GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two of the longest winning streaks in the country collide Tuesday when the #22 FGCU baseball team travels to Gainesville to face the #1 Florida Gators. The Eagles and Gators are set for a 6 p.m. first pitch on SEC Network .

SERIES HISTORY
FGCU is 7-12 all-time against Gators following the Eagles' sweep last season. Prior to 2017, FGCU lost five-straight but took down the #2 Gators 7-3 at JetBlue Park before coming away with a 3-2 win in Gainesville last year.

PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Evan Lumbert (4-0, 2.21 ERA) vs. RHP Taylor Mace (1-0, 6.98 ERA)

CONFERENCE HONORS
Evan Lumbert (Orlando, Fla./Boone HS/South Florida State) had a career-day against the Hurricanes last week, tossing 8.0 scoreless innings of two-hit baseball. The Orlando-native struck out a career-high 12 batters, paving the way for a 1-0 FGCU victory, the program's third win over Miami in four games. For his performance, Lumbert was named the conference's Pitcher of the Week.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
FGCU moved to #22 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 poll, its highest ranking of the season. The Eagles are six spots below Stetson but in front of Missouri, Auburn, and North Carolina.
 
In addition, FGCU jumped 25 spots in the latest RPI and now sit #36. Stetson fell to #31 while Jacksonville enters the week #56.
 
HOT STREAK
FGCU's nine-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak in the country, trailing only Michigan and Tennessee Tech who both have won the last 12 games.

Over the last nine games, FGCU has hit .289, well below the season average of .314 but still maintained its average of eight runs per game. Furthermore, FGCU's team ERA is a full point lower during that stretch. The Eagles as a team have posted a 2.78 ERA including two shutouts during their most recent run.
 
IN THE CONFERENCE
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) is hitting .432 over FGCU's nine-game winning streak, bringing his season average to a team-leading .384 which also sits second in the ASUN. Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS), who has hit .400 over the last nine games, sits 10th in the conference with a .342 average.

There are only two players in the ASUN with 30 or more RBI – Garcia and Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS/Indian River State). Garcia leads the way with 34 driven in, meanwhile, Gilmore reached the 30 RBI mark with three in the series finale against Jackson State.

Lumbert now leads FGCU with a 2.21 ERA, good for seventh in the ASUN. Meanwhile, Josh Dye's (DeLand, Fla/DeLand HS) 2.22 ERA is good for eighth.
 
SCOUTING THE GATORS
Florida enters Tuesday on a six-game win streak including a sweep over #8 Vanderbilt. Jonathan India leads the Gators with a .433 average and 11 home runs. Wil Dalton also has hit 11 home runs this season, helping Florida to hit 46 on the season. `

Tommy Mace is the scheduled starter for the Gators. He enters with a 1-0 record and a 6.98 ERA. Mace has tallied 15 strikeouts in 19.1 innings while walking four.

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 secured their fifth sweep of the season with a 6-3 win Friday and back-to-back 9-4 victories to wrap up the weekend against Jackson State. This was the second road sweep of the season after the Eagles took two from Florida A&M.

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 555-321-3 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.