FORT MYERS, Fla. – Behind another shutdown performance from the pitching combination of Kutter Crawford and Kenton Hering, #9 FGCU (24-3, 1-0 ASUN) opened conference play by defeating Jacksonville (12-16, 0-1 ASUN), 4-0, Friday night at Swanson Stadium.

The win marked FGCU's 10th straight and 20th in its last 21 games. The Eagles' 10-game win streak not only matches a season long, but is also tied for the second longest win streak in Division I program history. Additionally, with its record now at 24-3, the Green and Blue have surpassed the 2005 team for the best start in program history.

On the mound, Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS) and Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) combined for the Eagles' second straight two-hit shutout, marking the first time since 2014 FGCU has blanked its opponents in back-to-back games. With tonight's shutout, the FGCU pitching staff pushed its scoreless streak to 20.1 innings.

Crawford (5-0, 1.04), who made his first Friday night start of the season, earned the win after tossing 5.2 scoreless innings while allowing one hit with five walks and six strikeouts. Jacksonville didn't record its first hit off the FGCU right hander until there was one out in the top of the sixth. From there, Hering continued to pitch lights out from the bullpen as he threw the final 3.1 innings and earned the save. Hering, who allowed only one hit and struck out three, hasn't allowed a run in his last 16.0 innings pitched.

"Kutter was very good tonight, and so was (Michael) Baumann," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "It was the best pitching matchup in the state, and maybe the country. Those two guys squared off, and Kutter made some big-time pitches when he needed to. (Matt) Reardon came through with a two-RBI single to give us some breathing room, and that was huge. It was just a good, solid Friday night win."

FGCU, who entered the weekend ranked #8 in the RPI, continued to get out to an early lead as the Eagles scored first for the 17th time this season and remained perfect when doing so. After stranding a one-out walk in the bottom of the first, Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Kansas City Kansas CC/Lincoln Southwest HS) led off the bottom of the second with a double into the left-center-field gap. With one out, Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) stepped to the plate and hit a single right back up the middle to put the Green and Blue on the scoreboard. After Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) reached on an error, Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) ripped a single into left field, but Coffers was cut down at the plate on a nice throw from Jacksonville outfielder Chris Lehane to keep it a 1-0 ballgame.

Two innings later, Coffers and Morey led off the frame with a walk and bunt single, and each advanced 90 feet on Garcia's sacrifice bunt. Leadoff man Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) then sent the second pitch of his at-bat through the right side of the infield to bring in both and extend the lead to 3-0.

With the combination of Crawford and Hering continuing to hold the Dolphins in check, FGCU added another insurance run in in the bottom of the seventh. Coffers crushed a two-out triple into the right-center-field gap and came in to score as a wild pitch from Jacksonville reliever Shane Wise deflected off the chest protector of catcher Mike Cassala.

The four-run cushion was all FGCU and Coach Tollett needed to keep Hering in the game to earn his first save of the season in near-perfect fashion.

As a staff, FGCU entered the game with the 16th-best ERA in the country and saw its season mark lowered to 2.81. Additionally, during the team's 10-game win streak, the Eagles have turned in a 1.60 ERA and haven't allowed more than three earned runs in any game.

Offensively, the Green and Blue received a quartet of two-hit performances from Reardon, Lovell, Coffers and Garcia. Reardon led the way with two RBI, while Coffers scored a pair of runs and drove in another.

UP NEXT
Game two of the ASUN-opening series between the Eagles and Dolphins is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. FGCU will send southpaw Josh Dye (5-1, 2.82) to the mound to face Jacksonville's Chris Gau (2-3, 3.50).

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 his 15th season of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 514-299-3 record (.630) 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.