DELAND, Fla. – Winners of its last nine ASUN contests, No. 3 FGCU (37-17, 13-8 ASUN) squares off with conference rival and No. 4 UNF (33-22, 12-9 ASUN) in the first round of the ASUN Baseball Championship Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Stetson's Melching Field.
 
#ASUNBSB CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Joining FGCU and UNF in DeLand, Fla., this week are regular season champion and No. 1 Jacksonville (33-22, 16-5 ASUN), host and No. 2 Stetson (27-27, 15-6 ASUN), No. 5 seed Kennesaw State (23-30, 10-11 ASUN) and No. 6 seed Lipscomb (27-26, 9-12 ASUN). Jacksonville and Lipscomb will get things going with an 11 a.m. matchup Wednesday, while Stetson and Kennesaw State will meet in the nightcap Wednesday at 7 p.m. A complete bracket of this week's tournament can be found here.
 
TICKETS AND MORE
Ticket and information surrounding the tournament as a whole can be found here. Those intending to make it up to Stetson for this week's action can purchase single-day passes for as low as $15 or tournament passes starting at $45. Students from any ASUN institution with a valid I.D. will be admitted free of charge.
 
#ASUNBSB CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
In its eighth season of postseason eligibility, the Green and Blue have advanced to the ASUN Tournament for the seventh time with an 11-12 record in postseason play. FGCU has advanced to the semifinals in each of the last three tournaments and made its first appearance in an ASUN Championship Game in program history in 2016. After losing the tournament opener to UNF, the Eagles rattled off three straight wins to advance out of the loser's bracket. FGCU needed to take down Stetson in back-to-back games but dropped a dramatic affair, 5-4, to come up just short of the ASUN Championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Despite getting swept by the Ospreys in the regular season, FGCU holds a 21-15 advantage in the all-time series against UNF, which dates back to the first-ever matchup in 2003. The two teams have met on five occasions in the ASUN Baseball Tournament with UNF emerging victorious in three of the postseason meetings. A year ago, No. 2 UNF defeated No. 5 FGCU, 12-6, in the tournament opener, but the Eagles exacted revenge on the Ospreys with a 3-2 win in a semifinal elimination game. FGCU advanced to its first ASUN Championship Game in program history behind an impressive outing from Garrett Anderson (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) on the mound and game-winning home run from Corey Fehribach (Douglasville, Ga./West Georgia CC/Alexander HS).

SCOUTING THE OSPREYS
UNF started the ASUN season 10-2 and was tied with Jacksonville for first place with three weekends remaining in the regular season. However, the Ospreys dropped seven of its last nine conference games and finished in fourth place with a 12-9 record in league play.

Offensively, UNF leads the ASUN and ranks 35th in the NCAA with a .299 team average while also hitting a league-best .309 against ASUN opponents. Redshirt senior Patrick Ervin leads the team and ranks second in the league with a .363 average. Ervin hit an ASUN best .424 in conference play. Four other everyday players turned in batting averages above .300 including Alex Merritt (.344 – fifth in the league), Chris Thibideau (.325), Yahir Gurrola (.322) and Chris Berry (.319). Gurrola finished the regular season in the top-five in the ASUN in runs (59), hits (76), doubles (18), home runs (nine), RBI (50) and slugging (.538).

On the mound, UNF also leads the league with a 3.63 staff ERA, including a 3.53 clip during ASUN play, which ranked third in the conference. The Ospreys' combination of Austin Drury and Frank German combined to go 14-3 with a 2.82 ERA. Additionally, Matthew Naylor (2-5, 2.00) serves as the team's closer and ranked second in the conference with nine saves.

FINISHED WITH A FLURRY
FGCU lost eight of its first 12 ASUN games and turned in a .241/.319/.353 slash line with a 4.33 staff ERA during the span. The Eagles scored 3.8 runs per game and turned in 8.1 hits per game. However, after getting swept at UNF, the Green and Blue went on to win its last nine conference games of the season. The team slashed .346/.457/.651 and posted a 3.21 ERA while scoring 11.1 runs per game on 13.2 hits per contest. Additionally, FGCU has outscored its conference opponents 100-38 during its win streak.

POWER SURGE
After hitting 22 home runs in the first 41 games of the season, the Green and Blue have totaled 30 home runs in its last 13 games. The Eagles have homered in 11 of the last 13 games with two or more long balls in seven of those contests and three or more in each of the last three. FGCU's 32 home runs in 21 conference games were 13 more than Kennesaw State as the next closest ASUN team. The Eagles also hit more doubles (42) and triples (six) than any other team in conference play and slugged .067 points higher than the Owls in second.

In its 20-1 win against NJIT on Apr. 29 – marking the largest margin of victory in Division I program history – 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. With 52 home runs during the regular season, the Green and Blue have 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 finished off the season 5-3 in games versus Florida, FSU and Miami. 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. FGCU 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, with a 2-1 record against the Hurricanes including a 3-0 win in front of a Swanson Stadium record crowd of 2,074 on Mar. 29, FGCU not only claimed its first season series against Miami in program history, but also defeated the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes in the same season for the first time.
 
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 37 wins this season – tied for the second most in a regular season in DI program history – Tollett has now pushed his win total to 527. 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 nine of 10 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 joined by Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand shortly after.
 
NCAA ACTIVE LEADER
In his final season with the Green and Blue, redshirt senior Nick Rivera (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) 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 (241), doubles (71), RBI (214), total bases (478) and walks (171). Additionally, he ranks tied for fourth in hits (275), sixth in at-bats (868) and seventh in home runs (42).

ASUN WEEKLY HONORS
Following its sweep of Kennesaw State to close out the regular season, Rivera was not only named the ASUN Player of the Week for the third time this season and fifth time in his career, but also garnered Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors. Rivera, who hit four home runs and took over the FGCU career record in the cateogry, matched the conference record for weekly recognitions in an individual career. He drew six walks in the series finale, setting the FGCU single-game record and matching the NCAA mark. A complete list of this year's weekly award winners 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)
Eli Lovell (May 15)
Nick Rivera (May 22)

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)	335-229-1	175-91 (.658)
2.	UNF (2008-present)	319-242	144-117 (.552)
3.	Stetson (2008-present)	296-290	147-117 (.557)
4.	Kennesaw State (2008-present)	294-273	153-106 (.591)
5.	Lipscomb (2008-present)	280-295	133-130 (.506)
6.	Jacksonville (2008-present)	276-287	135-127 (.515)
7.	Mercer (2008-14)	243-156	115-82 (.584)
8.	USC Upstate (2008-present)	219-326	89-170 (.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)	26-76	4-37 (.098)

 
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 (236), doubles, home runs, RBI and total bases, but also ranks in the top-five in program history in a pair of additional offensive categories. The Cape Coral native ranks third in hits and fourth in runs scored (172).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	241
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
3.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	214

CAREER GAMES STARTED

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	236
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	216
3.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	212

CAREER RBI

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	214
2.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	180
	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	180

CAREER DOUBLES

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	71
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)	478
2.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	418
	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	418

CAREER HOME RUNS

1.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	42
2.	Zach Maxfield (2009-11)	41
3.	Tim Roberson (2008-11)	40

CAREER HITS

1.	Mikel Alvarez (2008-11)	316
2.	Josh Upchurch (2006-09)	311
3.	Nick Rivera (2013-present)	275

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)	172

Earlier this season, Sterling Koerner (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) broke the program's career and single-season saves record and turned in an ASUN-best 12 saves on the season. He also set the career appearances mark and is tied for the program record in games finished. Koerner is joined by Kutter Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS), Anderson, 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)	19
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)	12
2.	Jack Wagoner (2010)	9
3.	Brady Anderson (2014)	7

 
CAREER APPEARANCES

1.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	95
2.	J.J. Crumbley (2005-08)	86
3.	RJ Brown (2010-13)	82
4.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	81

CAREER GAMES FINISHED

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

 
LOWEST ERA (MIN. 40 IP)

1.	Kutter Crawford (2017)	1.76
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.	Sterling Koerner (2014-present)	1.11
2.	Josh Dye (2015-present)	1.12
3.	Jason Short (2003-05)	1.42
4.	Michael Murray (2013-15)	1.46
5.	Jordan Desguin (2015)	1.60
6.	Billy Phillips (2004-05)	1.78
7.	Derek Shaw (2007-09)	1.79
8.	Les Hassen (2003-05)	1.84
9.	Garrett Anderson (2014-present)	1.90

 
MOST STRIKEOUTS PER 9.0 IP (MIN 40 IP)

1.	Chris Sale (2008-10)	11.53
2.	Brandon Bixler (2011-13)	10.91
3.	Ryan Williams (2004-06)	10.27
4.	Luis Pardo (2007)	10.21
5.	Kenton Hering (2016-present)	10.20
6.	Kutter Crawford (2017)	10.17

 
LOWEST OPPONENT BATTING AVERAGE (MIN 40 IP)

1.	Kutter Crawford (2017)	.201
2.	Brandon Bixler (2011-13)	.201
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)	.237

 
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 527-313-3 record (.625) 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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.