FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off the program's first home win against Miami Wednesday night, #9 FGCU (23-3) opens its ASUN season with a three-game series against Jacksonville (12-15) this weekend. The series opener at Swanson Stadium is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by game two Saturday at 2 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
FGCU will send junior right hander Kutter Crawford (4-0, 1.24) to the mound for his first Friday night start of the season, while Jacksonville will run fellow junior right hander Michael Baumann (1-2, 2.70) to the bump. Game two will be a matchup of FGCU southpaw Josh Dye (5-1, 2.82) and Jacksonville right hander Chris Gau (2-3, 3.50). The Eagles will start either Garrett Anderson (2-0, 4.08) or Peyton Gray (3-0, 3.73) in the finale, while Dolphins lefty Casey Kulina (2-0, 2.57) will toe the rubber Sunday afternoon.
 
Fans in attendance for Friday's game are encouraged to wear white as the game has been deemed a whiteout by the FGCU Marketing Department. Those unable to make it to the ballpark can watch Friday's game on ASUN.TV or follow live stats all weekend on Stat Broadcast.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU holds a 16-12 advantage in the all-time series against Jacksonville, but the Dolphins got the best of the Eagles in all three games a season ago, with two of the three wins coming in walk-off fashion. Although Jacksonville has won five of the last eight contests in the series, FGCU holds an 8-5 record in Swanson Stadium and has emerged victorious in six of the last seven games played in Fort Myers.  

COACHING MATCHUP
FGCU founding head coach Dave Tollett has posted a 513-299-3 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, Tollett matches up with Jacksonville first-year head coach Chris Hayes, who took over as the Dolphins' skipper after spending three years as an assistant under former head coach Tim Montez. Hayes served his first stint with JU from 2003-08 before taking the head coaching job at Seminole State College, where he posted a 125-113-1 record in five seasons with the program.
 
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Jacksonville is off to a 12-15 start heading into conference play and is coming off a 10-1 loss at UCF Wednesday in Orlando. The Dolphins won five of the first six games of the season but went on to drop five straight following the hot start. With a pair of weekend series wins against Georgia State and Harvard, Jacksonville has also defeated Florida, 3-2, in the midweek and battled FSU to the brink but ultimately dropped the game, 6-5.
 
Offensively, Jacksonville ranks sixth in the league with a .256 team average. The Dolphins power numbers have been slacking as they rank last in the ASUN with six home runs. However, the team ranks third in the conference with 50 doubles. Redshirt senior outfielder Nathan Koslowski leads the team and ranks fourth in the league with a .363 average. Koslowski also leads the team and ranks second in the ASUN with 41 hits and has driven in a team-best 22 runs this season.
 
On the mound, along with the Dolphins impressive starting rotation, junior Spencer Stockton and freshman Tyler Santana have been the team's most-used arms out of the bullpen with 11 and 12 relief appearances, respectively. 2016 ASUN saves leader Mike Cassala is off to a slow start this season as he is 0-2 with a 6.14 ERA and has recorded just two saves.
 
TAKE THE STATE
FGCU is 4-0 in games versus Florida, FSU and Miami this season with two more road games against both the Seminoles and Hurricanes. 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. Additionally, after defeating cross-state rival Miami, 3-0, Wednesday night, FGCU has now defeated the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes in the same season for the first time in program history. The Green and Blue has also defeated FAU and then #21 USF this season.

THROWING UP ZEROES
Wednesday's shutout win against Miami marked FGCU's first of the season and first since also holding Kennesaw State to a two-hit shutout in game two of the 2016 ASUN Tournament. With a season-low 2.92 ERA, FGCU has dropped its season mark below 3.00 for the first time since the start of the 2015 season. The Eagles' staff ERA in 26 games this season currently ranks 16th in the country, and the team hasn't had a sub-3.00 ERA heading into April since 2014. A big reason the Green and Blue has been able to hold its opponents in check is command of the strike zone. With 254 strikeouts to go along with only 69 walks, the Eagles' 3.68 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks fifth in the NCAA.
 
STREAKING…AGAIN
Winners of nine in a row and 19 of its last 20 games, FGCU currently holds the fourth longest winning streak in the country behind Texas Tech, Houston and Oregon State. The Eagles also went on a 10-game win streak earlier in the season, which was tied for the second longest win streak in Division I program history. More impressively, the streak has come during the Green and Blue's toughest stretch of the season. With its aforementioned win against FSU, FGCU capped off a 13-game stretch against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams with an 11-2 record. With the win against the Seminoles, the Eagles also 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 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.
 
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 joined the illustrious 500-win club as FGCU capped off its weekend sweep at UNC Wilmington with a 10-1 win on Mar. 5. After completing the 'Big Three' Florida sweep with a shutout win against Miami Wednesday night, Tollett has now pushed his win total to 513. 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.
 
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 (213), doubles (66), RBI (179) and total bases (405). He also ranks second in walks (142), third in at bats (768) and tied for fourth in hits (240).

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 earned a weekly honor and was the Eagles' fifth total award this season. 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. 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)	321-215-1	162-83 (.661)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	304-230	132-108 (.550)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	282-257	143-95 (.601)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	279-280	132-111 (.543)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	267-279	124-118 (.512)
6.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	255-280	119-122 (.494)
7.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
8.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	208-310	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 (208), fourth in total bases and seventh in hits and runs scored (144).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	213

CAREER GAMES STARTED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	212
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	208

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)	240

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)	179

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)	405

 
Senior pitcher Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) recently broke the program's career saves record and matched the single-season record with a save against the Hurricanes Wednesday night. He is joined by Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS), 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)	16
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.	Sterling Koerner (2017)	9
	Jack Wagoner (2010)	9
3.	Brady Anderson (2014)	7

 
CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	83
	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)	46
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)	10.77

 
LOWEST OPPONENT BATTING AVERAGE

1.	Brandon Bixler (2011-13)	.201
2.	Chris Cahil (2003-04)	.207
3.	Kenton Hering (2016-17)	.214

 
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 513-299-3 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.