TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After dropping a pair of hard-fought game against Jacksonville last weekend, #9 FGCU (24-5, 1-2 ASUN) will look to bounce back with a pair of difficult road tests at #19 FSU (18-11, 6-6 ACC) this weekend. Game one is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium and will be followed by game two Wednesday at 4 p.m.
 
FGCU will start redshirt junior Mario Leon (3-1, 2.59) to the mound for one of the two games against the Seminoles, and the Eagles second starter this week is still up in the air. FSU is scheduled to start right hander Andrew Karp (0-2, 4.60) Tuesday night with their game two starter yet to be determined.
 
Both games in Tallahassee will be broadcasted on ACC Network Extra, and fans can also track the live stats on Seminoles.com.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FSU holds a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series versus FGCU, but the Eagles have gotten the best of the Seminoles in three straight contests, including two at Dick Howser Stadium, dating back to the 2015 season. Earlier this year, FSU traveled to Fort Myers for the first time in program history, and the Green and Blue took down then #1 FSU, 5-2, at JetBlue Park. The win against the Seminoles, which came a week after also defeating then #2 Florida in a pair of midweek games, marked the first in program history against a top-ranked opponent.

COACHING MATCHUP
FGCU founding head coach Dave Tollett has posted a 514-301-3 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 week, Tollett matches up with long-time FSU head coach Mike Martin, who has posted a 1,916-682-4 record in his 38th season with the program. Martin is the winningest active coach in the NCAA and has taken the Seminoles to 37 consecutive NCAA Regionals.
 
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
FSU is 18-11 overall this season and 6-6 in ACC play after getting swept by North Carolina at home last weekend. Prior to last weekend's series with the Tar Heels, FSU had dropped only one weekend set all season. The Eagles claimed series wins against VCU and Boston College with sweeps against Samford, Oakland and Notre Dame. In the midweek, though, the Seminoles are 4-4, including the loss to FGCU earlier this season.
 
Offensively, FSU is hitting .254 as a team and ranks 30th in the country with 7.4 runs per game. Junior outfielder Rhett Aplin leads the way with a .320 average, while Quincy Nieporte is the Seminoles top power bat with six home runs and 37 RBI – tied for seventh in the country.
 
On the mound, the Seminoles have turned in a 3.39 staff ERA and are holding opponents to a .230 average. Right handers Drew Carlton and Chase Haney have been the team's most productive arms out of the bullpen. Carlton is 1-2 with a 1.48 ERA and has recorded a pair of saves in 12 appearances, while Haney is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 16 trips to the mound.
 
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. After also taking down in-state rival FAU at the end of April, 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, last Wednesday night, FGCU has now defeated the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes in the same season for the first time in program history.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Although the majority of the Eagles' games thus far have been played in Fort Myers, FGCU is a perfect 4-0 in road games this season. The Green and Blue traveled to Wilmington, N.C. at the beginning of March and became the first non-conference opponent to sweep UNC Wilmington at home since 1998. Days later, FGCU returned to Fort Myers to take on Florida in a home-and-home midweek set. The Eagles claimed the contest in JetBlue Park, 7-3, before heading to Gainesville and taking down the Gators, 3-2, at McKethan Stadium.

THROWING UP ZEROES
FGCU turned in back-to-back shutouts against Miami and Jacksonville last week, marking the first time since 2014 the Eagles have shut out their opponents in back-to-back games. With a 3.08 staff ERA through 29 games this season, FGCU currently ranks 21st in the country in the category. A big reason the Green and Blue has been able to hold its opponents in check is command of the strike zone. With 272 strikeouts to go along with only 75 walks, the Eagles' 3.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks fourth in the NCAA.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Despite dropping the final two games of the series against Jacksonville, FGCU remained in the #9 spot in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll released Monday afternoon, maintaining the highest ranking ever achieved by any FGCU athletics program.

Along with its top-10 national ranking, the Green and Blue appeared in the top-20 in four other nationally-recognized polls released Monday. The Eagles are ranked #16 by Perfect Game, #17 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll, #18 by Baseball America and #20 by D1 Baseball.

FGCU is the second-highest ranked non-Power Five program in the country behind St. John's according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Additionally, the Eagles are the third highest according to Baseball American and the USA Today Coaches poll, fourth highest according to Perfect Game and fifth highest according to D1 Baseball.
 
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 a 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 last Wednesday night and taking a game against Jacksonville, Tollett has now pushed his win total to 514. 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 (216), doubles (66), RBI (179) and total bases (409). He also ranks second in walks (145), fourth in hits (244) and fifth in at bats (777).

ASUN WEEKLY HONORS
After pitching 7.0 shutout innings and leading FGCU to its first home win against Miami in program history, Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) was named the ASUN Baseball Pitcher of the Week. The award not only marked the first of the career for Leon, but was also the sixth total award and third Pitcher of the Week honor for the Green and Blue. The three Pitcher of the Week awards is the most since former Eagle Michael Murray took home the honor on four occasions during the 2014 season. A complete list of FGCU's weekly award winners from this season in included below.
 

Player of the Week	Pitcher of the Week
Richie Garcia (Feb. 20)	Kutter Crawford (Mar. 6)
Matt Reardon (Mar. 13)	Peyton Gray (Mar. 13)
Nick Rivera (Mar. 20)	Mario Leon (Apr. 3)

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)	322-217-1	163-85 (.657)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	306-231	134-109 (.551)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	283-259	144-97 (.598)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	282-280	135-111 (.549)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	269-280	126-119 (.514)
6.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	257-281	121-123 (.496)
7.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
8.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	209-312	83-158 (.344)
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)	20-57	2-21 (.087)

 
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 is tied for the program record in games played, ranks third in home runs (31), RBI and games started (211), fourth in total bases, sixth in hits and seventh in runs scored (145).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED

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

CAREER GAMES STARTED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	212
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	211

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.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	244

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)	145

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)	409

 
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 last Wednesday night. 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)	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)	85
	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
4.	Brady Anderson (2012-present)	76
5.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	75

 
CAREER GAMES FINISHED

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	51
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	48
3.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	31

 
CAREER FEWEST WALKS PER 9.0 IP

1.	Josh Dye (2015-present)	0.96
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	1.09
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)	1.69

 
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)	10.34

 
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)	.225

 
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 514-301-3 record (.628) 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.