FORT MYERS, Fla. – Two days after becoming the first program in school history to achieve a top-10 national ranking, the #9 FGCU baseball team (22-3) welcomes in-state rival Miami (11-13, 4-5 ACC) to Swanson Stadium for just the second time in program history Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
 
FGCU will send redshirt junior right hander Mario Leon (2-1, 3.33) to the mound to make his fifth straight midweek start against an in-state opponent. Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) earned the win against then #2 Florida on Mar. 7 after holding the Gators to two runs in 7.0 innings pitched. He also held #21 USF in check a week ago and allowed one run in 6.0 innings en route to earning his second win of the season. Opposite Leon, Miami will send freshman Greg Veliz (2-1, 2.70) to the bump.
 
Fans in attendance for Wednesday's game are encouraged to wear blue as the game has been deemed a blueout by the FGCU Marketing Department. Those unable to make it to the ballpark can watch the game on ASUN.TV or follow live stats on Stat Broadcast.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Miami holds a 16-2 advantage in the in-state series and has won each of the last three meetings. FGCU's two wins in the series have come against top-15 Miami teams as the Eagles defeated the #6 Hurricanes, 4-2, in 2012 and also took down #13 Miami, 8-1, in 2015. In a trio of meetings last year, FGCU hung tough with Miami but ultimately came out of the wrong end of all three games. The first two games were decided by four runs and the season series finale went to the Hurricanes, 8-3.

COACHING MATCHUP
FGCU founding head coach Dave Tollett has posted a 512-299-3 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 Wednesday, Tollett matches up with Miami head coach Jim Morris, who has posted a 1,042-432-3 record with the program. In his 24th season with the Hurricanes, Morris has taken his teams to 13 College World Series appearances. After also spending 12 seasons at Georgia Tech, Morris is 1,546-676-4 in his 36th overall season as a head coach.  
 
SCOUTING THE HURRICANES
Coming off a series at #8 North Carolina, Miami is 11-13 this season with a 4-5 mark in conference play. The Hurricanes began the season by taking two of three games against Rutgers but went on to be swept by then #2 Florida in Gainesville the following weekend. Miami won a home conference series against then #23 Georgia Tech to start ACC play, but took one of three in a pair of tough road tests at N.C. State and the aforementioned Tar Heels.
 
Offensively, after hitting .298 as a team a year ago, Miami has gotten off to a slow start with a .211 average. Junior infielder Brandon Gali has been the Hurricanes' hottest hitter of late as he leads the team with a .293 average and is coming off a 2-for-4 performance in the series finale at UNC. Sophomore third baseman Romy Gonzalez has provided the team's top power bat with five home runs and 19 RBI this season.
 
On the mound, Miami has turned to a trio of bullpen arms on many occasions this season. Sophomore Frankie Bartow has served as the team's closer with six saves in 10 appearances. Additionally, underclassmen Andrew Cabezas and Albert Maury Jr. have made 13 and 12 appearances, respectively, with ERA's of 2.78 and 3.45.  
 
TAKING DOWN STATE TITANS
FGCU is 3-0 in games versus Florida and FSU this season. The Eagles swept the then #2 Gators in a pair of midweek games on Mar. 7 and 8 before turning around the following week and defeating then #1 FSU. The win against the Seminoles marked the team's first win against a top-ranked opponent in program history. With a win Wednesday night, FGCU would earn wins against Florida, FSU and Miami in the same season for the first time ever.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
FGCU is one of nine teams in the country to rank in the top-40 in both ERA and runs per game. The team's 3.04 ERA is good for 21st in the country, while its 7.2 runs per game ranks tied for 38th. Joining the Eagles on the impressive list is Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Missouri, Oklahoma and St. John's.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
After appearing at #15 in Collegiate Baseball's rankings last Monday, FGCU was one of the biggest movers of the week as the Eagles jumped six spots to #9 in this week's poll. The #9 national ranking is not only another program best, but is also the highest ranking ever achieved by any FGCU athletics program – surpassing the men's soccer team, which was ranked as high as #11 after a record-breaking fall.

Along with its top-10 national ranking, the Green and Blue appeared in the top-15 in five other nationally-recognized polls released Monday. The Eagles climbed one spot to #11 in Baseball America's poll, appear at #12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and were also tabbed #14 in the country by both D1 Baseball and Perfect Game.

FGCU is the highest ranked non-Power Five program in the country according to the USA TODAY Coaches poll and NCBWA and the second highest according to Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and D1 Baseball. The Eagles are ranked behind only perennial powerhouse Cal State Fullerton by Baseball America and D1 Baseball, while appearing behind St. John's in Collegiate Baseball's poll. Additionally, FGCU is the third-highest ranked such program according to Perfect Game, behind Cal State Fullerton and Houston.
 
SINGLE-GAME HISTORY
In the midst of earning its second three-game sweep of the season against Rutgers from Mar. 17-19, junior shortstop Julio Gonzalez and senior designated hitter Nick Rivera put together record-breaking days at the plate in last Saturday's 13-4 win against the Scarlet Knights.
 
Gonzalez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Seminole State College (OK)/Brito Miami Private HS) became the first player in program history to hit for the cycle, while Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) set the Division I program record and matched the all-time mark with nine RBI in the game. Rivera also matched the Division I and all-time record with 12 total bases versus Rutgers. The duo combined to go 8-for-10 with five runs scored and 10 RBI in the game. Gonzalez hit a home run and triple in his final two at-bats, while Rivera hit a pair of home runs in a game for the fourth time in his career and first since 2015. He also matched a career high with four hits. The redshirt senior slugger entered the week hitting .215 but raised his average 60 points thanks in large part to Saturday's performance.
 
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 starting last week with its fourth win against a ranked opponent this season by taking down #21 USF, 2-1, and capping it off with a sweep against Jackson State, Tollett has now pushed his win total to 512. 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 joined Kennesaw State's Mike Sansing and UNF's Smoke Laval as the only active head coaches in the league with 500 or more wins, and the trio was recently joined by Lipscomb's Jeff Forehand.
 
TORRID STRETCH
With a 5-2 win against #1 FSU on Mar. 15, 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 its midweek matchup against then #2 Florida Mar. 7 and 8, the Green and Blue have won three games against two-top opponents. Prior to this season, FGCU had won one such game in the program's 15-year history. The Eagles have won eight straight games – third longest active streak in the country – and 18 of their last 19, including four against ranked opponents. The team's only loss since Feb. 24 came at the hands of defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State, who handed #1 Oregon State its lone loss of the season.
 
NCAA ACTIVE LEADER
In his final season with the Green and Blue, Rivera 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 (212), doubles (65), RBI (178) and total bases (403). He also ranks second in walks (141), third in at bats (765) and fourth in hits (239).

ASUN WEEKLY HONORS
After his record-breaking weekend at the plate from Mar. 17-19, Rivera went on to earn the ASUN Player of the Week honor for the third time in his career, tying former Eagles Michael Suchy and Tim Roberson for the most in program history. It also marked the third straight week a member of the Green and Blue has taken home a weekly honor and is the Eagles' fifth total award this season. Junior pitcher Peyton Gray (Columbus, Ind./Gulf Coast State/Columbus East HS) and junior infielder Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) were named the ASUN Pitcher of the Week and ASUN Player of the Week, respectively, after impressive performances against Florida and Ohio State. 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	ASUN
1.	FGCU (2008-present)	320-215-1	162-83 (.661)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	303-229	132-108 (.550)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	281-257	143-95 (.601)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	279-279	132-111 (.543)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	267-278	124-118 (.512)
6.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	255-279	119-122 (.494)
7.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
8.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	207-309	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)	20-54	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 (31), RBI, games played and games started (204), fourth in total bases, and seventh in hits and runs scored (143).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	212

CAREER GAMES STARTED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	212
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	207

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)	239

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)	144

CAREER RBI

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	180
	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	180
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	178

CAREER HOME RUNS

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	41
2.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	40
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	31

CAREER TOTAL BASES

1.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	418
	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	418
3.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	412
4.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	403

 
Senior pitcher Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) recently broke the program's career saves record and is one save shy of matching the single season record. He is joined by Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS), Josh Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) and Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS), who also make their way up a number of career lists.
 
CAREER SAVES

1.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	15
2.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	14
3.	Brady Anderson (2012-16)	11
4.	Jack Wagoner (2010-11)	9
	Harrison Wagoner (2011-13)	9
6.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	8

 
SINGLE SEASON SAVES

1.	Jack Wagoner (2010)	9
2.	Sterling Koerner (2017)	8
3.	Brady Anderson (2014)	7

 
CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	82
	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
4.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	76
5.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	74

 
CAREER GAMES FINISHED

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	51
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	45
3.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	31

 
CAREER FEWEST WALKS PER 9.0 IP

1.	Josh Dye (2015-present)	1.02
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	1.11
3.	Jason Short (2003-05)	1.42
4.	Michael Murray (2013-15)	1.46
5.	Jordan Desguin (2015)	1.60
6.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	1.76

 
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)	10.65

 
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)	.217

 
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 512-299-3 record (.629) 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, 15 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.