GAME 38: Jacksonville at FGCU
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Thursday, April 18
Location	Fort Myers, Fla.
Stadium	Swanson Stadium
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video	Youtube Live
FGCU Starter	TBD
JU Starter	TBD

GAME 39: Jacksonville at FGCU
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Friday, April 19
Location	Fort Myers, Fla.
Stadium	Swanson Stadium
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video	Youtube Live
FGCU Starter	TBD
JU Starter	TBD

GAME 40: Jacksonville at FGCU
Time / Date	2 p.m. / Saturday, April 20
Location	Fort Myers, Fla.
Stadium	Swanson Stadium
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Video	Youtube Live
FGCU Starter	TBD
JU Starter	TBD

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (24-13, 6-3 ASUN) will return to Swanson Stadium to host Jacksonville (21-16, 7-5 ASUN) April 18-20 for an ASUN Conference series. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. both Thursday and Friday and the teams will wrap up the weekend at 2 p.m. on Saturday. All three games will be streamed on YouTube Live and Saturday's game will have live play-by-play commentary. The series will be a battle of two of the best teams in the conference, as the Eagles sit at second and the Dolphins are tied for third in the standings.

A LOOK AT FGCU
•     The Green and Blue's 6-3 start in ASUN play is the best record through the opening nine games since the 2015 season.
•     Senior Eric Gonzalez (Miami, FL/American HS/ASA College) earned his first ASUN Player of the Week (April 15) accolade for his offensive effort in FGCU's series win over Kennesaw State last weekend. The senior batted .455 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs.
•     FGCU leads the league in batting average (.284), hits (362), home runs (31), on-base percentage (.394), runs (268), scoring (7.2) and slugging percentage (.418).
•     Senior Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, FL/Lyman HS) leads the offense with a .356 batting average, 15 doubles, eight home runs, .476 on-base percentage, and a .652 slugging percentage. Hayes has been credited with a whopping 86 total bases, the highest of any ASUN player so far.
•     Three of the top 10 batting averages in the ASUN belong to FGCU players: Hayes (.357 – fourth), junior Alex Brait (.340 - sixth) (Viera, FL/Viera HS) and freshman Joe Kinker (.331 - ninth) (Northport, FL/Venice HS). The most any other team has in the top 10 is two.
•     The Eagles have been hit by pitches 73 times so far this season. In both the 2005 and 2006 seasons, FGCU batters were hit 85 times, which is currently the most in program history.
•     Junior Mason Studstill (Titusville, FL/Rockledge HS/Eastern Florida State) is currently fifth in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (4.18). He leads the conference with 72 Ks, which is 11 shy of registering on the FGCU single-season top 10 list.
•     Opponents are currently batting .239 off the FGCU pitching staff, which is the lowest in program history. The Eagles finished the 2013 season holding opponents to just .243, which is the current all-time record.

LAST TIME OUT
•     The team wrapped up its series against No. 22 Miami last night, falling 13-4 at Mark Light Field.
•     The Hurricanes currently have an RPI of No. 20 and are nationally ranked in multiple polls after sweeping ACC foe Virginia last weekend.
•     Junior Sebastian Gruszecki (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional HS) started his first game for the Green and Blue. He finished the night after his longest outing, 4.2 innings, and fanned a career-high five batters.
•     Junior Marc Coffers (Naples, FL/Barron Collier HS) led the offensive effort with two hits and a pair of RBIs.
•     Freshman Hunter Fornari (Daytona Beach, FL/Spruce Creek HS) entered the game as a pinch runner and scored his first run as an Eagle. He stayed in for the last few innings at third base.

SERIES HISTORY VS. JACKSONVILLE
•     The first game of the weekend will mark the 37th meeting between the two teams. FGCU currently leads the series 20-16 and holds a 9-7 edge at Swanson Stadium.
•     In both 2017 and 2018's regular-season meetings, the Eagles won on Friday night but dropped both Saturday and Sunday's games.
•     The Dolphins have not dropped a series to the Green and Blue since 2015.
•     In 2017, Jacksonville earned the No. 1 seed in the ASUN Championship but was swept by the Eagles in a doubleheader, who went on to claim the title.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
•     Last season, Jacksonville competed in an NCAA Regional for the 15th time in program history. They entered the Gainesville Regional as the No. 2 seed after receiving an at-large bid.
•     The No. 2 seed was the highest in program history and the bid was the first for the team since 2011.
•     Senior Angel Camacho was selected to the All-Tournament team at the Gainesville Regional. The infielder was also named to the ASUN All-Conference First Team, ASUN All-Academic Team and the ASUN All-Tournament team.
•     Camacho is currently batting .371, good for second in the league, and has cranked out a conference-high nine home runs.
•     Junior AJ Jones (5-2) and sophomore Trent Palmer (3-4) have each struck out 51 batters. Both have started nine games for the Dolphins.
•     Palmer pitched a complete game in the 15-0 victory over Brown on March 9. He only had to throw 7.0 innings, as the game ended due to the 10-run rule.

THE STRENGTH OF THE CONFERENCE
•     The ASUN currently has three teams in the top-100 RPI ranking: Liberty (68), North Florida (96) and Jacksonville (99).
•     The Dolphins were ranked in the 60's last week but fell after dropping two-of-three to North Alabama.
•     The most any mid-major conference has in the top-100 is seven from the West Coast Conference. The Missouri Valley Conference has five, making the three from the ASUN the third-most.
•     As a whole, ASUN teams are 5-7 against opponents ranked in the nation's top 25.
•     FGCU owns a win over then-No. 5 Florida, who is currently No. 25 in RPI.

2019 SCHEDULE
•     The Eagles began their 55-game campaign with a bang and opened the year playing each of their first 11 games in the friendly confines of Swanson Stadium.
•     The Green and Blue will play a total of nine times against programs from Power 5 universities (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC).
•     FGCU is billed to play 36 home games and 19 contests on the road. Additional notable non-conference home games include dates with Rutgers (March 15-17), FAU (March 19), FIU (March 26) and Miami (April 10).
•     The first ASUN matchup was a series at UNF March 22-24, which the Eagles dropped 2-1.
•     FGCU will compete 16 times against programs who have played in the NCAA Championship tournament at least once over the last two years. The mark includes a Florida squad that won the national championship two years ago and advanced to the 2018 College World Series. FGCU will also grace a Stetson program (May 3-5) that hosted an NCAA Regional last year and advanced to a Super Regional.
•     The 2019 ASUN Conference Championship will be held May 22-25 in Deland, Florida, and will be hosted by Stetson.

WE'VE GOT YOUR SEAT
Experience FGCU Baseball and Softball this season. The following ticket opportunities are on sale now:
Group Sales
Bring your group of 15 or more to an FGCU Baseball or Softball game. All group tickets include your choice of concessions or an FGCU hat ($15 value), in-game group recognition and more. For more information on group outings, click HERE or call 239-590-7145.
Single Game Tickets
Single game tickets are available for all remaining home games. Adult tickets are $7 each. Discounted tickets are available for current or former Military and Youth ages 3-15 for just $5 each. Baseball and Softball Frequent Flyer Cards allow multiple entries for more than 50 percent off the adult rate. Choose 34 baseball entries for $105 or 17 softball entries for $55. Purchase online HERE or call 239-590-7145.

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.con/FGCUBaseball. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.

COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 589-350-3 overall record (.627) and a 189-104 (.644) record in the ASUN. 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 76 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 35 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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