FORT MYERS, Fla. – Less than 48 hours after taking down #1 FSU, the #21 FGCU baseball team (15-3) will look to keep things going as the Eagles welcome Big Ten foe Rutgers (6-10) to Swanson Stadium for a three-game series this weekend. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by game two Saturday at 2 p.m. and the finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
FGCU will send senior pitcher Garrett Anderson (1-0, 4.32) to the mound for his third straight Friday-night start. The Eagles will send southpaw Josh Dye (3-1, 2.81) to the bump in one of the two remaining games, but it is yet to be determined which. FGCU's third weekend starter is still up in the air. Rutgers will run a trio of right handers to the hill as John O'Reilly (1-3, 6.46) is slated to start the opener, while Serafino Brito (0-4, 5.48) will start Saturday's game and Gaby Rosa (2-0, 0.75) will toe the rubber in the finale.
 
Those unable to make it to Swanson Stadium for this weekend's action can follow along on Stat Broadcast. The FGCU faithful who will be making it to the ballpark are encouraged to wear pink Friday night as the contest has been deemed a pinkout by the FGCU Marketing Department.

COACHING MATCHUP
FGCU founding head coach Dave Tollett has posted a 505-299-3 all-time record in his 15th season as the Eagles' skipper. Tollett, who secured his 500th win by defeating UNC Wilmington, 10-1, on Mar. 5, has guided the Eagles to four ASUN Regular Season Championships and has earned an equal amount of ASUN Coach of the Year awards. This weekend, he matches up with Rutgers head coach Joe Litterio, who has posted an 82-94-1 record in his fourth season with the program. Litterio also spent 12 season as the head coach at Wagner and is 322-464-1 in his 16th season as a collegiate head coach.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Rutgers holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with FGCU, and all four previous matchups have also been contested at Swanson Stadium. Rutgers won the first two games of the series before the Eagles defeated the Scarlet Knights, 9-6, in the first of a two-game midweek series a season ago. However, Rutgers responded to win game two, 9-2, and split the midweek set with the Green and Blue.
 
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers is off to a 6-10 start this season as had spent all but one game on the road. The Scarlet Knights are 2-0 in the midweek with wins versus Wagner and at Iona. However, they are yet to win a weekend series after getting swept at Virginia, winning one of three at Miami and Old Dominion, and splitting a four-game set at UNF last weekend.
 
Offensively, Rutgers is hitting .264 as a team and is led by senior utility man Mike Carter's .403 clip. Carter also leads the team in hits (25), doubles (six) and RBI (13) and ranks second on the team in runs (13). The Scarlet Knights are averaging 5.3 runs per game on 8.9 hits per game in their first 16 contests of the season.
 
On the mound, Rutgers has struggled to a 7.25 staff ERA and are allowing opponents to a .290 clip from the plate. Along with its aforementioned starting rotation, senior left hander Maxx Herrmann (0-0, 2.45) has been the Scarlet Knights most effective arm out of the bullpen with two saves in six appearances to go along with 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched.
 
DOWN GOES #1
FGCU claimed the program's first ever win against a top-ranked opponent as the Eagles defeated #1 FSU, 5-2, at JetBlue Park Wednesday night. The win marked FGCU's third straight against the Seminoles dating back to the 2015 season. The Green and Blue shutout then #7 FSU, 5-0, in Tallahassee two years ago before returning last season and taking down then #4 FSU, 11-8, in an extra-inning thriller.
 
After falling behind, 2-0, in the top of the first, FGCU got both runs back and then some as Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) followed back-to-back singles from Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) and Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) with a two-RBI double off the wall in left-center field to even the score. Lovell then came in to score and take the lead as Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) got a good read from first on a pitch in the dirt and drew a throw from FSU catcher Cal Raleigh that made its way into center field.

Junior reliever Kenton Hering (3-1, 4.30) turned in arguably the most important performance of the night as he entered the game in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded and one out. With FSU threatening to tie or take the lead, Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) struck out FSU preseason All-Americans Taylor Walls and Dylan Busby to hold the Seminoles scoreless and preserve a 4-2 lead.
 
500-WIN CLUB…AND COUNTING
Tollett became the ASUN's newest member of the 500-win club as FGCU capped off its weekend sweep at UNC Wilmington with a 10-1 win on Mar. 5. After following a 4-1 week against then #2 Florida and defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Ohio State by taking down the #1 team in the country for the first time in program history, Tollett has now pushed his win total to 505. He has recorded 30 or more wins in 11 of his 14 seasons, including a program record 41 wins in 2006 and has led the Eagles to a winning mark in conference play in eight of nine seasons in the ASUN. Tollett joins Kennesaw State's Mike Sansing and UNF's Smoke Laval as the only active head coaches in the league with 500 or more wins. Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand is right on Tollett's heels as he entered the season with a 487 careers wins and has the Bisons off to an 8-8 start in 2017.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Off to the best start in Division I program history, FGCU checked in at #21 in Baseball America's poll released Monday, marking the Eagles' highest ranking in program history. Additionally, the Green and Blue has been tabbed #22 by a trio of publications including D1 Baseball, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball News, who ranked FGCU at #24 a week ago. Rounding out the five polls this week, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) has FGCU ranked #24.

The Eagles are the fourth-highest ranked non-Power Five program according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game, fifth-highest according to D1 Baseball, sixth-highest according to Baseball America and seventh-highest according to the NCBWA.

Along with the team's ranking in five nationally-recognized polls, FGCU was the first team left out of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll as the Eagles garnered 65 points and came up three points shy of #25 Missouri.  
 
EAGLES COMPLETE TORRID STRETCH
With Wednesday night's 5-2 win against #1 FSU, FGCU capped off a 13-game stretch against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams with an 11-2 record. Additionally, with the win against the Seminoles, the Eagles finished off a 10-game stretch against #1 or #2 seeds from last year's tournament at 9-1. Since last Tuesday, the Green and Blue have won three games against two-top opponents. Prior to last week, FGCU had won one such game in the program's 15-year history.
 
NCAA ACTIVE LEADER
In his final season with the Green and Blue, redshirt senior designated hitter Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) continues to not only climb FGCU's all-time records, but also ranks among the top-five in active NCAA players in a number of offensive categories. Rivera leads the nation in career games played (205), doubles (64), RBI (167) and total bases (385). Rivera is also tied for the active lead in walks (136) and at bats (742) and ranks fifth in hits (230).

ASUN WEEKLY SWEEP
After their impressive weeks against the Gators and Buckeyes, junior pitcher Peyton Gray and junior infielder Matt Reardon were named the ASUN Pitcher of the Week and ASUN Player of the Week, respectively. Gray (Columbus, Ind./Gulf Coast State/Columbus East HS) earned his first win with the program at #2 Florida as he retired 18 of the last 19 batters he faced and also tossed 2.0 near perfect innings against the Buckeyes. Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) tied a career high with four hits and two doubles while also matching the Division I program record with eight RBI in Saturday's 13-1 win against Ohio State. The awards were the first of the season and career for both Gray and Reardon and mark the third and fourth of the season for the Green and Blue. Junior right hander Kutter Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS) was named the Pitcher of the Week after tossing 7.0 scoreless inning at UNC Wilmington, while freshman infielder Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) was named the ASUN Player of the Week after opening weekend.

CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Since joining the ASUN in 2008, FGCU has not only won more regular season conference championships (four) than any other member of the ASUN, 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 ASUN since 2008.
 

No.	School	Overall	A-Sun
1.	FGCU (2008-present)	313-215-1	162-83 (.661)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	298-227	132-108 (.550)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	278-251	143-95 (.601)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	276-275	132-111 (.543)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	261-277	124-118 (.512)
6.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	253-274	119-122 (.494)
7.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
8.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	204-304	82-156 (.345)
9.	ETSU (2008-14)	197-201	88-110 (.444)
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)	19-47	2-18 (.100)

 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Along with his aforementioned NCAA active ranks, Rivera has already made his mark in FGCU program history as he not only holds the career record for doubles, but also ranks in the top-10 in program history in a number of other offensive categories. The Cape Coral native ranks third in home runs (29) and RBI, tied for third in games played, fourth in games started (200), fifth in total bases, and seventh in hits and runs scored (140).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	205
	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	205

CAREER GAMES STARTED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	212
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	204
4.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	200

CAREER HITS

1.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	316
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	311
3.	Jake Noll (2013-16)	267
4.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	259
5.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	247
6.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	241
7.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	230

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 (2013-16)	151
7.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	140

CAREER RBI

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	180
	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	180
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	167

CAREER HOME RUNS

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	41
2.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	40
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	29

CAREER TOTAL BASES

1.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	418
	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	418
3.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	412
4.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	400
5.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	385

 
Like Rivera, senior pitchers Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) and Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) make their way up the list of a number of top-10 career pitching records. Additionally, Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) tops the list in fewest walks per 9.0 innings pitched and Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) ranks in the top-five in most strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched and lowest opponent batting average.

CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
2.	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
3.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	77
4.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	76
5.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	72

CAREER SAVES

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	14
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	12
3.	Brady Anderson (2012-16)	11
4.	Jack Wagoner (2010-11)	9
	Harrison Wagoner (2011-13)	9
6.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	8

 
CAREER GAMES FINISHED

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	51
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	40
3.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	31

 
CAREER FEWEST WALKS PER 9.0 IP

1.	Josh Dye (2015-present)	0.94
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	1.14
3.	Jason Short (2003-05)	1.42
4.	Michael Murray (2013-15)	1.46
5.	Jordan Desguin (2015)	1.60
6.	Billy Phillips (2004-05)	1.78
7.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	1.78

 
MOST STRIKEOUTS PER 9.0 IP

1.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	11.53
2.	Brandon Bixler (2001-13)	10.91
3.	Kenton Hering (2016-17)	10.63

 
LOWEST OPPONENT BATTING AVERAGE

1.	Brandon Bixler (2011-13)	.201
2.	Chris Cahil (2003-04)	.207
3.	Jordan Desguin (2015)	.216
4.	Kenton Hering (2016-17)	.224

 
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.
 
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 15 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 505-299-3 record (.626) 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.