FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off its second straight series win after taking three of four from Quinnipiac last weekend, the FGCU baseball team (7-9) has a quick turnaround before hosting Rutgers (6-8) for a pair of midweek games Tuesday and Wednesday at Swanson Stadium. First pitch for both games is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
 
After using a number of arms in five games last week, FGCU's midweek rotation is still up in the air while Rutgers plans to throw right hander Serafino Brito (2-1, 5.28) in Tuesday's matchup. Like the Eagles, the Scarlet Knights are undecided for game two.
 
"We started to look like the offensive team we expected to be this past weekend," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "It's good to see us getting closer to full strength, but we still have some areas to sure up. Rutgers is another one of those tough, fundamentally sound Big Ten teams, and it should be a good matchup this week."
 
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers, who represents FGCU's third Big Ten opponent after already playing Illinois and Michigan State earlier this season, is off to a 6-8 start in 2016. The Scarlet Knights opened the season against a common opponent in Miami and were swept in the three-game series with the Hurricanes before responding with a 2-1 series win at George Mason the following weekend. Last weekend, they faced FAU in a three-game set in Boca Raton, Fla., and took one of three from the No. 16 Owls. Each game in the weekend series was decided by one run.
 
Offensively, the Scarlet Knights are led by senior catcher R.J. Devish, who is hitting a team-high .415 with nine RBI in 13 games this season. Additionally, senior infielder Chris Suseck has played and started in every game thus far and is hitting .377 with a team-high 20 hits while junior outfielder Tom Marcinczyk has driven in a team-high 15 runs.
 
In 2015, Rutgers posted a 19-35-1 overall record and went 7-17 in the Big Ten, missing out on postseason play. However, the Scarlet Knights showed signs throughout the season and ended on a high note with a 3-2 win over a nationally-ranked Iowa team.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Rutgers holds a 2-0 advantage over FGCU after meeting for the first time in program history in a pair of games at Swanson Stadium in 2012. The Scarlet Knights defeated the Eagles, 12-8, in the first game and turned around the following day to win, 7-2. Redshirt-senior Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) is the lone holdover from the first series against Rutgers and went 5-for-9 with a double and two RBI in the two-game set in 2012.
 
THE MATCHUP
In his 14th season of work at FGCU, Tollett has compiled a 470-273-3 all-time record as the only head coach in program history. Additionally, he is a four-time A-Sun Coach of the Year and has guided the Eagles to four A-Sun Regular Season Championships. This week, Tollett matches up with Rutgers head coach and alumnus Loe Litterio, who is in his third season with the Scarlet Knights and has turned in a 49-56-1 record. Before becoming the team's head coach in 2014, Litterio served one year as an assistant coach and two years as an associate head coach at Rutgers.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU won its second straight series after taking three of four games from Quinnipiac last weekend. The Eagles took the first two games of the series by 8-4 and 10-4 margins, respectively. Then, in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday, the Eagles dropped a dramatic 10-9 decision to the Bobcats before responding to claim the series with a 10-3 win in the finale Sunday.
 
Offensively, FGCU scored 37 runs on 46 hits in the four-game set. The Eagles were led by big numbers from both Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) and Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS), who combined for five home runs on the weekend. Noll went 10-for-20 from the plate with eight runs scored, three home runs and 14 RBI and was named the A-Sun Baseball Player of the Week for his efforts. Rivera finished the series 8-for-17 with five runs, two home runs and five RBI. He capped off the weekend with a career-high, four-hit performance in Sunday's finale.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
FGCU has earned a pair of Player of the Week honors after Colton Bottomley and Noll have both taken home the distinction for the first time in their careers this season. The Eagles earned three weekly awards last season.
 
Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) earned the weekly distinction on Feb. 29 after putting up big offensive numbers and helping the Eagles to a pair of wins against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams. The senior outfielder was 8-for-16 from the plate with five RBI, four runs scored, two doubles and two walks and matched a career high with four RBI in a 13-6 win at USF. He then went 5-for-10 from the plate in a three-game series against defending Big Ten Champion Illinois.
 
Noll received the honors on Monday after he helped lead the Eagles to a 3-1 series win and put up monster numbers from the plate in a four-game series against Quinnipiac. The Punta Gorda native went 11-for-24 from the plate with nine runs scored, three home runs and 15 RBI in five games during the week. He set a career high with five RBI in the series opener against the Bobcats and turned in the first multi-home run game of his career in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday.  
 
CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Since joining the A-Sun and Division I ranks in 2008, FGCU has not only won more regular season conference championships (four) than any other conference opponent, but has also won at least 20 more overall and league games than any other member of the A-Sun during that time frame.
 

No.	School	Overall	A-Sun
1.	FGCU (2008-present)	278-189-1	153-71
2.	UNF (2008-present)	256-210	117-102
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	249-224	126-91
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	249-239	123-99
5.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82
6.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	231-249	112-109
7.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	220-247	105-115
8.	ETSU (2008-14)	197-201	88-110
9.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	181-271	77-141
10.	Belmont (2008-12)	158-139	78-68
11.	Campbell (2008-11)	93-125	31-85
12.	NKU (2013-15)	39-118	14-61
13.	Gardner-Webb (2008)	29-30	15-18
14.	NJIT (2016)	6-8	0-0

 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Senior designated hitter Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) has made his mark in FGCU program history as he not only holds the career record for doubles with 63, but also ranks among the top 10 in program history in a number of categories. Additionally, Noll joins Rivera as he makes his way up the list of career hits and nears the program record for stolen bases.

FGCU CAREER HOMERUNS

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	41
2.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	40
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	26
4.	Jason Louwsma (2005-06)	24
5.	Robert Green (2008-11)	17
	Vinnie Scarduzio (2007-08)	17
	Michael Suchy (2012-14)	17

 
FGCU CAREER RBI

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	180
	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	180
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	159
4.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	154
5.	Jason Cooper (2003-05)	149

 
FGCU CAREER GAMES PLAYED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	205
4.	Mike Reeves (2010-13)	191
5.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	182
6.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	179
7.	Chris Perry (2003-06)	174
8.	Graig Smith (2005-08)	173
9.	Sean Dwyer (2011-13)	169
10.	Brandon Bednar (2011-13)	167
	Derek Mollica (2004-07)	167

 
FGCU CAREER GAMES STARTED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	204
4.	Mike Reeves (2010-13)	181
5.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	178
6.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	173
7.	Sean Dwyer (2011-13)	166
8.	Brandon Bednar (2011-13)	165
9.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	162
10.	Michael Suchy (2012-14)	152
	Graig Smith (2005-08)	152
	Chris Perry (2003-06)	152

 
FGCU CAREER HITS

1.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	316
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	311
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	259
4.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	247
5.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	241
6.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	215
7.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	210
8.	Brandon Bednar (2001-13)	206
9.	Jason Cooper (2003-05)	203
10.	Mike Reeves (2010-13)	201

 
FGCU CAREER STOLEN BASES

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	61
2.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	44
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	36
4.	Chris Brown (2003-04)	27
5.	Michael Suchy (2012-14)	22

 
On the mound, redshirt senior Brady Anderson also makes his way up the list of career appearances and innings pitched.
 
FGCU CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
2.	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
3.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	64
	Jason Kiley (2004-07)	65
5.	Jason Forjet (2009-12)	63

 
FGCU CAREER INNINGS PITCHED

1.	Jason Kiley (2004-07)	284.2
2.	Michael Murray (2013-15)	284.0
3.	Ricky Knapp (2011-13)	283.1
4.	Pete Woodworth (2007-10)	272.2
5.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	228.2
6.	Jason Forjet (2009-12)	220.2
7.	Richie Erath (2008-11, 13)	219.2
8.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	217.2
9.	Richard Bleier (2006-08)	209.2
10.	Casey Coleman (2006-08)	187.2

 
RECEIVING VOTES
For the third-consecutive year, FGCU was receiving votes in Collegiate Baseball's Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I Preseason Poll. The A-Sun was represented by four teams as defending tournament champion Lipscomb, defending regular season champion UNF and Stetson were also receiving votes. Additionally, as the A-Sun Preseason Honors and Awards were released in January, the Green and Blue were chosen to finish runner-up to UNF in the preseason coaches poll. The Eagles garnered 50 points and received three of eight first-place votes while the Ospreys collected 58 points and four first-place votes. Lipscomb was selected third with 48 points, followed by Stetson in fourth with 43 points and the lone remaining first-place vote and Kennesaw State in fifth after receiving 37 votes. The preseason top five was separated by only 21 points. Jacksonville (28), USC Upstate (14) and conference newcomer NJIT (8) round out the poll.
 
2016 SCHEDULE
The Eagles' schedule features seven teams that participated in the 2015 NCAA Base­ball Tournament including a pair of College World Series participants, an additional Super Regional participant and three conference champions. The seven NCAA Tournament teams include CWS semifinalist, defending SEC Tournament Champion and preseason No. 1 Florida, CWS participant and preseason No. 4 Miami, Super Regional participant Illinois, defending A-Sun Tournament Champion Lipscomb, defending MEAC Tournament Champion Florida A&M and a pair of familiar in-state foes in USF and FAU. A total of 19 games, including the first eight games of the season, will be played against those seven programs.
 
TICKETS
Single-game and season tickets for the 2016 FGCU baseball campaign are now available by calling the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 or visiting FGCUTickets.com. The ticket office is also open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for walk-up service. Single-game tickets are $7 for adults, while youth (12 and under), military and members of the alumni association are admitted for $5. Season tickets are $89 for adults and $59 for youth, military and alumni, but exclude the game against Miami at Hammond Stadium on Apr. 5.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU hits the road for a three-game set against East Tennessee State. Game one of the weekend series begins Friday at 6 p.m., with game two scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. The Eagles are 16-6 all-time against the former A-Sun opponent, including 10-2 at home and 6-3 on the road.  
 
DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 470-273-3 record (.632) 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 39 All-Conference selections, 25 draft picks, 16 current minor leaguers, four A-Sun Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one MLB All-Star.

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.