FORT MYERS, Fla. – The first road trip of the season will be a brief one as the FGCU baseball team (3-4-1) will head north for a Feb. 24 date with South Florida (4-2-1) in the first of two midweek tilts with the Bulls this season. The Eagles then return from Tampa and the next day will take on Siena (1-5) at Swanson Stadium for the first time in program history.

The Eagles will send Nick Deckert (Tallahassee, Fla./Tallahassee CC) to the mound on Tuesday evening to make his first start of the season. Deckert has appeared in two games so far in relief, totaling 1.2 innings of work while striking out two and walking two. Last season Deckert posted a 7-5 record in 15 starts while posting a 3.72 ERA over 82.1 innings on the hill. He would strikeout 76 batter against just 19 walks while allowing 34 earned runs.

SCOUTING USF
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. USF, who is also going to be coming off of a 4-4 tie, has four hitters with averages above .300 so far this season including Kevin Merrell (.355), Daniel Portales (.333), Zac Gilcrease (.313) and Luck Maglich (.304). Ryan Valdes will take the mound for the Bulls opposite Deckert. Valdes has appeared in three games thus far totaling 4.0 innings while surrendering five hits, three runs and four walks while striking out six. The Bulls will head to Swanson Stadium Mar. 24 for the second game of the season series.

SCOUTING SIENA
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. Siena will be coming to Fort Myers having met with UConn in a three game set in Port St. Lucie, Fla. over the weekend. Justin Esquerra started each of the first five games for Siena and hit .450 in the process with nine hits, two doubles and three RBI. Esquerra is a MAAC Preseason All-Conference selection. Prior to giving up 14 runs to UConn on Monday, the Saints held an 8.34 team ERA.

MIKE MURRAY – ATLANTIC SUN PITCHER OF THE WEEK
For the first time this season and fifth time in his career, FGCU ace Mike Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forrest Hill HS) has been named the Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon.

Murray took the mound for the Green and Blue in game one on Friday 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 and fourth in FGCU program history.

The West Palm Beach native pitched exceptionally well out of the gate in his first outing of the season, allowing just one hit and striking out seven over the first four frames opposite Central Michigan. The junior struggled in the fifth, however, giving up three hits, including a one-out, two-run triple which would ultimately hand Murray his first loss of the season and third of his career. He would close the night with nine strikeouts after pitching into the sixth.

Murray was named a Preseason All-American by three separate publications. Perfect Game and the NCBWA selected Murray to the third team while Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper chose the right-hander to the second team. He was also tabbed the Preseason A-Sun Pitcher of the Year and named to the 50-man Preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list.

LAST TIME OUT
The FGCU baseball team (3-4-1) experienced a true rarity in the game of college baseball on Sunday afternoon; a tie. The Eagles defeated Fordham, 15-8 to begin the day in a back-and-forth affair then took the field with nationally ranked Illinois and battled a 4-4 tie after nine innings in game that had a 5:45 p.m. curfew. The Fighting Illini needed to catch their flight out of Fort Myers and therefore had to put a deadline on the game.

Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) took the mound in the first game and struggled through 4.0 innings of work during which he would allow seven runs on nine hits while striking out five. Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carrol HS) took over and tossed 4.0 innings of four-hit ball while allowing just one run to fall in line for his first win of the season.

In game two it was the freshman Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) taking the mound for the Green and Blue opposite Illinois. The lefty worked through 6.1 innings and gave up seven hits which resulted in three runs but only two earned while striking out one against two walks. He would turn the ball over to Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) who was brilliant through 2.2 innings of work but he would give up the game-tying single with two outs in the ninth that would ultimately secure the tie.

FGCU would send four to the plate in the ninth but none would advance past first resulting in the game ending in FGCU's first tie since turning Div. I and first since the 2003 season. The Eagles would actually pick up their only two ties in program history that season. First to East Stroudsburg, 10-10, on Mar. 21 and then opposite Barry, 11-11, on Apr. 8. It is the first tie by and Atlantic Sun team since 1998.

HEAD COACH MATCHUP
In 13 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 437-242-3 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He will match up with first year USF head coach Mark Kingston who comes to the Bulls from Illinois State where he posted a 173-102 record as the head coach. Tollett will also square off with Siena's Tony Rossi who is in his 46th season with the Saints. Rossi has compiled a record of 829-996-6 record during that span.

FGCU BY THE NUMBERS
Day Games: 3-1-1
Night Games: 0-3
vs. LHP Starter: 1-1-1
vs. RHP Starter: 2-3
1-Run Games: 0-1
2-Run Games: 2-1
5+ Run Games: 1-1
Extra Innings: 0-1

The Eagles are currently hitting .240 as a team with Adam Eggnatz (Tampa, Fla./Middle Georgia College) leading the way at .292. Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) has collected five hits this season, four of which have been an A-Sun leading four doubles. He led the league in that category last season with 27. Smeltzer has been the sure No. 2 starter in the rotation thus far, tossing 10.1 innings for the Eagles with a 2.61 ERA while striking out six and walking four.

2015 SCHEDULE
The 2015 FGCU baseball schedule will feature six teams that participated in the 2014 NCAA Baseball Tournament, three conference tournament champions and one NCAA Super Regional participant. The Eagles will play 16 of their first 18 games on campus and a total of 37 at home this season highlighted by the first-ever appearance by in-state rival Miami at Swanson Stadium Mar. 10.

The six NCAA Tournament participants are MEAC Champion Bethune-Cookman, Florida State, defending Atlantic Sun Tournament Champion and NCAA Super Regional participant Kennesaw State, Miami, Nebraska and MAAC Champion Siena. A total of 15 games are scheduled against those six programs with 10 taking place on the road.

NEXT UP
Minnesota, the second of three B1G opponents for the Green and Blue, visits Swanson Stadium for a three game series Feb. 27-Mar. 1 and it will be the Eagles' first meeting with the Gophers. Minnesota went 27-24 last season with a 13-11 record in the B1G in 2014.

The Eagles will make their first of two trips to Coral Gables to square off with Miami on Mar. 4. The Hurricanes will then travel to Swanson Stadium on Mar. 10 for a 6 p.m. start. Miami finished the 2014 season with the No. 17 RPI in the nation. The Canes streaked to a 45-20 record in 2014 with a 24-6 record in the ACC before advancing to the NCAA Tournament where they fell in the regional.

ATLANTIC SUN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Eagles will once again host the Atlantic Sun Championship Tournament at Swanson Stadium this season. The event is set to take place May 20-24 and the top six teams in the standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the championship and compete in a double-elimination style tournament to determine the A-Sun's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles are four-time A-Sun Regular Season Champions with the most recent title coming in 2014.

2014-15 RECRUITING CLASS
FGCU baseball's 2014-15 recruiting class has been tabbed by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the same publication that named second baseman Jake Noll the National Freshman Player of the Year in 2014 and FGCU alum Chris Sale the 2010 National Player of the Year, as the No. 38 class in the nation. The Eagles outclassed well-known national powers such as California, Texas A&M, Auburn, Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Baylor as well as defending Atlantic Sun Tournament Champion and 2014 NCAA Super Regional participant Kennesaw State.

#DRAFTCITY
The Eagles would have a total of three players taken in the 2014 MLB draft, Junior outfielder Michael Suchy (Bradenton, Fla./Southeast HS), Junior third-baseman/pitcher Zack Tillery (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) and Redshirt-Junior, left-handed reliever Ryan Atwood (Austin, Texas/Westwood HS/Navarro College). The Eagles have now produced 22 draft picks in their history with the most notable being 2014 AL Cy Young Award Finalist and three-time All-Star Chris Sale who was chosen in the first round, 13th overall by the Chicago White Sox in 2010. Suchy became the second-highest FGCU player ever taken when he went to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round in last June's draft and is one of just seven players in FGCU history to be chosen in the top ten rounds. The Eagles would have a program record seven players selected during the 2013 draft. Freshman left-hander Devin Smeltzer is the lone FGCU player on the roster this season who has been drafted previously. He was selected in the 33rd round of the 2014 draft by the San Diego Padres but instead opted to attend FGCU.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 12 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 437-242-3 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.