NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Less than 24 hours after defeating No. 4 FSU in an extra-inning thriller, the FGCU baseball team (22-25, 7-8 A-Sun) began its transport north for this weekend's series against conference rival Lipscomb (25-23, 8-7). Game one at Dugan Field is scheduled to begin Friday at 7 p.m. ET followed by game two Saturday at 3 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
The Eagles will send right hander Brady Anderson (5-5, 3.23) to the mound in the series opener to oppose conference wins leader Brady Puckett (8-2, 2.70). FGCU will take a by-committee approach in games two and three while the Bisons will send Jeffrey Passantino (5-3, 3.16) to the mound Saturday afternoon and Kyle Kemp (2-1, 5.32) to the bump Sunday.
 
"We're coming off a big win and are looking to keep the momentum going," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "Our guys have swung the bats well the last few games, and we're going to need more of the same this weekend. We've had to make some adjustments with our pitching staff of late, and we'll do our best to make the most of it. Coming down the stretch run, this thing is still pretty wide open."

SERIES HISTORY
The Green and Blue are 14-15 in the all-time series versus Lipscomb, who represents the only conference opponent FGCU has a losing record against. A season ago, the Bisons swept the regular season series at Swanson Stadium before the two teams also met in their opening game of the A-Sun Tournament, when FGCU dropped a heartbreaker, 2-1, to the eventual tournament champion. In the Eagles' last trip to Nashville in 2014, the Green and Blue dropped two of three games at Dugan Field, but secured its fourth A-Sun Regular Season Championship since joining the conference in 2008.

THE MATCHUP
In his 14th season of work at FGCU, Tollett has compiled a 485-289-3 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 weekend, Tollett matches up with Bisons head coach Jeff Forehand, who has posted a 270-299 record in his 10th season with the program. Forehand led the Bisons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 before returning a season ago.
 
SCOUTING THE BISONS
Lipscomb enters this weekend's series with a 25-23 overall record and 8-7 mark in conference play, good for tied for fourth in the current A-Sun standings. Most recently, the Bisons traveled to Jacksonville to play UNF and dropped two of three against the Ospreys. Lipscomb, won game one, 6-1, before dropping game two, 13-6, and also losing the rubber match, 6-5. In the midweek, the Bisons claimed a 12-8 win against Tennessee Tech.

Offensively, Lipscomb ranks second in the conference with a .291 team average and leads the league in conference games with a .334 clip. A quartet of Bisons have led the way this season as Zeke Dodson, Adam Lee, Michael Gigliotti and Lee Solomon all boast batting averages of .330 or higher. Solomon, Lee and Gigliotti rank second through fourth, respectively, in runs scored, while Lee also ranks second in the league in RBI with 53.
 
Puckett headlines the Lipscomb pitching staff as he not only leads the league in wins as mentioned above, but also ranks first in strikeouts (82) and innings pitched (86.2) while ranking second in ERA (2.70) and opposing batting average (.221). Outside of their Friday and Saturday starters, the Bisons appear to be vulnerable, though, as no pitchers holds an ERA lower than 5.32.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU claimed an 11-8 extra-inning win against No. 4 FSU Wednesday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium, marking the Eagles second straight win against the Noles at their home ballpark. Behind three home runs from three and four-hole hitters Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) and Tyler Selesky (Estero, Fla./Estero HS), the Eagles 11 runs scored against FSU were the most allowed by the ACC Atlantic Division front runner this season.
 
The Green and Blue jumped out to a 6-0 lead through two innings of play and led 8-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth after Noll hit his second home run of the afternoon and 10th of the season to left-center field.
 
However, FSU plated a pair of runs in each of their last two at-bats to force extra innings. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Matt Henderson extended the inning with a double to right center before Taylor Walls hit his second homer of the game over the fence in right field to tie it up, 8-8.
 
In the first frame of extra innings, Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) drew a one-out walk and advanced all the way to third as Tyler Warmoth's pickoff attempt skipped past first base. Three pitches later, Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep), who went 3-for-5 on the afternoon and extended his hit streak to six games, hit a sac fly to score Reardon and give FGCU its early lead back. With two outs, Noll hit a single through the left side of the infield before Selesky deposited a 1-0 changeup over right-field fence.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Coming off a win against its highest ranked opponent since 2012, the Green and Blue has won two of its last three games while registering 44 runs on 52 hits during the span. Individually, Noll has gone 12-for-15 with 11 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs and nine RBI in the three-game stretch. Additionally, Selesky has also hit three long balls in the last three games and five home runs in his last nine. After entering the season with a combined four home runs in their careers, the FGCU duo has combined for 18 this season.
 
LEAGUE LEADER
Noll currently ranks first or second in the A-Sun in eight offensive categories as he leads the league in average (.390), runs scored (49), hits (78) and RBI (54) and ranks second in slugging (.640), doubles (18), home runs (10) and total bases (128). He is the only player in the league to rank in the top-five in all of the aforementioned offensive categories. Additionally, Noll ranks eighth in the NCAA in hits, 23rd in doubles and 26th 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 228-for-640 (.356) from the plate. Additionally, the group of Eagles has not only accounted for 48% of the teams hits, but has also totaled 137 runs scored (49%), 46 doubles (48%), 19 home runs (79%) and 123 RBI (48%).
 
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)	293-205-1	160-79 (.669)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	278-219	126-108 (.538)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	266-240	138-94 (.595)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	263-255	131-106 (.553)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	247-265	120-116 (.508)
6.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
7.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	239-261	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 is tied for fourth in hits among active NCAA players while also ranking eighth in career batting average.

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.	Jake Noll (2014-present)	.368
7.	Jason Kouwsma (2005-06)	.367
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)	258
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)	124
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)	142
7.	Chris Perry (2003-06)	134
8.	Tyler Selesky (2013-present)	130
9.	Jake Smith (2005-08)	129
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
The Eagles travel to Coral Gables, Fla., for the second time this season to cap off their three-game series with No. 3 Miami (37-9, 16-6 ACC) Tuesday at 7 p.m. The game will mark FGCU's seventh against a top-five opponent this season. In two games vs. Miami prior to Tuesday, the Hurricanes emerged victories, 6-2, at Mark Light Field March 2 before the two teams met again at Hammond Stadium April 5 with Miami claiming a 4-0 win.
 
DAVE TOLLETT
In 13+ seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 485-289-3 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.