FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team aims to jump into the top-half of the ASUN standings this weekend when the Eagles take on league-leading #20 Stetson during the final home weekend of the 2018 season. The Green and Blue (31-16, 7-8 ASUN) welcome the Hatters (37-11, 11-3) for a three-game series culminating in Senior Day and Mother's Day on Sunday during.
 
The crucial ASUN weekend begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. before a 2 p.m. first pitch Saturday afternoon. The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. with Senior Day along with a special Mother's Day presentation.
 
PROMOTIONS
Friday's opener has been deemed a Whiteout by the FGCU marketing staff with a Blueout slated for Sunday.
 
SENIOR SENDOFF
The Eagles will honor five seniors Sunday prior to the weekend finale. FGCU will recognize Josh Dye (DeLand, Fla/DeLand HS), Peyton Gray (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East HS/Gulf Coast State College), Spencer Levine (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian Senior HS/Seminole State College), Eli Lovell (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Kansas City Kansas Community College), and Christian Townsend (Safety Harbor, Fla./Countryside HS). In addition, the Eagles will also honor Parker Hamilton (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter HS), Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Viera HS/Eastern Florida State College), Mario Leon (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS), and Gage Morey (West Palm Beach, Fla./PB Central HS), who all returned to see out their eligibility after being recognized in 2017.
 
This season's senior class helped take FGCU to new heights, winning the program's first ASUN Tournament title and the program's first NCAA Tournament berth and victory.  
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Eagles lead the all-time series over Stetson 20-13 though the Hatters have won four of the last five. FGCU also holds a 7-5 edge all-time at Swanson Stadium.
 
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: RHP Mario Leon (5-4, 2.71 ERA) vs. RHP Logan Gilbert (8-1, 2.61 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Josh Dye (7-3, 2.67 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Perkins (8-2, 2.85 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Justin Gill (1-1, 2.49 ERA) vs. LHP Mitchell Senger (6-2, 2.79 ERA)
 
SCOUTING THE HATTERS
Stetson leads the ASUN in pitching with a league-low 2.64 ERA and 502 strikeouts, a full point lower than FGCU (2nd place at 3.93) with nearly 100 more strikeouts than the Eagles as well. The Hatters boast potential first-round pick Logan Gilbert who enters Friday's start with a 2.61 ERA, an 8-1 record, and 121 strikeouts over 86.1 innings. Jack Perkins is expected to start Saturday. Perkins carries an 8-2 record with a 2.85 ERA. Sunday's probable, Mitchell Senger is 6-2 with a 2.79 ERA.
 
Offensively, Andrew MacNeil leads Stetson with a .288 average, 22 runs scored and 22 RBI. Jacob Koos has tallied a team-leading 12 doubles this season while Jorge Arenas paces the lineup with 29 RBI. Stetson, who hits .244 as a team but the pitching staff holds opponents to .201.
 
THE ROAD AHEAD
FGCU's path to a regular season title only gets more difficult. The ASUN currently ranks eighth among all conferences in terms of RPI. In addition, the ASUN trails only the American Athletic Conference and the Sun Belt in terms of mid-major rankings.
 
The Eagles currently sit in a tie for fourth in the ASUN, 4.5 games out of first place and 1.5 games behind Jacksonville who sits in third. FGCU dropped two of three to the Dolphins but do hold the tiebreaker over Kennesaw State, USC Upstate, and NJIT.
 
2018 ASUN STANDINGS

	CONFERENCE			OVERALL
Team	Record	Win %	GB	Record	Win %
#20 Stetson*	11-3	.786	-	37-11	.771
Kennesaw State	10-5	.667	1.5	24-22	.522
Jacksonville	8-6	.571	3	31-17	.646
UNF	7-8	.467	4.5	22-23	.489
FGCU	7-8	.467	4.5	31-16	.660
Lipscomb	6-9	.400	5.5	20-25	.444
USC Upstate	5-10	.333	6.5	23-24-1	.490
NJIT	5-10	.333	6.5	18-21	.462

* -Clinched spot in ASUN Championships
 
LEADING THE CHARGE
A Freshman All-American last season, Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) has headlined the potent offense in 2018. The Davie-native is second on FGCU with a .337 average and an ASUN-best 47 RBI. Garcia has also tallied 15 doubles.
 
Since the start of conference play, Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) is second on the team with a  .352 average, one double, two home runs, and 10 driven in. Now in 2018, Brait leads the team with a .346 average, with four doubles, two triples, and four home runs to go along with his 25 RBI.
 
A recent emergence, Elijah Eusebio (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables Senior HS) has hit .381 since April 25. The sophomore has posted three multi-hit games in that stretch and has risen his season average to .333.
 
On the mound, Kenton Hering (Melbourne, Fla./Viera HS/Eastern Florida State College) has six wins and eight saves to lead the bullpen.
 
LOOK AT THE BOOKS
FGCU Career Records
Runs Scored

Rank	Name	Runs	Years
1.	Josh Upchurch	237	2006-09
2.	Mikel Alvarez	202	2008-11
3.	Nick Rivera	179	2013-17
4.	Stephen Wickens	178	2008-11
5.	Zach Maxfield	158	2009-11
6.	Tim Roberson	156	2008-11
7.	Jake Noll	151	2013-16
8.	Gage Morey	146	2014-Present
9.	Tyler Selesky	137	2013-16
10.	Chris Perry	134	2003-06

 
Hits

Rank	Name	Hit	Years
1.	Mikel Alvarez	316	2008-11
2.	Josh Upchurch	311	2006-09
3.	Nick Rivera	284	2013-17
4.	Jake Noll	267	2013-16
5.	Stephen Wickens	259	2008-11
6.	Tim Roberson	247	2008-11
7.	Zach Maxfield	241	2009-11
8.	Gage Morey	224	2014-Present
9.	Tyler Selesky	210	2013-16
10.	Brandon Bednar	206	2011-13
	Matt Reardon	206	2015-17

 
Saves

Rank	Name	Saves	Years
1.	Sterling Koerner	19	2014-17
2.	Kenton Hering	15	2016-Presnt
3.	JJ Crumbley	14	2005-08
4.	Brady Anderson	11	2012-16
5.	Garrett Anderson	9	2014-17
	Harrison Cooney	9	2011-13
	Jack Wagoner	9	2010-11
8.	Derek Shaw	6	2007-09
	Casey Coleman	6	2006-08
10.	Zach Tillery	5	2012-14
	Jason Forjet	5	2009-12
	Jacob Barnes	5	2009-11
	Chris Sale	5	2008-10
	Pete Woodworth	5	2007-10

 
Season Records
Stolen Bases

Rank	Name	Stolen Bases	Year
1.	Jake Noll	25	2014
2.	Josh Upchurch	20	2008
	Marc Coffers	20	2018
4.	Stephen Wickens	18	2010
5.	Josh Upchurch	15	2007
	Chris Brown	15	2003
	Jake Noll	15	2015
	Josh Upchurch	15	2006
9.	Gage Morey	14	2014
10.	Chris Brown	12	2004
	Pat Stubbe	12	2005

 
Saves

Rank	Name	Saves	Year
1.	Sterling Koerner	12	2017
2.	Jack Wagoner	9	2010
3.	Kenton Hering	8	2018
4.	Kenton Hering	7	2017
	Brady Anderson	7	2014
6.	Derek Shaw	6	2009
	Casey Coleman	6	2006
8.	Zach Tillery	5	2014
	JJ Crumbley	5	2008
	Harrison Cooney	5	2013

 
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).
 
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 564-332-3 record (.629) 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.