FORT MYERS, Fla. – Off to the program's first 4-0 start wince 2008, the FGCU baseball team continues its season-opening homestand with a three-game series against ETSU. The weekend series is slated to begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. before giving way to an afternoon contest at 2 p.m. Saturday and a 1 p.m. matinee Sunday.

PINKOUT
Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the series-opener as part of a Pinkout. Shirts and rally towels will be on sale at the game with all proceeds going towards the American Cancer Society.

In addition, fans will have nine chances to win prizes. After every inning, prizes will be given away to those fans holding a winning ticket.

TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now for the 2018 baseball season and fans have two options to see the Eagles. Single-game tickets remain $7 for adults and $5 for youth (3-12), military, and alumni (with valid ID). New this season is a season punch-pass, allowing fans to utilize the pass anywhere from one game for 30 people to 30 games for one person. The flexible option can be purchased for $99 ($3.30 per punch).

SERIES HISTORY
FGCU is 18-7 all-time against East Tennessee State, with 22 of those 25 contests coming when the two were conference foes. The Eagles won the first-ever meeting 9-5 and went on to win nine-straight against the Buccaneers. The Green and Blue still remain in control of the overall series, having won six of the last seven games including two-of-three last season.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Game One: Josh Dye (FGCU) vs. Micah Kaczor (ETSU)
Game Two: Mario Leon (FGCU) vs. Ryan Simpler (ETSU)
Game Three: Evan Lumbert (FGCU) vs. Dominick Steffanacci (ETSU)

LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles produced more Swanson magic to open 2018, winning the first four games of the season with three coming via walk-off. An Opening Day doubleheader featured a walk-off 6-5 victory before FGCU's bats exploded to a 12-3 win.

The final two days also featured walk-off wins, the first in a 12-11 ballgame while the series finale resulted in an 8-7 final.

Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS), Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS), and Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian Senior HS/Seminole State College) provided the winning base knocks for the Green and Blue while Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Viera HS/Eastern Florida State College) earned a pair of wins.

Brait was later named the ASUN's Player of the Week, hitting .400 with two doubles, a triple, and one home run while driving in nine.
 
SCOUTING ETSU
The Buccaneers took two-of-three from Northern Kentucky to open the 2018 season. Pitching carried the load to open 2018, highlighted by a national Player of the Week honor by Micah Kaczor. The ace of the Bucs' staff struck out 12 through 6.0 innings. Ryan Simpler then provided 5.0 strong innings, fanning nine while allowing just two runs as ETSU secured the series.

Christian Bailey led the Buccaneers at the plate, hitting. 417 with a double and two runs scored. Caleb Longley hit a pair of home runs to open the season, adding to his .333 average.

WALK IT OFF
FGCU used three walk-off wins last win to begin the season 4-0. No program across the country was able to replicate that feat this season, though North Carolina walked-off Oklahoma State three times to open the 2016 season. From available records, three walk-offs in one weekend had only occurred three times.  

HOT START
The Eagles' 4-0 start is thanks in part to some of the best performances in the country, both individually and as a team. The Green and Blue currently boast the sixth-best batting average (.350) and the seventh-best on-base percentage (.458), leading to the 12th-highest run total in the country (9.5 runs/game).
Brait's nine RBI in the opening weekend has him positioned ninth in the country while Hering's two wins put him among only six players to do so, leading the NCAA.

FRESH FACES, FRESH IMPACT
FGCU's newcomers provided just as much of a lift as its returners. JUCO transfer Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State) hit a pair of home runs in his first four games as an Eagle while freshman Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) impressed both on the field and at the plate. The local product drew three walks in his first game and went on to hit .273.

On the mound, Evan Lumbert (Orlando, Fla./Boone HS/South Florida State) and Bryan Wilcox (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) supplied perhaps two of the more impressive outings for the Green and Blue. Lumbert worked six innings in Sunday's finale, striking out six while allowing one earned run. Wilcox meanwhile struck out six in 3.0 innings of relief work in the second-end of Friday's doubleheader.

CHAMPS 5X
2017 was a magical season for the Green and Blue that ended in the program's first Division I NCAA Tournament berth. The Eagles ended the year 43-20, which included a midweek sweep over #2 Florida, single wins over #1 Florida State, Miami, and a three-game sweep at RV UNC Wilmington. The wins over Miami, FSU, and UF marked the first time FGCU defeated all three programs in the same season.
 
Reaching as high as #9 in the polls, the highest of any program at FGCU, the Eagles struggled in April but bounced back to finish third in the ASUN. During the ASUN Tournament, FGCU won four games in a span of 29 hours for their first tournament crown.
 
The Green and Blue earned the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, defeating Michigan 10-6 before losses to Davidson and UNC ended their season.
The tournament title adds to FGCU's four regular season titles.

KENTON, WITH A K
Redshirt-senior Kenton Hering's second season wearing Green and Blue put him among elite company with other arms that have come through Fort Myers. With 77 strikeouts in 59.2 innings IN 2017, Hering brought his K/9 inning total to 10.61, good for third all-time at FGCU behind current Minnesota Twins product Brandon Bixler (10.91; FGCU  2011-13) and six-time MLB All-Star Chris Sale (11.53; 2008-10).
 
Hering's seven saves last season also put him seventh all-time in FGCU history while his opponent's batting average of .222 is good for fifth.

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 16th season, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 537-316-3 record (.626) as the only head coach in the program's history and is coming off the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. He is a four-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four ASUN Regular Season Championships and one ASUN Tournament Championship. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions, including as high as #9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 49 All-Conference selections, 29 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.