett Kennedy. Kyle Gilbert (Lake Mary, Fla./Seminole HS) continued the hot start to his career going 1-3 with a run in the victory.

GAME 2
Dye struck out the first two batters he faced before giving up a single and seeing a runner reach on error. The freshman remained composed however and picked up a groundout to get through his first inning of work. The Eagles would go down in order in the bottom half.

Illinois struck first in the top of the second when Casey Fletcher singled to left with one out then circled the bases when Ryne Roper drilled a double to deep left center. Dye would work out of the rest of the frame to limit the damage and leave FGCU with just a 1-0 deficit to work with.

The next six batters to come to the plate would be retired bringing up the Eagles in the bottom of the third. Eggnatz legged out an infield single with one out then with two outs Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) walked to put runners on first and second for Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS). The sophomore singled to the deep shortstop area, loading the bases for Bottomley who singled as well, driving in two runs and putting the Eagles ahead 2-1.

Illinois quickly regained its lead in the top of the fourth when a leadoff walk, a double and single in succession led to a pair of runs. Jack English (Delray Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) would take over for Dye at that point and work out of the rest of the inning.

Both lineups would remain quiet until the top of the sixth when English served up three-straight walks to begin the frame, loading the bases for his reliever Mike LaGrange (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Pete College). The first pitch from LaGrange would result in a single through the right side allowing the first two runs of the inning to score. The next batter would walk resulting in another FGCU pitching change. This time Garrison Vandeventer (Ocala, Fla./North Marian HS) would make his debut and he would allow five more runs to cross the plate resulting in a 10-2 Illinois advantage.

The Eagles would not mound any counter-offensive while the Illini tacked on three more runs the rest of the way to provide the final score of 13-2.

NEXT UP
The first road trip of the season will be a brief one as the Eagles will head north for a Feb. 24 date with USF in the first of two midweek tilts with the Bulls this season. The second will take place at Swanson Stadium Mar. 24. FGCU split the two-game series with USF last season and are 7-3 all-time against the Bulls. USF posted a 27-31 record in 2014 and a 10-14 mark in the American Athletic Conference.

The Eagles will return from Tampa and the next day will take on Siena for the first time in program history. The Saints are the defending MAAC Champions and advanced to the 2014 NCAA Tournament after collecting a 27-33 overall record and a 17-7 mark in conference play. They would finish the 2014 campaign with an RPI of 182.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 12 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 436-242-2 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He is a four-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four A-Sun Regular Season Championships. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets and has coached 35 All-Conference selections, 22 draft picks, 14 current minor leaguers, four A-Sun Pitchers of the Year, three All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one MLB All-Star.

#WINGSUP
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that can't be offered anywhere else.

FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the baseball team on Twitter @FGCU_Baseball, Instagram @FGCU_Baseball or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUBaseball. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.