WILMINGTON, N.C. – Winners of at least three straight games for the second time this season, the FGCU baseball team (7-2) hits the road for the first time in 2017 to take on UNC Wilmington (3-4) in a three-game series from Friday through Sunday. Game one of the first ever meeting between the Eagles and Seahawks is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. at Brooks Field. Game two will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. with first pitch in the series finale scheduled for Sunday at noon.
 
Senior right hander Garrett Anderson (0-0, 3.00) is scheduled to make his first start of the season opposite UNC Wilmington Friday night guy Alex Royalty (1-1, 6.55). FGCU right hander Kutter Crawford (2-0, 2.25) will square off with the Seahawks' Josh Roberson (0-0, 2.70) while Josh Dye (2-0, 2.25) will toe the rubber in the finale against right hander Logan Beehler (0-1, 7.56).
 
Fans can follow this weekend's road trip by catching the games on Stretch Internet or following live stats on Stat Broadcast.

THE MATCHUP
FGCU founding head coach Dave Tollett has posted a 497-298-3 all-time record in his 15th season as the Eagles' skipper. Tollett 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 UNC Wilmington head coach Mark Scalf, who has gone 843-628-1 in his 27th season with the program and has led the Seahawks to eight NCAA Regionals since 2003.
 
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
After winning three straight against George Mason, VMI and Appalachian State to start the season, UNC Wilmington has dropped its last four contests. After checking in at preseason #24, the Seahawks jumped a spot to #23 before getting swept at #8 Ole Miss last weekend. UNC Wilmington then faced a tall task in the midweek against defending national champion and #18 Coastal Carolina and lost to the Chanticleers, 4-1.
 
All-American catcher Nick Feight leads the Seahawks offensive attack coming off a year in which he hit .349 with 24 doubles, 21 home runs and 91 RBI while nearly leading UNC Wilmington to its first Super Regional in program history. After ranking eighth in the national with a .320 team average a year ago, the Seahawks are off to a relatively slow start as the team is hitting .231 in its first seven games. Senior utility man Robbie Thorburn leads the Seahwaks with a .333 average to this point in the season.
 
On the mound, the right handers Clark Cota and Cory Gantz and left hander Clay Lockamon have been UNC Wilmington's go-to arms out of the bullpen as each have made two or more appearances and are yet to allow an earned run in a collective 6.2 innings pitched. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU used clutch two-out hitting to claim a huge in-state win against cross-state rival FAU as the Eagles defeated the Owls, 7-5, Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium.
With the score tied, 5-5, and runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, junior catcher Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS) stayed red hot from the plate and smoked a two-strike, two-RBI double into the left-center field gap to give FGCU the lead.

The inning prior, FGCU trailed, 3-5, and was in a similar position with runners on first and second with two outs. Sophomore infielder Jake Smith (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Prep) promptly cut FAU's lead to one as he singled through the right side to score Levine. Two pitches later, Smith swiped second base and allowed Julio Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) to score from third and tie the score as the throw from FAU catcher Pedro Pages got away.

All seven of FGCU's runs and all five of its RBI came with two outs, while the Eagles went 8-for-17 from the plate in the category.
 
MILESTONE IN SIGHT
After securing seven wins already this season, Tollett currently stands three wins shy of hitting the 500-win milestone. Tollett has recorded 30 or more wins in 11 of his 14 seasons, including a program record 41 wins in 2006. He has led the Eagles to a winning mark in conference play in eight of nine seasons in the ASUN and would join 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 a 6-2 start in 2017.
 
OFF AND RUNNING
With a 7-2 record to this point in the season, FGCU is off to its best start since also going 7-2 in the first nine games of the 2013 campaign. The program's best start to a season since joining the Division I ranks came in 2008 when they team went 11-2 in its first 13 games. Additionally, with series wins against Sacred Heart (3-1) and Bethune-Cookman (2-1) already this season, the Eagles have claimed the first two series of the season for the first time since 2014. FGCU won its first six series of the 2013 season.
 
TOUGH STRETCH AHEAD
FGCU's three-game series with Bethune-Cookman began a stretch of 13 straight games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams. After defeating FAU Tuesday night, the Eagles are 3-1 in its first four games of the torrid stretch. Including the midweek matchup with FAU, the Green and Blue will play in 10 consecutive games against teams that entered the 2016 postseason as either #1 or #2 seeds.
 
LOCKED IN
Levine has raised his average .293 points over the last five games and now leads the team with a .393 average. During the span, the junior backstop has gone 10-for-18 with seven runs, four doubles, one home run and 10 RBI. He leads the team and the ASUN in RBI with 14 and ranks sixth in the conference in average. Freshman teammate Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) is also swinging a hot stick as he has recorded multiple hits in three straight games and is 7-for-12 with three runs and two RBI during the stretch.
 
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 doubles (64), RBI (165), walks (127) and total bases (375). He also ranks second in games played (196), fourth in at bats (709) and fifth in hits (223).

ASUN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Garcia became the first freshman in program history to be named the ASUN Player of the Week as he took home the honor on Feb. 20. A defensive replacement in the fifth inning in game one of FGCU's doubleheader on Feb. 18, Garcia hit the go-ahead, three-run home run to bring FGCU back from a 6-0 deficit and defeat Sacred Heart, 13-8. His two-RBI double in the seventh inning of the series finale against the Pioneers was also pivotal in FGCU's 5-1 win to clinch the series. In only nine at-bats opening weekend, he drove in two more runs than anyone else in the conference (seven).

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)	305-214-1	162-83 (.661)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	291-225	132-108 (.550)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	276-246	143-95 (.601)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	272-268	132-111 (.543)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	259-271	124-118 (.512)
6.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	248-269	119-122 (.494)
7.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
8.	ETSU (2008-14)	197-201	88-110 (.444)
9.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	198-301	82-156 (.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)	19-40	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 (28) and RBI, tied for fourth in games started (191), fifth in games played and total bases, seventh in hits and ninth in runs scored (132).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	205
4.	Tyler Selesky (2013-16)	199
5.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	196

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)	191
	Colton Bottomley (2013-16)	191

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)	223

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.	Tyler Selesky (2013-16)	137
8.	Chris Perry (2003-06)	134
9.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	132

CAREER RBI

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	180
	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	180
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	165

CAREER HOME RUNS

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	41
2.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	40
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	28

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)	375

 
Like Rivera, senior pitchers Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) and Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) make their way up the list of a number of top-10 career pitching records, while Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) also makes the list in fewest walks per 9.0 innings pitched.

CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
2.	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
3.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	76
4.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	72
5.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	69

CAREER SAVES

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

 
CAREER GAMES FINISHED

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	51
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	35
3.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	31

 
CAREER FEWEST WALKS PER 9.0 IP

1.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	1.13
2.	Josh Dye (2015-present)	1.18
3.	Jason Short (2003-05)	1.42
4.	Michael Murray (2013-15)	1.46
5.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	1.55

RECEIVING VOTES
For the fourth consecutive year, FGCU was receiving votes in Collegiate Baseball's Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I Preseason Poll. The ASUN was represented by four teams as defending regular season champion Kennesaw State, UNF and Lipscomb were also receiving votes. Additionally, as the ASUN Preseason Honors and Awards were released in January, the Green and Blue were chosen to finish tied for fourth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll. The Eagles garnered 35 points, matching Jacksonville's total. Lipscomb led the way with 59 points and six first-place votes and were followed by UNF and Kennesaw State with 52 and 51 points, respectively, and one first-place vote apiece.
 
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 15 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 497-298-3 record (.623) 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.