FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (5-4-1) will welcome Minnesota (0-7) to Swanson Stadium with a four-game unbeaten streak in tow. The Eagles are coming off of a pair of impressive midweek victories and will be welcoming their second Big Ten opponent in as many weekends.

Mike Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forrest Hill HS), the defending Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week, will take the hill for the Green and Blue on Friday night looking to pick up his second victory of the season after a dominant performance last Friday opposite Fordham. 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, which rank sixth in the nation, 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.

Josh Dye (Deland, Fla./Deland HS) will take the ball in game two for the Green and Blue looking to build upon the first start of his career opposite 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.

Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) will make his third start on Sunday and will be in search of his first victory after coming up one out short last Sunday 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 4-4 tie.

LAST TIME OUT
The FGCU baseball team (5-4-1) completed a perfect pair of midweek games on Wednesday when it defeated Siena (1-6) by a score of 9-5 after collecting 14 hits. The Eagles erased an early 2-0 deficit, took the lead with a four-run fourth and never looked back to claim their fifth victory of the 2015 season.

Jack English (Delray Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) made his first start of the season on Wednesday afternoon and struggled in the first. He would walk two, strike out one and surrender two runs before turning things over to Jordan Desguin (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS/Feather River College). The right-hander would escape the first with no further damage and work 3.2 innings for the Eagles, allowing just one run to pick up his first victory.

Five different Eagles would pick up two hits with Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) and Blake Berger (Jacksonville, Fla./Santa Fe College) each driving in two runs. Bottomley continues to lead the Eagles with 12 RBI through ten games while Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla/Charlotte HS) and Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) pace the offense with 12 hits each.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Minnesota, the second of three B1G opponents for the Green and Blue, visits Swanson Stadium for a three game series 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 0-7 record to this point in 2015 may be a bit misleading as the only two opponents for Minnesota thus far have been No. 6 Houston and No. 8 Texas.

The Golden Gophers are led at the plate by Toby Hanson and Alex Boxwell. They both have batting averages over .300, with Hanson at .368 and Boxwell at .333. Hanson leads the team with seven hits and total bases with eight. As a team Minnesota is struggling offensively having a team batting average of .185.

HEAD COACH MATCHUP
In 13 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 439-242-3 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He will match up with six-time B1G Conference Coach of the Year John Anderson who is in his 34th season. Anderson is the all-time B1G leader in victories with a career record of 1,151-779-3.

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
The Eagles will make their first of two trips to Coral Gables to square off with Miami (6-3) 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 439-242-3 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.