FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (1-1) earned a 23-3 victory over Bethune-Cookman (1-1) to even the season-opening series Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
 
The Eagles erupted for 18 hits – five of which left the ballpark – and 20 RBIs against the Wildcats. The run total was the highest since April 28, 2007. The number of RBIs was the most since May 4, 2014, and the five dingers were the most in a single game since April 29, 2017.

"We definitely had a bad taste in our mouths after yesterday's loss. We didn't play well in all aspects of the game last night. We needed to come out and do something like this today," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "We're a good baseball club. We came out a little angry and got the job done for sure. We switched the lineup around a little bit trying to get a spark, and we were able to do that."
 
Senior Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) went 4-for-5 with two home runs, seven RBIs and four runs scored. His number of hits, homers and runs scored all tied school records. He was joined in the record books by juniors Alex Brait (Viera, Fla./Viera HS) and Cameron Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS), who also both scored four times. Brait went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and a homer, and Krzeminski was 1-for-2 with a walk drawn and two hit-by-pitches.
 
Junior Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) had a stellar day at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a round-tripper. The final home run was hit by true freshman Joe Kinker (Northport, Fla./Venice HS), who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Senior Keith Stevens (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian Senior HS) and junior Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, Fla./John Carroll HS) also combined for four hits, three RBIs and two runs scored in the big win.
 
Junior Brenden Heiss (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs HS) took the ball and registered a no-decision after conceding three runs on two hits in 3.0 innings. Sophomore Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) (1-0) earned the win after tossing 5.0 near-perfect frames. He gave up just one hit and struck out five, while issuing no walks. Sophomore Gus Carter (Melbourne, Fla./Eau Gallie HS) pitched a clean ninth to wrap up the victory.
 
The visitors finished with just three hits that were scattered between Chase DeBonis, Over Torres and Robert Hall. DeBonis, Josten Heron and Zach Spivey all scored for the Wildcats. BCU utilized six pitchers, with starter Carlos Lequerica (0-1) suffering the loss. He made his exit after allowing six runs on three hits in the first 1.2 innings.
 
FGCU got to work early with six runs in the second thanks in large part to Kinker and Hayes homers. The Eagles countered a three-spot from BCU with four more in the bottom half of the fourth. The Green and Blue then continued to build their lead with two runs in the fifth inning, three in the sixth frame, six in the seventh and two final runs in the eighth.
 
UP NEXT
Sunday's rubber game will be contested at 1 p.m. Feb. 17 at Swanson Stadium. FGCU will then play host to Ohio State out of the Big Ten Conference at 5 p.m. Feb. 18 (Monday). The Buckeyes are off to a 2-0 start to the year with a pair of neutral-site wins over Seton Hall. The first 11 games of the season for the Eagles will be contested at Swanson Stadium.
 
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.
 
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU head coach Dave Tollett entered 2019 with a 565-337-3 record (.629). He is the only head coach in the program's history and led the program to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. 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 No. 9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 54 all-conference selections, 31 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 seven-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.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 73 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 34 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best 6th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the Spring, 2018 and had an ASUN Conference and State of Florida best five teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport.  The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours – being recognized as one of two runner-ups for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
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