FORT MYERS, Fla. – In its final home weekend of the 2017 season, FGCU (31-16, 7-8 ASUN) hosts conference rival Lipscomb (26-20, 8-7 ASUN) for a three-game series this weekend as both teams fight to claim a spot in the ASUN Conference Tournament. Game one at Swanson Stadium is schedule for Friday at 6:30 p.m. with game two taking place Saturday at 2 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Both teams will stick with their pitching rotations of late as FGCU ace Kutter Crawford (5-1, 1.78) will square off with Lipscomb's Jeffrey Passantino (3-2, 2.92) Friday evening. Lanky lefty Josh Dye (7-3, 2.78) and reigning ASUN Pitcher of the Year Brady Puckett (7-4, 3.67) will toe the rubber in game two, while senior right hander Garrett Anderson (4-1, 3.45) and the Bisons Denton Norman (4-3, 1.38) are set to take the mound in the finale.
 
All three games this weekend can be tracked on Stat Broadcast, while Saturday and Sunday's matinee matchups will also be streamed on ASUN.TV. Fans in attendance Sunday afternoon are encouraged to wear blue as the game has been deemed a blueout by FGCU Marketing.
 
SENIOR CEREMONY
Prior to Sunday's finale, FGCU will honor eight individuals who have accounted for a total of 164 wins and helped the Green and Blue claim one of its four ASUN Championships during the 2014 season. Those being recognized include redshirt seniors Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS) and Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS), seniors Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) and Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS), and redshirt juniors Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS), Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS), Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) – all of who are expected to run for their redshirt senior seasons in 2018. The ceremony will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m.
 
TIGHT CONFERENCE RACE
With two weekend series remaining in the regular season, the top six teams in the conference are separated by only four games. UNF and Jacksonville are currently tied at the top with an 11-4 ASUN record and hold a one-game advantage over Stetson (10-5). Lipscomb and Kennesaw State are both 8-7 in league play, and the Bisons own the tiebreaker over the Owls after a 2-1 series win earlier this season. FGCU sits a game behind Lipscomb and Kennesaw State at 7-8 and holds a two-game advantage over USC Upstate (5-10). NJIT (0-15) rounds out the standings and has been eliminated from postseason contention. Below is a list of conference matchups this weekend.
 
Lipscomb (26-20, 8-7 ASUN) at FGCU (31-16, 7-8 ASUN)
Kennesaw State (20-26, 8-7 ASUN) at NJIT (7-36, 0-15 ASUN)
UNF (32-17, 11-4 ASUN) at Stetson (22-26, 10-5 ASUN)
USC Upstate (22-26, 5-10 ASUN) at Jacksonville (27-21, 11-4 ASUN)
 
SERIES HISTORY
In what has been a highly competitive conference rivalry since 2008, FGCU holds a 17-16 advantage in the all-time series with the Bisons. The Eagles started the series with a 9-3 record and also led 14-10 through the first 24 games between the two teams. However, Lipscomb went on to win six straight matchups from 2014-16. FGCU reclaimed the slight advantage in the rivalry by taking the final two games of the 2016 regular season series and also ending the Bisons' run with an 8-6 win in last year's conference tournament.

COACHING MATCHUP
FGCU founding head coach Dave Tollett has posted a 521-312-3 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 Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand, who holds a 302-323 record in his 11th season with the program. Like Tollett, Forehand also joined to 500-win club earlier this season and is now 513-465-1 in his 17th overall season as a head coach.
 
SCOUTING THE BISONS
The preseason favorite to win the conference, Lipscomb is 26-20 overall this season and sits in fourth place in the ASUN standings with an 8-7 mark in conference play. In league play, the Bisons swept NJIT, won two of three against USC Upstate and Kennesaw State, dropped two of three to UNF and were swept at Jacksonville.
 
Offensively, Lipscomb is sixth in the conference with a .274 team average. However, the Bisons are hitting .294 in ASUN play and rank second in the category. Sophomore infielder Cade Sorrells leads the way with a .314 average and is one of four Bisons hitting above .300 this season – Jeffrey Crisan (.312), Jake Perry (.308) and Hunter Hanks (.302). The Bisons present a major threat on the base paths as the team leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation with 99 stolen bases.
 
On the mound, Lipscomb is also in the bottom half of the pack as the team ranks fifth in the league with a 4.84 overall staff ERA and is sixth with a 4.51 mark in league play. Along with the aforementioned starters, Kyle Kemp has been the most effective arm of the bullpen with a 2-1 record, 4.54 ERA and three saves in 16 relief appearances.
 
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
After hitting .238 and scoring 3.5 runs per game in the first 17 games of April, the FGCU offense exploded for 37 runs on 47 hits in its three-game sweep of NJIT at the end of last month. The team's 37 runs in a three-game series were the most since scoring 47 runs at Northern Kentucky in 2014, while its 47 hits were the most since registering 50 hits in three games at USC Upstate last season. The win in the series finale not only marked the first time FGCU had registered 10 or more runs in back-to-back games since Mar. 10-11 versus Ohio State, but was also the first time this season the Eagles had turned in double digit hits in three straight contests. Additionally, the Eagles' 19-run margin of victory in their 20-1 series-clinching win Saturday afternoon registers as the largest in Division I program history.

POWER SURGE
In its series-clinching, blowout win against the Highlanders, FGCU set the single-game program record with seven home runs, surpassing the previous record of six long balls turned in at ETSU on May 1, 2009. Now with 37 home runs through 47 games this season, the Green and Blue has totaled its most home runs in a single season since hitting 54 home runs in 2010 – the final season of the live bat era.

GOING TOE-TO-TOE WITH STATE TITANS
FGCU is 5-2 in games versus Florida, FSU and Miami this season with one more road game against the Hurricanes next week. The Eagles entered the week of Apr. 3 a perfect 4-0 against the 'Big Three' opponents but dropped a pair of midweek games at FSU by one run. 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. With the win against the Seminoles, the Green and Blue not only took down its first top-ranked opponent in program history, but also finished off a 13-game stretch against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams with an 11-2 record and a 10-game stretch against #1 or #2 seeds from last year's tournament at 9-1. Additionally, after defeating cross-state rival Miami, 3-0, on Mar. 29, FGCU has now defeated the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes in the same season for the first time in program history. FGCU also took down Miami in the second of three meetings this season and claimed the season series against the Hurricanes for the first time in program history.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
After starting the season a program best 24-3, FGCU appeared as high as #9 in the country in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, which marked the highest ranking ever achieved by any FGCU athletics program. Additionally, the Eagles were tabbed a consensus top-15 program as the team was ranked #14 or higher in all six nationally-recognized polls.

500-WIN CLUB…AND COUNTING
Tollett joined the 500-win club as FGCU capped off its weekend sweep at UNC Wilmington with a 10-1 win on Mar. 5. With 31 wins this season, Tollett has now pushed his win total to 521. He has recorded 30 or more wins in 12 of his 15 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 the aforementioned 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-10 in active NCAA players in a number of offensive categories. Rivera leads the nation in career games played (234), doubles (69), RBI (201), total bases (455) and walks (159). Additionally, he ranks fifth in hits (266), seventh in at-bats (844) and tied for eighth in home runs (38).

ASUN WEEKLY HONORS
After turning in a .500/.545/.994 slash line with two home runs and nine RBI in four games at the end of April, Rivera took home his second ASUN Player of the Week award of the season and program record fourth of his FGCU career. The award marks the seventh weekly award for the Green and Blue and fourth Player of the Week recognition this season. The four Player of the Week awards are tied for the most in a single season in program history, matching Brooks Beisner's and Michael Suchy's combined four awards in 2013, while the seven total awards are tied with the 2010 team for the most in a single season. A complete list of FGCU's weekly award winners from this season is 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)
Nick Rivera (May 1)

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)	329-228-1	169-91 (.650)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	318-237	143-112 (.561)
3.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	291-269	151-102 (.597)
4.	Stetson (2008-present)	291-289	142-116 (.549)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	279-289	132-125 (.514)
6.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	270-286	130-126 (.509)
7.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
8.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	217-321	87-166 (.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-present)	24-72	2-33 (.057)

 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Along with his aforementioned NCAA active ranks, Rivera has also made his mark in FGCU program history as he not only holds the career record for games played, games started (229), doubles, RBI and total bases, but also ranks in the top-five in program history in a few other offensive categories. The Cape Coral native ranks third in home runs and fourth in hits and runs scored (160).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	234
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
3.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214

CAREER GAMES STARTED

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	229
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
3.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	212

CAREER RBI

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	201
2.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	180
	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	180

CAREER DOUBLES

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	69
2.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	54
3.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	47
	Jason Louwsma (2005-06)	47
	Colton Bottomley (2013-16)	47

CAREER TOTAL BASES

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	455
2.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	418
	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	418

CAREER HOME RUNS

1.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	41
2.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	40
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	38

CAREER HITS

1.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	316
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	311
3.	Jake Noll (2013-16)	267
4.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	266

CAREER RUNS SCORED

1.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	237
2.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	202
3.	Stephen Wickens (2008-11)	178
4.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	160

Earlier this season, Koerner broke the program's career and single-season saves record with an ASUN-best 10 saves on the season and also set the career appearances mark. He is joined by Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS), Anderson, Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) and Hering, who also make their way up a number of career lists.
 
CAREER SAVES

1.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	17
2.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	14
3.	Brady Anderson (2012-16)	11
4.	Jack Wagoner (2010-11)	9
	Harrison Cooney (2011-13)	9
6.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	8

 
SINGLE SEASON SAVES

1.	Sterling Koerner (2017)	10
2.	Jack Wagoner (2010)	9
3.	Brady Anderson (2014)	7

 
CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	92
2.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
3.	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
4.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	79

 
LOWEST ERA (MIN. 40 IP)

1.	Kutter Crawford (2017)	1.78
2.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	2.52
3.	Richard Bleier (2006-08)	2.70

 
CAREER FEWEST WALKS PER 9.0 IP (MIN 40 IP)

1.	Josh Dye (2015-present)	0.99
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	1.10
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)	1.73

 
MOST STRIKEOUTS PER 9.0 IP (MIN 40 IP)

1.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	11.53
2.	Brandon Bixler (2011-13)	10.91
3.	Kutter Crawford (2017)	10.38
4.	Ryan Williams (2004-06)	10.27
5.	Kenton Hering (2016-present)	10.22

 
LOWEST OPPONENT BATTING AVERAGE (MIN 40 IP)

1.	Brandon Bixler (2011-13)	.201
2.	Kutter Crawford (2017)	.205
3.	Chris Cahil (2003-04)	.207
4.	Jordan Desguin (2015)	.216
5.	Clint Knoblauch (2012-16)	.232
6.	Jack English (2012-15)	.234
7.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	.235
8.	Kenton Hering (2016-present)	.238

 
CAREER GAMES FINISHED

1.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	51
2.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	49
3.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	31

 
TICKETS
Single game tickets for this weekend 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 or by visiting either Alico Arena or the ticketing tent located outside of Swanson Stadium prior to the games.
 
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 521-312-3 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, two current major leaguers, 17 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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.