FORT MYERS, Fla. – Winners of five-straight, the FGCU baseball team welcomes Miami to Swanson Stadium Wednesday night. The Eagles (18-5) and Hurricanes (12-11) are set to meet for the first of three times this season and for the 22nd time overall tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.
 
 
PROMOTIONS & TICKETS
A special ticket rate for groups of 20 or more can be purchased by calling the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145. In addition, reserved seating can be purchased online, $10 for adults and $8 for youth. General admission pricing remains the same ($7 for adults, $5 for youth).
 
Wednesday's matchup is also Veteran's Appreciation Night, Spirit Cup Challenge, and the Housing Challenge. 
 
In addition, the first 400 Dirty Birds and the first 100 fans will receive a free t-shirt.
 
SERIES HISTORY
While the overall series has not been kind to the Eagles, FGCU did win two of three last season. The Green and Blue trail the all-time series 4-17 dating back to 2008.
 
PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Evan Lumbert (3-0, 2.83 ERA) vs. Daniel Federman (1-1, 1.95)
 
BATTLE OF THE BIRDS FACTS
FGCU's first win came in 2012, a 4-2 win over the then #6 Hurricanes. Three years later, the Eagles secured an 8-1 win, the largest margin of victory in favor of the Eagles. The Green and Blue took the season series last year for the first time, including a 3-0 win at Swanson Stadium in front of a program-record crowd of 2,074.

Miami has won four national titles and has earned a trip to Omaha 13 times in 24 seasons, more than any program in the country.
 
IN THE CONFERENCE
FGCU has three players in the top five in the ASUN in terms of batting average, led by Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS). Garcia is currently hitting .385 while Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) checks in at .371 and Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) enters with a .366 average.

Garcia is the only player in the conference with more than 30 RBI (currently with 32) while Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State) sits second with 25 driven in.

Josh Dye (DeLand, Fla./DeLand HS) meanwhile sits sixth in the ASUN with a 1.70 ERA.
 
SCOUTING THE HURRICANES
The Hurricanes are coming off a sweep of #24 Virginia, climbing back above .500 on the year (12-11). In addition to their wins over the Cavaliers, Miami has also defeated #21 UCF and #1 Florida. Isaac Quinones leads the 'Canes with a .392 average and five doubles. Michael Burns and Romy Gonzalez both have 11 RBI to lead the team.

Daniel Federman, tomorrow's slated starter, enters with a team-best 1.95 ERA and a 1-1 record over 27.2 innings. Federman has struck out 25 batters while walking 11.
 
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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles brought their winning streak to five games, completing a three-game sweep over UMBC. After running away with the first two games 5-0 and 14-3, FGCU came from behind to win in 6-3 fashion in the finale. Garcia .545 over the weekend with six RBI on six hits. FGCU's pitching staff produced its best weekend, recording a 1.67 team ERA.
 
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 551-321-3 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.