LINCOLN, Neb. – The FGCU baseball team (8-9-1) will travel to Nebraska (9-6) to challenge the Huskers in its first weekend road series of the 2015 season. The Eagles have never met with Nebraska and will send Mike Murray to the mound in the first meeting on Friday night at 4:05 p.m. local time, 5:05 p.m. eastern. Nebraska will be the third Big Ten opponent already this season for the Green and Blue.  

Friday's game can be seen live on HuskersNSide which is Nebraska's web-based video-streaming platform. The matchups on Saturday and Sunday can be seen on the Big Ten Network Plus which is the league's online video-streaming platform, similar to ESPN3, which requires a subscription.

MIKE MURRAY
Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forrest Hill HS) will take the ball for the series opener and make his fifth start of the season opposite the Cornhuskers, his first on the road in 2015. His start on Friday will also be the third as many weeks that he will be in search of the 20th victory of his career, making the right-hander just the fifth pitcher in program history to accomplish that feat. The program record is 25 currently held by FGCU Pitching Coach Pete Woodworth.

Murray has posted just 1-2 record over his first four starts but the record can be misleading. The junior has rolled to a 2.60 ERA in 27.2 innings with 34 strikeouts against just two walks while opponents are hitting a meager .202 against him. His strikeout-to-walk ratio of 17.00 ranks in a tie for seventh in the nation while his 34 punch outs are tied for 15th.

Last week opposite Western Michigan the junior would strike out 10 Broncos over 7.0 innings while allowing seven hits and three runs. Prior to that he rolled through his first six innings of work opposite Minnesota, retiring 15-straight after giving up a hit with no outs in the second. Three hits and a walk in the seventh would doom the junior, however, as three runs would come across on a bases clearing single to right to provide all the scoring Minnesota would need. Murray would finish the evening with eight innings under his belt to go with four strikeouts.

The junior would earn Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week recognition after he cruised through 7.2 innings of work against Fordham, striking out eleven while allowing just five hits to pick up his first win of the season. 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. He 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.

DEVIN SMELTZER
Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) will make his fifth start on Saturday after picking up the first win of his career last Sunday against Western Michigan after coming up one out short opposite Illinois and taking the first loss of his career last against Minnesota. The lefty tossed 6.2 innings against WMU and allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out five. Four relievers would guide FGCU the rest of the way. So far this season Smeltzer has provided a 4.29 ERA in 21.0 innings of the hill for FGCU while striking out 12 against five walks.

HEAD COACH MATCHUP
In 13 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 442-247-3 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He will match up with former Major League Baseball All-Star Darin Erstad who is in his fourth season as the head coach for the Cornhuskers. Erstad, who is the only player in MLB history to win Gold Gloves as an infielder (2004) and outfielder (2000 and 2002) and the first player in MLB history to win Gold Gloves at three positions (LF, 2000; CF, 2002; 1B, 2004) for the Los Angeles Angels has compiled a 114-80 record at Nebraska.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska racked up 41 wins last season with 18 coming in conference play and would advance all the way to the Big Ten title game. Despite a loss in the conference championship game, Nebraska advanced to the NCAA Regional but were knocked out by Cal-State Fullerton.

So far this season Nebraska is led at the plate by Ryan Boldt who is hitting .360 in 14 games. He has collected 18 hits and driven in three runs while teammates Blake Headley (.327) and Ben Miller (.300) have driven in 15 and 13 runs, respectively.

Chance Sinclair will take the mound opposite Murray and has struggled a bit in the early going this season. Sinclair has tossed 23.2 innings with a 4.56 ERA and 18 strikeouts against six walks. Kyle Kubat will matchup with Smeltzer on Saturday and has been the brightest of stars on the mound to this point. Kubat is 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA in 25.0 innings with 14 punch outs.

ADAM EGGNATZ
Eggnatz has had the most notable breakout season of any FGCU player in the lineup this year. The senior has hit .383 this season 60 at-bats after accumulating just 46 all of last season. He has collected 23 hits, a double, a triple and 11 RBI while building an eight-game hitting streak that was snapped on Tuesday opposite No. 19 Miami. He has also stolen three bags this season while maintaining an on base percentage of .439. In four games last week, Eggnatz hit .643 opposite Miami and Western Michigan.

Eggnatz also emerged late last season as a viable option on the mound out of the bullpen. In 2014 he appeared in two games, tossing 2.0 innings without allowing a run and striking out four. In his first and only appearance so far this season, the Tampa native threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and struck out four while giving up just three hits without walking a batter.  

JAKE NOLL
Noll has continued to be the spark plug for FGCU at the top of the lineup. He has picked up right where he left off a season ago, leading the Eagles with 25 hits already through 18 games with a .347 batting average which ranks second on the team. He has also ripped three doubles, driven in 11 runs, stole six bases in seven attempts and hit the first home run of his career two weekends ago. The sophomore made the move from second to third base this season and has been able to produce a .431 slugging percentage to go with a .422 on base percentage while also walking seven times. After closing the 2014 season on a 23-game reached-base streak Noll has built a 13-game streak this season which is also a true hitting streak. Last season Noll built a hitting streak as long as 13 games on two separate occasions.

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU held a 4-2 lead over No. 19 Miami (11-6, 1-2 ACC) through two innings on Wednesday night under the lights of Swanson Stadium. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs at the Eagles' home park. The lead would not last for long as Miami was able to score 13 unanswered runs to close the game out with the help of five FGCU errors that resulted in eight unearned runs. FGCU would ultimately go down 15-4 and have dropped the first two games of the season series. The finale will come a little over two weeks from now (Mar. 25) in Coral Gables.

Nick Deckert (Tallahassee, Fla./Tallahassee CC) would make the start on the mound for the Eagles and throw 36 pitches in the first inning, surrendering two runs and striking out two before being replaced by Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) in the second. Anderson would strikeout the side in the second then give up a two-run homerun to tie the game in the third. A rocky fourth would result in two more runs which would eventually hand Anderson his first loss of the season. The sophomore would give up four hits over 2.1 innings while allowing four runs, two earned with five strikeouts. Five FGCU relievers would work through the rest of the game but three more earned runs, nine total, would cross the plate.

Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) would be the lone Eagle to record multiple hits, extending his hit-streak to 13 games, matching his career-high. He would also score one, drive in a run and steal his sixth bag of the season. Kyle Gilbert (Lake Mary, Fla./Seminole HS), Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) and Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) each added one hit.

NEXT UP
FGCU will return home to face defending MEAC Champs Bethune-Cookman (3-15, 3-3 MEAC) Mar. 20-22. The Wildcats went 27-32 last season with a 14-10 record in the MEAC. B-CU currently holds the lead in the all-time series with FGCU, 8-7, but dropped two of three to the Green and Blue last season at home.

Following a midweek tilt with USF (10-6-1), Mar. 24 the Eagles will head to Coral Gables to face Miami for a third time (Mar. 25) before kicking off Atlantic Sun play at North Florida (10-8) Mar. 27-29. FGCU took two of three from the Ospreys during the regular season in 2014 then eliminated them from the A-Sun Tournament in the first round. The Ospreys posted an overall record of 22-31 and played their way into the A-Sun Tournament with an 11-16 league record. FGCU holds the edge in the all-time series, 17-7.

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.

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.

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 20-23 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 442-247-3 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.