BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Jordan Desguin (4-0): 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
LP | Brian Boocock (3-5): 2.2 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (15-14-1, 3-1 A-Sun) used an eight-run third inning, highlighted by the first of two homeruns on the night from Nick Rivera, to build an insurmountable lead opposite USC Upstate (9-21, 1-3 A-Sun) on Thursday night and rolled to a 10-4 victory in the first home contest of Atlantic Sun play this season. The Eagles would get another great start on the mound from Jordan Desguin who moves to 4-0 in his debut season and will send Mike Murray to the mound tomorrow for game two at Swanson Stadium at 6:30 p.m.

Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) finished the night going 2-5 with three RBI with the two hits being his fourth and fifth homeruns of the season. The first was a line drive down the right field line and the second was a towering shot that soared deep over the left-center field wall. It was Rivera's second multi-homerun game this season. This first came just over week ago in the Eagles' 8-1 victory at No. 13 Miami. Rivera also extends his FGCU best hitting streak to 12 games and has now reached base safely in 24 straight games. The Cape Coral native is now hitting .379 for the season with 33 RBI to lead the Eagles in both categories. He also leads the Green and Blue with a .612 slugging percentage and a .472 on base percentage.

Rivera wasn't the only Eagle who swung the bat well on Thursday night, however. Adam Eggnatz (Tampa, Fla./Middle Georgia College) went 3-3 in the No. 9 slot with a run scored and an RBI while Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) went 3-5 hitting behind Rivera. Zachary Orchard (Cambridge, Ontario/Jacob Hespeler SS) and Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) each collected two hits and scored twice while Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) went 1-5 with a two-RBI double. Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) and Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) also drove in runs.

"We've started the swing the bats really well," head coach Dave Tollett said. "Ever since we shook up the lineup a few weeks ago we have started to score some runs and it couldn't be coming at a better time. This is a good league and we need to be able to put runs up on the board if we want to win games. Our pitching is coming around too and it's going to be fun to watch when we put it all together."

On the mound, Desguin (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) made his second start of the season after tossing a complete-game victory at No. 13 Miami a week ago. Tonight he went 5.2 innings and gave up two earned runs, four total while striking out nine and walking just one. The junior would earn his team-leading fourth victory of the season for his effort and lowered his opponent batting average to .202 while his ERA settled at 2.30 which is tops among FGCU starters this season. Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto HS) would toss 2.0 clean innings of relief and Garrison Vandeventer (Ocala, Fla./North Marian HS) would clean up the ninth with a pair of strikeouts to secure the win.

A pitcher's duel would be in the works over the first 2.5 innings but the wheels would come off for Brian Boocock and the Spartans in the bottom of the third. Brady Anderson led off the inning with a solid single through the left side of the infield and would move up to second when Eggnatz legged out the first of his two bunt singles. Reardon sacrificed both runners into scoring position and Selesky would reach on an error, allowing the first run of the ball game to score from third. Noll then came to the plate and crushed an 0-2 pitch for a double down the left field line that barely landed in fair territory, clearing the bases and making it 3-0 FGCU. Rivera then came to the plate and smoked his first long ball of the night down the line in right to make it 5-0.

With the bases now clear in the bottom of the third, Bottomley flied out to deep center bringing up Zach Spivey (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) who singled. Orchard then came to the plate and doubled down the line in left and both runners would advance one base after wild pitch. Spivey would score on the play to make it 6-0. Anderson then singled for the second time in the inning to bring in Orchard and an Eggnatz double to deep left-center completed the eight-run third frame.

Rivera would hit a solo shot in the fourth to make it 9-0 and Desguin would run into some trouble after a couple of errors in the top of the fifth. The Spartans would score two unearned runs to make it 9-2 and then 9-4 after adding two more in the sixth before Desguin was replaced. The Eagle staff would work out of bases loaded jams in the top of the sixth and seventh innings to quell any hopes of a comeback for Upstate.

The Eagles tacked on a 10th run in the bottom of the seventh and the bullpen held USC Upstate at bay from that point on, securing the 10-4 victory and moving the Eagles to 3-1 in the A-Sun. With a Kennesaw State loss to Stetson on Thursday night, FGCU becomes the first A-Sun team to reach three wins this season.

NEXT UP
The marquee road series of the year will be a brief, midweek stop at No. 8 Florida State (23-7, 9-3 ACC) Apr. 7, 8. FSU closed the 2014 campaign with a 43-17 record and a 21-9 mark in the ACC resulting in the No. 10 RPI in the nation at the end of the year. The Seminoles would advance to the NCAA Regional but no further. FGCU battled FSU on the road last season just once and led late before going down 8-3. The Eagles are 1-6 all-time opposite FSU with the lone victory coming during the 2012 season.

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.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 12+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 449-252-3 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.