FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (10-4, 0-0 ASUN) will look to stay hot this week during its game against No. 5 Miami (8-4, 5-3 ACC) on Wednesday evening at Swanson Stadium. The midweek tilt, which will be a green out in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. Though tickets are currently sold out, all of the action will be streamed on YouTube Live. Fans that are able to attend must wear masks at all times and adhere to CDC guidelines, which include social distancing.
Battle of the Birds
Wednesday's game will be the 28th in the history between the two teams, which currently favors the 'Canes 22-5. FGCU's last win over Miami was during the 2018 season, when the Eagles were able to grab a 1-0 victory at The Nest.
FGCU has knocked off Miami twice when the team was ranked, doing so first in 2012 (No. 6, 4-2 win) and then again in 2015 (No. 13, 8-1 win). Both of those triumphs were earned on the road in Coral Gables.
Sweep (x2)
Over the weekend, the Eagles swept USF for the second time this season. The series, which was played in a split home-and-home format, saw FGCU outscore the Bulls 30-19. Senior
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) was one of the weekend's offensive highlights, as he slashed .583 over the course of the three games and plated the go-ahead runs during Sunday's comeback win. For his efforts, the infielder was named
ASUN Player of the Week.
On the mound, senior
Mason Studstill (Titusville, Fla./Rockledge HS/Miami/Eastern Florida State) tossed his second-consecutive scoreless start and improved to 2-0 on the season. The Friday starter let up just three hits and issued two walks while fanning seven batters through 7.0 IP. He entered the series against the Bulls as the reigning
ASUN Pitcher of the Week, having been selected after shutting out No. 21 FAU.
The Bats
FGCU's team batting average of .283 paces the ASUN and checks in at 53rd in the nation. Additionally, the Eagles lead the league in on-base percentage (.384). Six of the Green & Blue starters are slashing above .300 on the season, led by Garcia's .388 average.
Streaking
Multiple FGCU players are currently on hitting streaks, led by Garcia's 10-game stretch. Both senior
Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) and junior
Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) have cranked out base knocks in the past six games. Garcia's 10-game hitting streak has also propelled him to a team-best, 10-game spurt of reaching base safely, followed by Ellis' nine.
The Arms
The Green & Blue's staff ERA of 4.50 is the third-lowest of any other ballclub in the conference, topped only by Stetson (3.56) and Liberty (3.88). Both Studstill and junior
Gus Carter (Melbourne, Fla./Eau Gallie HS/Florida Southwestern State) rank in the nation's top-100 in ERA, checking in at 58th (0.99) and 76th (1.17), respectively.
The arms are also highlighted by senior
Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida-Manatee), who leads the team with two saves this season. This weekend, the closer tied former Eagle JJ Crumbley (2005-08) for third in program history with 14 career stops. With one more, he will tie Kenton Hering (2016-18) for second.
Long Ball
Seven different players have combined for the team's 10 home runs through the start of the season. Garcia, sophomore
Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) and freshman
Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./American Heritage Delray) have spearheaded the effort, launching two apiece. Six of the 10 have been notched while on the road.
Scouting Miami
The Hurricanes will enter the midweek game ranked in five different polls, checking in as high as No. 5 in the Baseball America rankings. The 'Canes have been ranked in each week of the 2021 season, and even claimed the No. 1 spot after their season-opening series win at Florida. Miami is currently on a five-game winning streak, having picked up wins over Wake Forest, No. 20 FAU and NC State.
The team's pitching staff took a hit in the offseason, as three of the four starters were either drafted or signed as free agents. That being said, this year's squad still ranks in the nation's top-50 in walks allowed per nine innings (14th, 2.78), WHIP (39th, 1.21) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (42nd, 3.15). As a group, the Hurricanes have posted a 4.25 ERA and fanned 107 batters.
Offensively, Miami is led by freshman Yohandy Morales' .340 batting average. The team has three players hitting above .300, as the rookie is joined by sophomore Anthony Vilar (.327) and redshirt-junior Christian Del Castillo (.326).
Prior to the start of the 2021 slate, four different 'Canes received Pre-Season All-American recognition. Both sophomore catcher Adrian Del Castillo and junior infielder Alex Toral were tabbed to Baseball America's Preseason All-America Team and additionally landed on the Golden Spikes Award Watch List. Additionally, graduate student Ben Wagner (RHP/Util) was named to the Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-America Second Team and sophomore JP Gates (LHP/Util) landed a spot on Perfect Game's Preseason All-America Third Team.
What to Watch
The Ranked Opponent: The Eagles are 1-1 against top-25 programs this year, having split a weekend series against No. 21 FAU. In those games, FGCU held the Owls' offense, which entered the weekend ranked seventh in the nation in scoring, to just nine runs.
Double or Nothing: Garcia, Coffers and freshman
Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) are currently tied for the team lead with four doubles apiece. Additionally, Garcia and Coffers pace the Eagles with their six extra-base hits.
Behind the Dish: Sophomore
Johnny Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) has thrown out a total of three runners so far this year. The catcher has caught two trying to steal and picked one off at first.
For complete coverage of FGCU baseball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_Baseball and online at
www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU baseball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting
www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 618-369-3 overall record (.626) and a 199-109 (.646) 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 five-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to five 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, 33 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 13 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.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
#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 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM—
