GAME 45: FGCU at FAU
Time / Date	6:30 p.m. / Tuesday, April 30
Location	Boca Raton, Fla.
Stadium	FAU Baseball Stadium
Live Stats	Sidearm
Video ($)	FAUSPORTS.TV
FGCU Starter	TBD
FAU Starter	TBD

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Fresh off its third ASUN series sweep of the season, the FGCU baseball team (30-14, 12-3 ASUN) will head to FAU (29-14, 15-6 C-USA) on Tuesday, April 30 for the team's last midweek game of the regular season. The match-up against the Owls is slated for 6:30 p.m. at their home stadium in Boca Raton.

A LOOK AT FGCU
•     After entering the weekend tied for first in the ASUN standings, the Eagles now stand alone at the top conference.
•     Freshman Joe Kinker (Northport, FL/Venice HS) leads the team with a .336 batting average, the second-highest of all ASUN freshman. His on-base percentage of .470 sits at first in the league.
•     Senior Jay Hayes (Altamonte Springs, FL/Lyman HS) owns a .571 slugging percentage, the highest in the conference. He and Kennesaw State's Jake Franklin lead the ASUN with 23 extra-base hits.
•     After catching two runners stealing on Sunday, junior Alex Brait (Viera, FL/Viera HS) is now tied for tenth on the FGCU single-season all-time records list.
•     For the second time this season, freshman Jalen Townsend (Oviedo, FL/Winter Park HS) stole two bases in one game after grabbing two bags on Saturday. He is the fourth Eagle in FGCU history to steal a pair of bases in one game. Junior Marc Coffers (Naples, FL/Barron Collier HS) holds the record after stealing three against NJIT last season.  
•     Senior Eric Gonzalez (Miami, FL/American HS/ASA College) leads the team with 100 defensive assists this season.
•     Junior Mason Studstill (Titusville, FL/Rockledge HS/Eastern Florida State) owns a 1.44 ERA, which is good for ninth in the national standings. The Eagles' Friday starter leads the conference with 84 strikeouts.

LAST TIME OUT
•     FGCU swept North Alabama in a three-game conference series at Swanson Stadium.
•     On Friday, junior Kohl Gilmore (Fort Pierce, FL/John Carroll HS/Indian River) and Kinker each hit home runs to boost the Eagles towards a 6-3 win. Kinker's homer was a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth that broke open the tie.
•     Junior Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, FL/Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida), who pitched the final 1.1 innings, was awarded his first win of the weekend.
•     Sophomore Nikolas Bitner (Palm Coast, FL/Flagler Palm Coast HS/Indian River) picked up the win during Saturday's 7-2 win over the Lions after his scoreless inning of relief work.
•     All but one of the Eagles' scoring plays on Saturday were generated with two outs on the board. Hayes was able to extend two innings and finished the game with a team-high two runs.
•     The Green and Blue completed a sweep on Sunday with a 6-5 victory after a walk-off RBI single by freshman Corey Clement.
•     The teams battled back and forth through the first few innings of play until Kinker tied things up in the bottom of the ninth, setting Clement (Pembroke Pines, FL/West Broward HS) up for the heroic effort that came in the third at-bat of his collegiate career.
•     McGarry earned his second win of the weekend for tossing the final 2.2 innings while the Eagles earned the win.

SERIES HISTORY VS. FAU
•     This will be the 20th game played between the two schools. FGCU currently owns a 12-7 advantage. The teams were supposed to meet earlier this season at Swanson Stadium (March 19), but the game was postponed due to weather.
•     The Eagles have won every other contest over the past seven meetings, including a 4-2 victory at No. 22 FAU during the 2018 season.
•     That game was highlighted by a home run off the bat of junior Richie Garcia (Davie, FL/West Broward HS), as well as two RBIs from sophomore Christian Proffitt (Cape Coral, FL/Ida Baker HS).
•     The teams were scheduled to play twice last season, but one of the games was rained out.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
•     FAU is coming off a series loss to Old Dominion in a Conference USA matchup at the Owls' home stadium.
•     In their last midweek game, the Owls claimed a 13-11 victory over Florida in Gainesville. Senior Zach Schneider was the final arm of seven that made appearances during the game and was credited with the win.
•     Junior infielder Francisco Urbaez leads the offense with a .340 batting average and has cranked out a team-high seven home runs. His on-base percentage of .455 is the sixth-highest among C-USA players.
•     Senior Joe Montes and redshirt sophomore Andru Summerall have combined for 24 doubles. Montes leads the team with 34 RBIs and Summerall is close behind him with 32.
•     Junior Eric Rivera has stolen seven bases, the most of any Owl, and is the only player on the team that has started all 43 games.

ASUN STANDINGS
1. FGCU (30-14, 12-3 ASUN)
2. Liberty (30-13, 10-5 ASUN)
3. UNF (26-17, 8-6 ASUN)
4. Lipscomb (24-19, 8-7 ASUN)
5. Jacksonville (23-20, 9-9 ASUN)
T-6. Kennesaw State (21-24, 7-8 ASUN)
T-6. (Stetson (18-25, 7-8 ASUN)
8. North Alabama (11-32, 5-12 ASUN)
9. NJIT (13-23-1, 5-13 ASUN)

THE STRENGTH OF THE CONFERENCE
•     The ASUN currently has four teams in the top-110 RPI ranking: Liberty (70), Jacksonville (93), North Florida (103), and FGCU (109).
•     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. 23 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 played 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 included 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 595-351-3 overall record (.629) and a 195-104 (.651) 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 in November and April 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 77 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 36 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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