FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (4-2) continued its torrid start to the season with a 10-1 victory over LIU Brooklyn (0-5) Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
 
The Eagles have now opened the campaign with a pair of series triumphs. They have scored 58 times through six games and have reached double-digit runs in four games. Both marks are the first occurrences since 2010, and the run production is the second-most in the NCAA Division I era (since 2008). FGCU also cranked out 16 hits.
 
"We're swinging the bats pretty well. I'm very impressed with our offense at the moment," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "Our pitching has also been stellar this weekend. Our bullpen was good today, and our starter (Brenden) Heiss has gotten better each week. We're in a good place right now, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. This team has a chance to be pretty good."
 
Senior Eric Gonzalez (Miami, FL/American Senior HS/ASA College), junior Alex Brait (Viera, FL/Viera HS) and true freshman Joe Kinker (Northport, FL/Venice HS) all had three hits for the Green and Blue. The trio also combined for six RBIs and five runs scored. Kinker tied the school record with three doubles, which is a mark that has been matched just one other time in school history. That came last season off the bat of junior Richie Garcia (Davie, FL/West Broward HS), who finished Saturday's win with a hit of his own.
 
Juniors Marc Coffers (Naples, FL/Barron Collier HS) and Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, FL/John Carroll HS/Indian River State) added two hits each to the winning cause.
 
LIU Brooklyn actually took a lead in the second inning when Colin Adams sent a solo home run over the wall in left center. The rest of the game was all Eagles, however. Coffers tied the game on a Brait RBI in the third, and Kinker gave the home side the lead for good with a two-out, two-RBI double later in the frame. Four different players recorded RBIs in the sixth as FGCU batted around and blew the game open. The home side added an insurance marker in the seventh and two more in the eighth to complete the scoring.
 
Four Eagle hurlers combined to give up just two hits all game.
 
Junior Brenden Heiss (Algonquin, IL/Jacobs HS/John A. Logan) took the ball first and fought into a no-decision after conceding one run on one hit across 4.0 innings. He struck out six and walked five. Sophomore Tyler Shuck (2-0) (Cape Coral, FL/Canterbury HS) went the next 3.2 frames and did not allow a run to earn the win. He conceded just one hit, while striking out four and walking two. Juniors Garrett Bye (Riverview, FL/Riverview HS/Miami Dade) and Keegan Collett (Dallas, TX/Trinity Christian School/NEO-Tonkawa) combined to record the final four outs, and they did not give up a run or a hit.
 
The only other hit from the visitors was registered by Joe Mercadante in the eighth. Starter Alec Huertas (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits in 3.0 innings to take the loss. Ryan Neuweiler, Jackson Svete and Anthony combined to allow seven runs on 10 hits in the remaining 5.0 frames.
 
UP NEXT
The series is set to conclude at 1 p.m. Feb. 24 at Swanson Stadium. The Blackbirds are off to a slow start this season, but they won the Northeast Conference Championship last year and advanced to an NCAA Championship Regional. These are the first three contests between the two programs in school history.
 
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 coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 569-339-3 record. 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.
 
5X CHAMPS
The 2017 season was a magical one for the Green and Blue that ended in the program's first Division I NCAA Championship tournament berth. The Eagles ended the year 43-20, which included a midweek sweep over No. 2 Florida, single wins over No. 1 Florida State, Miami, and a three-game sweep at 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 No. 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 Championship, 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 North Carolina ended their season. The tournament title added to FGCU's four regular season crowns.
 
#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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