BOX SCORE (PDF)
WP | Nick Deckert (3-0): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
LP | Matt Jefferson (3-7): 4.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (27-22-1, 10-7 A-Sun) celebrated Senior Day on Sunday, rode a great start from senior Nick Deckert and poured on 12 runs in the series finale opposite Northern Kentucky (17-30, 5-13 A-Sun) in a game that would ultimately be shortened by a lightning delay in the eighth inning. Lightning in the area forced a minimum 30 minute delay and when the weather did not show any signs of improvement after the delay the game was called with one out in the top of the eighth and FGCU ahead 12-1.

FGCU will now turn its attention to Stetson (26-27, 10-8) now that all six teams that will participate in the 2015 Atlantic Sun Championship are determined with Jacksonville (23-28, 9-9 A-Sun) securing the final spot with a defeat of Kennesaw State (26-24, 9-8 A-Sun) on Sunday afternoon. Seeds 2-6 will be up for grabs next weekend as North Florida (39-13, 14-4 A-Sun) locked up the regular season championship with a win on Sunday. FGCU currently sits alone in second place with a 10-7 record, just percentage points ahead of Stetson and Lipscomb (10-8). Kennesaw State and Jacksonville each have nine victories and currently occupy the No. 5 and No. 6 spots respectively. Kennesaw at 9-8 is percentage points ahead of Jacksonville at 9-9.

"Getting a sweep is always big in this league, especially when you have one fewer game than everyone else like we do," head coach Dave Tollett said after the lightning shortened victory. "Any team in this tournament is going to be able to win it. Top to bottom this is as competitive as the league has ever been and we're just hoping to get hot at the right time. I was glad to see Deckert pitch so well on senior day and see our lineup shake loose up there. It was a good win for us."

On Sunday afternoon it was Nick Deckert (Tallahassee, Fla./Tallahassee CC) who shone brightly on senior day, making his fifth start of the season and earning his third victory. The senior tossed 6.0 scoreless innings of work, allowing just four hits while striking out six and walking one. He lowers his ERA for the season to 2.70 which is the best among FGCU pitchers that have made at least five starts. Three relievers would combine to get the final four outs of this one, giving up one run and striking out two. Devin Smeltzer (Voorhees, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep) faced one batter in the eighth that would prove to be the final batter of the game and stuck him out.

At the plate, Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) went 2-4 with a pair of runs scored and four RBI at the dish including a two RBI double in the five-run fifth inning that broke the game open. Rivera now has 59 RBI this season and is looking to become just the ninth player in program history to hit the 60 mark. He is also in pursuit of the single-season RBI record of 74 set by Jason Louwsma set in 2006. Rivera became the 11th player in program history to hit 10 home runs in a single season when he went deep earlier this weekend.

Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) went 4-5 on Sunday with two runs and an RBI as well, extending his career high to 33 runs batted in so far this season. Noll has 70 hits and is hitting .355 for the season out of the clean-up sport after spraying 101 hits and hitting .367 a season ago out of the leadoff position. Four other Eagles would manage two hits and three more picked up one while four others drove in a single run. Only Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) failed to get a hit but he would walk three times, giving him 32 for the season, two behind team-leader Nick Rivera. Only Rivera (.466) has a higher on-base percentage than Selesky this season (.439).

Deckert rolled through the early frames and it was FGCU who jumped on the board first in the bottom of the third. With one out, Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) laced a double to deep center that bounced up against the wall. Selesky grounded out to first and moved Reardon over to third, bringing up Rivera who walked. Noll then singled up the middle to bring in the first run of the ball game.

NKU left two on base in the fourth and went down in order in the fifth on just six pitches bringing up the Eagles in the bottom half. Senior Bryan Voelkl (Bradenton, Fla./SCOF) singled to lead off the frame and Reardon followed by laying down a beautiful bunt that scooted past the pitcher on the right side of the infield for a hit. Selesky walked to load the bags and Rivera laced a double down the line in left, scoring two runs. The NKU left fielder bobbled the ball while trying to field it and Selesky used some heads-up base running to score on the error.

With the bases loaded two batters later, senior Blake Berger (Jacksonville, Fla./Santa Fe College) sent a fly ball to right that was deep enough to score Rivera from third and a fielder's choice on a ground ball to the next batter let Noll trot home from third for the fifth run of the inning. NKU got one run back in the top of the seventh but FGCU would send 12 batters to the plate in the bottom half and tack on six more runs to secure the 12-1 lead that eventually became the final score.

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 461-259-3 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, 16 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 visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.