TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (21-25, 7-8 A-Sun) travels to Tallahassee, Fla., for its sixth matchup against a top-five opponent this season as the Eagles take on No. 4 FSU (32-13, 14-6 ACC) Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium.
 
The Eagles will throw the staff tomorrow while FSU will send southpaw Tyler Holton (2-3, 2.61) to the mound.
 
Wednesday's contest not only marks FGCU's sixth game versus an opponent ranked inside the top-five, but is also its ninth game versus a team that has been ranked at some point this season. Also, as a part of the contract signed between the two sides, FSU will travel to Fort Myers, Fla., for the first time in program history on March 15, 2017, and the Eagles will make a return trip to Tallahassee for one or two more games which will be determined at a later date.
 
"This game is another great challenge and opportunity for us," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "There's a reason we schedule these games, and we're especially excited to host FSU for the first time in program history next season."

SERIES HISTORY
The Eagles are 2-7 in the all-time series with the Seminoles and most recently split a two-game set at Dick Howser Stadium in 2015. With a 5-0 win behind an impressive pitching performance from former Eagle Nick Deckert in the second of two contests, FGCU became one of four teams to shut out FSU last season along with perennial powers Miami, Louisville and Clemson being the other three.

THE MATCHUP
In his 14th season of work at FGCU, Tollett has compiled a 483-287-3 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. Wednesday, Tollett matches up with FSU head coach Mike Martin, who has led the Seminoles to an 1889-662-4 overall record in 38 seasons with the program. He has made 37 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and taken his teams to the College World Series on 15 occasions.
 
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
FSU enters a pair of midweek games, first vs. Jacksonville Tuesday, with a 32-13 overall record and 14-6 mark in conference play, which leads the ACC Atlantic division. Most recently, the Seminoles swept Bowling Green State in Tallahassee and have also earned conference series wins against Notre Dame, Louisville and Georgia Tech, among others.

Offensively, FSU has posted a .302 team average through 45 games this season. A trio of Seminoles have appeared in every game with an average of .325 or higher John Sansone (.393), Taylor Walls (.367) and Cal Raleigh (.325). Sansone leads the way with 55 RBI while Raleigh has hit nine home runs. Additionally, Jackson Lueck, who has appeared in 31 games with 18 starts, has posted a .414 clip from the plate.
 
Out of the bullpen, Jim Voyles, Alec Byrd and Chase Haney have been the Seminoles most used arms as each have posted ERAs of 2.19 or lower in 18 or more appearances. Tyler Warmoth leads the team with three saves.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Despite dropping a pair of games at USC Upstate, the Green and Blue swung the bats very well as they registered 36 runs on 50 hits in the three-game set. FGCU scored a season-high 18 runs in a high-scoring loss to the Spartans Saturday before turning around to win another high-scoring affair, 15-13, behind a season-high 21 hits Sunday afternoon. Catcher Zach Orchard (Cambridge, Ontario/Jacob Hespeler Secondary School) entered Saturday's contest in a relief role and went 8-for-9 from the plate during the final two games while matching the program record with five hits in the series finale. Additionally, second baseman Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) registered four hits in back-to-back games to end the series as he set the program record with four doubles in the finale.  

LEAGUE LEADER
Noll currently sits near the top of the A-Sun in a number of offensive categories as he ranks first in the league in hits (74), second in RBI (51), runs scored (45) and doubles (18), third in average (.378), fourth in slugging (.602) and tied for fourth in home runs (eight). He is the only player in the league to rank in the top-four in all of the aforementioned offensive categories. Additionally, Noll ranks 18th in the NCAA in hits, 21st in doubles and 40th in RBI.

PRODUCTION AT THE TOP
The FGCU quartet of Noll, Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS), Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) and Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS) have been big-time producers to this point in the season. They not only rank one through fourth, respectively, in batting average, but have collectively gone 219-for-621 (.353) from the plate. Additionally, the group of Eagles has not only accounted for 47% of the teams hits, but has also totaled 128 runs scored (48%), 45 doubles (48%), 16 home runs (76%) and 117 RBI (47%).

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
FGCU has earned a pair of A-Sun Player of the Week honors with Colton Bottomley (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) and Noll both taking home the distinction for the first time in their careers this season. The Eagles earned three weekly awards last season.
 
Bottomley 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 March 14 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 in 2008, FGCU has not only won more regular-season conference championships (four) than any other member of the A-Sun, but has also won more overall and league games than any other conference opponent. The following is list of overall and conference records for teams that have competed in the A-Sun since 2008.
 

No.	School	Overall	A-Sun
1.	FGCU (2008-present)	292-205-1	160-79 (.669)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	277-218	126-108 (.538)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	264-240	138-94 (.595)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	263-255	131-106 (.553)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	246-265	120-116 (.508)
6.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
7.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	238-260	115-120 (.489)
8.	ETSU (2008-14)	197-201	88-110 (.444)
9.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	193-287	80-152 (.345)
10.	Belmont (2008-12)	158-139	78-68 (.534)
11.	Campbell (2008-11)	93-125	31-85 (.267)
12.	NKU (2013-15)	39-118	14-61 (.187)
13.	Gardner-Webb (2008)	29-30	15-18 (.455)
14.	NJIT (2016)	17-29	2-12 (.143)

 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Senior designated hitter Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS), who was sidelined with a season-ending wrist injury in game one of a two-game midweek series with Rutgers on March 15, 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. The Cape Coral native ranks third in home runs (26) and RBI (160) while also ranking fourth in games started (182), fifth in games played (187), seventh in hits (215) and eighth in runs scored (126). Additionally, his 63 doubles is good for the active lead in the NCAA while his 160 RBI ranks seventh. Rivera hopes to be eligible to utilize a medical redshirt at the season's end and return in 2017.

Like Rivera, Noll also makes his way up the list of career batting average, hits, RBI and runs scored and nears the program record for stolen bases. Additionally, he has the fifth most hits among active NCAA players.

FGCU CAREER BATTING AVERAGE

1.	Chris Brown (2003-04)	.435
2.	David Cox (2003)	.430
3.	Jason Peacock (2007-08)	.380
4.	Jason Cooper (2003-05)	.375
5.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	.371
6.	Jason Kouwsma (2005-06)	.367
7.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	.364
8.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	.360
9.	Ian Manson (2005-06)	.359
10.	Ozzie Borrell (2007-08)	.356

FGCU CAREER HITS

1.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	316
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	311
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	259
4.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	254
5.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	247
6.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	241
7.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	215
8.	Brandon Bednar (2001-13)	206
9.	Jason Cooper (2003-05)	203
10.	Mike Reeves (2010-13)	201

FGCU CAREER RBI

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	180
	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	180
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	160
4.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	154
5.	Jason Cooper (2003-05)	149
6.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	137
7.	Jason Louwsma (2005-06)	135
8.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	121
9.	Ozzie Borrell (2007-08)	117
10.	Sean Dwyer (20011-13)	114

 
FGCU CAREER RUNS SCORED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	237
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	202
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	178
4.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	158
5.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	156
6.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	138
7.	Chris Perry (2003-06)	134
8.	Jake Smith (2005-08)	129
9.	Tyler Selesky (2013-present)	128
10.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	126

 
FGCU CAREER STOLEN BASES

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	61
2.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	47
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	36
4.	Chris Brown (2003-04)	27
5.	Michael Suchy (2012-14)	22

 
On the mound, Brady Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) also makes his way up the list of career appearances, innings pitched and wins.
 
FGCU CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
2.	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
3.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	73
4.	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.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	276.2
5.	Pete Woodworth (2007-10)	272.2
6.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	228.2
7.	Jason Forjet (2009-12)	220.2
8.	Richie Erath (2008-11, 13)	219.2
9.	Richard Bleier (2006-08)	209.2
10.	Casey Coleman (2006-08)	187.2

 
FGCU CAREER WINS

1.	Pete Woodworth (2007-10)	25
	Jason Kiley (2004-07)	25
3.	Michael Murray (2013-15)	23
	Ricky Knapp (2011-13)	23
5.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	20
6.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	19
7.	Richard Bleier (2006-08)	17
8.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	16
	Casey Coleman (2006-08)	16
10.	Richie Erath (2008-11, 13)	15

 
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 FAMU 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 travels to Lipscomb (24-23, 8-7 A-Sun) for a three-game series against the defending A-Sun Tournament champion this weekend. The Green and Blue are 14-15 in the all-time series versus the Bisons and lost in a heartbreaker during last year's conference tournament. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. followed by game two Saturday at 3 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 484-289-3 record (.626) 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.