FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (8-12-1) will be looking to reverse a four-game losing streak when it welcomes Bethune-Cookman (6-17, 6-3 MEAC) to Swanson Stadium for a three-game set this weekend. The Eagles took two of three from the Wildcats on the road last season but trail in the all-time series 8-7.

Mike Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forrest Hill HS) will be on the mound once again on Friday night and is still in search of his 20th career victory. The junior struggled a bit on the road at Nebraska last weekend, tossing 5.1 innings and allowing six earned runs on 12 hits. He would strike out five batters, jumping his season total to 39 which is already just 40 shy of his 2014 total. Should Murray record his 20th victory, he will become just the fifth pitcher in program history to do so. The program record is 25 currently held by FGCU Pitching Coach Pete Woodworth.

Murray has posted a 1-3 record over his first five starts but the record can be misleading. The FGCU All-American has posted a 3.82 ERA in 33.0 IP to go with 39 strikeouts against just five walks. Opponents are hitting just .252 against him and he has put up a WHIP of 1.18 which ranks tops among FGCU starting pitchers.

BETHUNE-COOKMAN
The Wildcats went 27-32 last season with a 14-10 record in the MEAC. Nathan Bond is the lone B-CU player to appear in all 23 games this season and has posted a .318 batting average with 28 hits, three doubles, a homerun and 10 RBI. Four different players have produced at least 10 RBI but Jameel Edney leads the way with 14 while hitting .327 in 16 games.

Keith Zuniga will start opposite Murray on Friday night and will take the mound with a 2.31 ERA in 35.0 innings pitched while striking out 25 batters. Alex Seibold will be on the mound Saturday with a 4.21 ERA and Tyler Norris will pitch on Sunday with a 3.57 ERA. The B-CU starting pitchers this weekend are a combined 6-4 and opponents are hitting .256 against them.

HEAD COACH MATCHUP
In 13 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 442-250-3 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He will match up with Jason Beverlin who is in his fourth season of work at Bethune-Cookman. Beverlin hit the ground running in Daytona Beach from day one, earning 95 wins in just three years, while leading the Wildcats back to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships in both 2012 and 2014. Both campaigns included NCAA Tournament appearances, with the Wildcats traveling to the NCAA Gainesville Regional in 2012 during his first season at B-CU, finishing with an overall record of 34-27 (18-5 MEAC). In 2013, the Wildcats finished as conference Runner-up, falling in the MEAC Championship final, closing the season with a 34-25 record (17-7 MEAC).

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU managed just five hits in the series finale at Nebraska (12-6) but still led 2-0 through four innings on Sunday afternoon. Nebraska would, however, score three unanswered runs over the fifth and sixth innings and pitch well down the stretch to put the Eagles away by a final score of 3-2.

Freshman Josh Dye (Deland, Fla./Deland HS) made the start for the Eagles and tossed a career-best 4.1 innings and gave up just two hits, allowing one run and striking out three. Jack English (Delray Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) took over and allowed one run in 1.1 innings of work before Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carrol HS) came in and gave up the eventual winning run during his 1.0 innings of action.

At the plate it was Zach Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) leading the FGCU attack with two hits, both doubles and an RBI. The freshman is now hitting .286 on the season with a team-high six doubles in 18 games. Three other Eagles would register a hit but nothing more. FGCU is hitting .265 as a team so far this season.

NEXT UP
Following a midweek tilt with USF (12-6-1), 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 (14-8) 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 442-250-3 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.