FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (4-1) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the homestanding Eagles cruised to its fourth straight win by defeating Eastern Michigan (1-4), 12-5, Wednesday evening at Swanson Stadium.

Senior designated hitter Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) wasted no time in getting FGCU on the scoreboard as he hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. It was Rivera's second long ball of the season and 28th of his career. The Eagles added runs in each of the next three frames to extend the lead to 8-2 and added four more runs with two outs in the seventh inning to reach its 12-run total.

Junior catcher Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) broke through with a big night at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles and three RBI to pace the FGCU offense.

"Four straight wins out of the gate is a good start for us," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "It's always great to play with a lead. The offense kept adding runs, and we didn't have to use our backend guys. Spencer had a great game. He had been hitting the ball hard but didn't have much to show for it until tonight. With Bethune-Cookman coming in here after sweeping Boston College, a Super Regional team from a year ago, it's going to be a great series. We'll be up for the challenge."

After Eastern Michigan cut the lead to one with a pair of runs in the top of the second, the Eagles added a run in the home half and two more in each of the third and fourth innings. Levine drove in Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) on a double down the left field line in the second, before Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) hit a two-RBI single in the following frame. Levine then recorded his second double of the night to start the fourth and quickly scored as Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) hit a RBI double of his own. Later in the inning, Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) drove in his sixth run of the season on a single to short.

The visiting Eagles cut into the lead with a run in the top of the sixth, but FGCU got it back and then some with four runs in the seventh. With two outs and a runner on first, the Green and Blue didn't appear to have anything going. However, four straight singles, including a two-RBI poke from Levine and RBI single from freshman Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) busted the game wide open.

Josh Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) made his second start of the season and continues to make his way back after missing all of 2016 with an elbow injury. After tossing 3.0 perfect innings last weekend, he picked back up right where he left off with another perfect first frame. However, Eastern Michigan got to him in the second inning, and the left hander lasted another 3.0 innings while allowing two runs on four hits with one strikeout.

FGCU reliever Peyton Gray (1-0, 9.00) earned the win after tossing the next 2.2 innings and allowing one run on three hits with two more strikeouts. Opposite Gray (Columbus, Ind./Gulf Coast State/Columbus East HS), Eastern Michigan starter Justin Thompson suffered the loss after allowing six runs in 3.0 innings.

A slew of other Eagle pitchers saw action Wednesday night, including the debut of southpaw Ryan Ahern (Venice, Fla./State College of Florida/Venice HS), who struck out the only batter he faced. Redshirt junior right hander Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS) also made his season debut for FGCU and closed the game out with a near-perfect ninth.

Offensively, Reardon matched Levine with three hits in the game – his third multi-hit game of the season – to go along with three runs scored and one RBI. Morey and Lovell also recorded multiple hits with 2-for-4 performances, while Gonzalez and Coffers extended their hits streaks to five games and four games, respectively, at the start of their FGCU careers.  

UP NEXT
FGCU welcomes Bethune-Cookman (3-0), who swept 2016 Super Regional participant Boston College in its season-opening series, to Swanson Stadium for a three-game series from Friday, Feb. 24 through Sunday, Feb. 26. The Eagles hold a 12-9 advantage in the all-time series against the Wildcats.
 
2017 SCHEDULE
The Eagles' schedule features eight teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Base­ball Tournament including a pair of College World Series participants in preseason #2 Florida and preseason #8 Miami along with Super Regional participant and preseason #3 FSU. The five remaining NCAA Tournament teams include defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Ohio State, defending ASUN Tournament Champion Stetson, defending CAA Champion UNC Wilmington, defending C-USA Champion FAU and defending MEAC Tournament Champion Bethune-Cookman. Twenty-six of FGCU's first 30 games will be contested in Southwest Florida with 24 games scheduled to be played at Swanson Stadium and two additional games at JetBlue Park, the Spring Training home of the Boston Red Sox. From Feb. 24 through Mar. 15, the Eagles are scheduled to play 13 consecutive games against five of the aforementioned NCAA Tournament teams.

TICKETS
Single game and season ticket packages for the 2017 FGCU baseball season are now on sale. Season tickets for games contested at Swanson Stadium can be purchased for $99, while single game tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youth (12 and under), military and groups. For questions or more information, please contact the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145. Additonally, tickets for games versus preseason #2 Florida and preseason #3 FSU can be purchased online by clicking here or by calling the JetBlue Park Ticket Office at 239-334-4700.

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.

DAVE TOLLETT
In his 15th season of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 494-297-3 record (.622) as the only head coach in the program's history. He is a four-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four ASUN Regular Season Championships. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets and has coached 42 All-Conference selections, 27 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 19 current minor leaguers, four ASUN Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, two ASUN Players of the Year, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one five-time MLB All-Star.

#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.