DELAND, Fla. – Behind a career-best night from Kutter Crawford on the mound and Marc Coffers at the plate, No. 3 FGCU (38-17, 13-8 ASUN) handed No. 4 UNF (33-23, 12-9 ASUN) its first shutout loss in ASUN Tournament history as the Eagles defeated the Ospreys, 4-0, Wednesday night at Stetson's Melching Field.

Just over 24 hours after being tabbed an ASUN First Team All-Conference starting pitcher, Crawford (7-1, 1.58) further validated his postseason honor as the junior right-hander worked a career-high 8.0 scoreless innings and allowed only three hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts. It was the second game this season the Okeechobee, Fla., native struck out double-digit batters.

Freshman outfielder Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS), who was one of three Eagles to earn ASUN All-Freshman Team honors Tuesday night, collected his second straight three-hit game and fourth of the season while hitting his fifth home run in the last 10 games.

Now at 38-17 on the season, FGCU has won 10 straight games against conference opponents while outscoring the competition 104-38 during the win streak. With the win, the Eagles advance to the winner's bracket where they will play the winner of tomorrow morning's No. 2 Stetson and No. 5 Kennesaw State matchup at 7:45 p.m. An updated bracket of the tournament can be found here. 

"That first one is always a big one," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "But so are all the others when you get to this point in the season. Kutter was phenomenal on the mound tonight. It took him a couple innings to settle in, but he was almost unhittable once he did. Our offense continued to swing the bats well with 10 more hits, but we even left some runs out there by missing out on some scoring opportunities. It feels good to start out the week with a win. We're just taking this thing one game at a time."

Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla./Indian River State/Okeechobee HS) worked himself into trouble with a single and a pair of walks in the top of the second inning, but the Green and Blue hurler got out of the bases-loaded jam unscathed as ASUN Freshman of the Year Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) took a grounder off the chest and stayed with the play as he made the throw to first in time to retire leadoff man Patrick Ervin.

Garcia turned his defense into offense as he hit a one-out single up the middle to get things going in the bottom of the second. After moving into scoring position on a failed pickoff attempt, the FGCU third baseman advanced 90 more feet on a single from Matt Reardon (Palm City, Fla./Martin County HS) before Coffers drove him in on a RBI single through the right side to get the Eagles out to the early lead.

An inning later, FGCU added to its advantage as Garcia drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs to score Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Seminole State College/Miami Killian Senior HS), who led off the frame with a single. However, UNF avoided further damage as left-hander Tyler DuPont entered the game in relief of Ospreys starter Cooper Bradford (1-4, 2.79) and struck out Reardon to strand a trio of Eagles.

Coffers kept the offense going and stayed hot from the plate with a solo home run to left field to start the bottom of the fourth inning. As previously mentioned, it was the right fielder's fifth home run of the season, all of which have come in the last 10 games. FGCU loaded the bases with nobody out for the second straight inning following Coffers' home run, but the Eagles missed on another opportunity as a pop up to shortstop and 6-4-3 double play ended the frame.  

The freshman right fielder continued with his big night as he reached for the third straight at-bat on an infield single in the bottom of the sixth, stole second, advanced to third on a fly out to right field and scored on a wild pitch to make it a 4-0 ballgame.

The four-run cushion was more than enough for Crawford, who retired 17 straight Ospreys and 19 of the last 20 batters he faced after getting into the bit of trouble in the top of the second inning.

Crawford gave way to right-hander Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Eastern Florida State/Viera HS) in the ninth, and the reliever did what he has done for most of the season as he shut the door on the Ospreys with a pair of strikeouts in the final frame.

With three hits, two runs and two RBI in tonight's contest, Coffers is now 8-for-15 with five runs scored and six RBI in his last three games. Reardon and Levine added a pair of hits apiece as the Eagles recorded 10 or more hits for the third straight game and ninth time in its past 11 trips to the ballpark. Additionally, with Coffers' solo shot, FGCU has homered in four straight games and 12 of its last 14.

FOLLOW ALONG
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DAVE TOLLETT
In his 15th season of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 528-313-3 record (.626) 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, three 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.