FORT MYERS, Fla. – Led by a career night from redshirt-junior second baseman Jake Noll, the FGCU baseball team (14-16, 1-0 A-Sun) registered a season-high 18 hits en route to defeating Stetson (16-14, 0-1 A-Sun), 11-6, as the two teams opened conference play Friday night at Swanson Stadium.

Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) matched a career high and program record in hits and doubles as he went 5-for-5 with a trio of extra-base hits to go along with two runs scored and one more driven in on the night. In a freshman season during which he was named the Louisville Slugger National Freshman of the Year, Noll also registered five hits and three doubles in a win at Northern Kentucky on May 4, 2014.

The Green and Blue scored early and often as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead on 13 hits through four innings of play and cruised to the win despite Stetson narrowing the margin with a five-run eighth inning. The team's 18 hits topped a pair of 17-hit performances at Bethune-Cookman earlier this season and are the most in a single game since registering 23 hits against UMass on April 25 of last season.

FGCU starter Brady Anderson (4-4, 3.58) earned the win after pitching 7.2 innings and allowing six runs on nine hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) was hitless in his first 4.2 innings and retired 14 of the first 16 batters he faced but ran into some trouble in the Hatters' big eighth inning before being relieved by Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) to finish the game.

Opposite Anderson, Stetson starter Mitchell Jordan (3-4, 4.75), who was named the Cape Cod League Most Outstanding Pitcher this summer and had a number of scouts in attendance tonight, suffered the loss as he was touched up for six runs on nine hits with two strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work.

"It was definitely nice to see the bats come alive after struggling a bit in the last week," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "We needed to get our confidence back, and I think tonight will go a long way in doing that. I thought Brady threw well but might have been a little tired toward the end of his outing. We're looking forward to getting back out here tomorrow and going back to work."

FGCU scored four batters into the game after leadoff hitter Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) began the attack with a single and Noll followed with his first double before Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) brought in Reardon on a sacrifice fly to right center.

An inning later, the scoring continued as Matt Roberts (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) led off the frame with a single and later scored on Zach Spivey's (Ormond Beach, Fla./Spruce Creek HS) single to right center.

Then, the Eagles put up crooked numbers in consecutive trips to the plate with four runs in the third and three more in the fourth. FGCU put the first five batters aboard in the home half of the third as Bottomley and Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) drove in runs on RBI singles before Spivey provided the big hit with a two-out, two-RBI single to right field, matching his career high with three RBI in the game.

The onslaught continued in the next inning when Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) followed Reardon's triple with a RBI single before Noll and Smith each drove in runs on a RBI double and RBI single, respectively, to make it a 9-0 ballgame.

Both teams went scoreless in their next two at-bats before Stetson got on the scoreboard on a two-out RBI single from Will Mackenzie in the top of the seventh. However, FGCU responded with two more runs in the home half when pinch hitter Tyler Atwell (Venice, Fla./Tallahassee CC) brought in a pair on a single to right center to push the lead to 11-1.

Anderson, who had allowed only four hits to this point in the game, then ran into some trouble as the Hatters scored five runs on five hits in the top of the eighth to cut the FGCU lead to 11-6. Kirk Sidwell drove in the first two runs of the frame on a single to left center, before John Fussell hit a towering three-run home run to deep right field to cap off the scoring for the night. Koerner then entered the game with two outs in the inning and retired all four batters he faced – one via strikeout – to secure the win.

Six FGCU hitters registered multiple hits in the game, led by Noll's career-high performance, while four drove in multiple runs and four others scored on multiple occasions. As a team, the Green and Blue went 9-for-17 from the plate with runners in scoring position. 

GAME NOTES
- With a single in the bottom of the first, Reardon extended his career-high hit streak to 22 games, matching Mikel Alvarez for the second longest streak in program history.
- Additionally, with a double in the bottom of the third, Selesky pushed his on-base streak to 23 games, marking a new career high and drawing to within two games of Noll's season-long streak.
- With a RBI double in the fourth, Noll equaled his career high total (41) from last season in 30 games played in 2016.
- After entering the game with a .343 cumulative average, Reardon, Selesky, Noll and Bottomley combined to go 10-for-18 with seven runs scored and four RBI in Friday's win.
- After taking the mound Friday night, Anderson tied four-time MLB All-Star Chris Sale and Brandon Bixler with 28 career starts at FGCU.

NEXT UP
The two teams will be right back at it in game two tomorrow at 2 p.m. Junior right hander Garrett Anderson (1-1, 4.32) will get the start for FGCU opposite Stetson's Brooks Wilson (3-4, 2.92).  

DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 477-280-3 record (.630) 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.