JACKSON, Miss. – FGCU baseball's celebrations following its victory over Miami will be short-lived due to a short turnaround. The Eagles travel to Jackson, Miss. for a three-game series beginning Friday against Jackson State, marking the first time FGCU will be out of the state of Florida this season.

The three-game set begins Friday at 7 p.m. with the second matchup slated for a 4 p.m. start Saturday. The finale on Sunday is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. All times Eastern.

SERIES HISTORY
FGCU is 3-0 all-time against Jackson State following a three-game sweep last season in Fort Myers.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday: RHP Mario Leon (3-1, 2.62 ERA) vs. RHP Nikelle Galatas (5-0, 3.69 ERA)
Saturday: TBA vs. TBA
Sunday: TBA vs. TBA

IN THE CONFERENCE
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) leads the Eagles and sits fourth in the ASUN, hitting .374 following last night's win. Meanwhile, both Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS) and Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) sit just outside the top 5. Morey checks in at .359 while Hayes comes into the weekend at .351.

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 conference with a 1.70 ERA.

FLYING HIGH
Last night's victory over Miami was FGCU's fifth in 22 attempts but the third in the last four games. The victory was also the second shutout against the 'Canes all-time and the second-straight shutout at Swanson Stadium.

2017 marked the first season the Eagles took the season series from the Hurricanes and the Eagles will attempt to do the same in 2018 with matchups approaching on April 18 and May 9.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Similar to FGCU, Jackson State is hitting above .300 as a team. The Tigers boast two batters hitting above .400, led by Raul Hernandez who enters the weekend hitting .415 with four home runs and eight doubles. Behind Hernandez, Wesley Reyes checks in at a .403 average.

The Tigers are also a threat on the bases with 42 stolen on the year led by Jarvis Warne's 13.

Friday's starter, Nikelle Galatas has posted a perfect 5-0 record in five starts with a 3.69 ERA. The freshman has struck out 24 batters over 39.0 innings. As a team, JSU has posted a 3.99 ERA.

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 were on the winning end of a classic pitcher's duel, coming out 1-0 winners against the Miami Hurricanes. Evan Lumbert (Orlando, Fla./Boone HS/South Florida State) struck out a career-high 12 batters over 8.0 innings, his longest wearing Green and Blue, outdueling Daniel Federman who held the Eagles hitless through 4.2 innings.

Scoreless moving into the bottom of the eighth, Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Kansas City Kansas Community College) brought in Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) with a pinch-hit RBI single, which resulted in the only run of the ballgame.

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.