TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (11-7) split a pair of games with Florida A&M (5-15) on Saturday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field, first falling 3-1 before taking the second matchup, 9-4.

"I was happy to see our players grind out a win today," head coach Dave Tollett said. "But I still think we aren't playing to our full potential. This team has proven already this year that it's good in tight spots and we need to continue to find ways to win in those kinds of situations. Hopefully, we can even things up (in the series) tomorrow."

Florida A&M 3, FGCU 1
The first game of the day was decided by early scoring, as all four of the combined runs were put up within the first three innings.

For the second-consecutive day, Florida A&M was the first to strike, this time doing so in the bottom of the first. A Green & Blue miscue allowed the Rattlers, who had quickly loaded up the bases, to push a pair of unearned runs across and take an early lead. A pitching change allowed the Eagles to minimize the damage, as junior Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) came in and ended the inning. The reliever allowed one of the inherited scores, pushing FAMU's lead to 3-0, before recording the final out.

After being retired in order for back-to-back innings, the Eagles' offense got going in the bottom of the third when freshmen Johnny Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS), who singled, and Mac Moise (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS), who was hit by a pitch, got on base. Junior Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) then stepped up to the plate and brought in Long with an RBI double. An outfield grab and a play at home got the Rattlers out of the inning with their lead intact at 3-1.

From there on out, the game was a pitching dual between Shuck and Florida A&M's Kelyn Fox. Shuck allowed just three Rattlers to reach after entering the game in the first inning and went on to face just two over the minimum. Through 5.2 IP, he fanned three and issued one walk while scattering a pair of hits. Fox tossed a complete game for Florida A&M and struck out five Eagles in the process.

Freshman starter Ronaldo Gallo (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) was tagged with the loss, moving him to 1-1 on the season.

FGCU 9, Florida A&M 4
The second game of the day saw the Eagles get into a much better rhythm offensively, scoring runs across four different innings.

Once again, the Rattlers were the first to get on the board in the third game of the series when a first-inning RBI single handed the home team a 1-0 lead. FAMU was unable to hold on to the advantage for long, as a miscue in the second allowed senior Cam Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) to come in as an unearned run. Ellis then cranked out a RBI single of his own to give the Eagles the lead at 2-1.

The teams continued to trade scores over the next few innings. The Rattlers first used a triple to drive in a pair of baserunners and regain their edge at 3-2 in the second. In the following frame, freshman Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) doubled and plated Kinker to knot things up once again, this time at 3-3.

Freshman starter Jason Woodward (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS) settled in after his first two innings on the mound and cruised through the third and fourth. After allowing a pair of Rattlers to get on base in the fifth, he handed things over to sophomore Tyler Tipton (Tampa, Fla./Gaither HS/South Florida State), who helped the Eagles end the inning with a double play.

FGCU resumed its scoring in the top of the sixth, initially doing so when Garcia's RBI single brought in Long. Coffers then kept the burst going with a sac fly that plated Ellis and Krzeminski rounded out the inning with a RBI single that collected Garcia. With the burst, the Eagles broke open the tie and took a 6-3 lead.

A solo shot in the Rattlers' half of the inning trimmed the advantage down to 6-4, but it was the closest that the team got as the Eagles were able to hold on for the win.
Following 1.2 innings of work, Tipton left the game lined up for the win and was relieved by senior Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida-Manatee). The closer entered with two outs on the board in the sixth and took a batter down swinging to end things.

In their final at-bats of the night, the Eagles managed to score a trio of insurance runs. Sophomore Corey Clement (Pembroke Pines, Fla./West Broward HS) led off the frame with a single, his first of the season, and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch. A two-out, RBI single off the bat of Kinker later boosted the team to its final 9-4 advantage, as both Garcia and Long scored on the play.

FAMU tried to rally back in the bottom of the seventh, putting a trio of runners on base, but McGarry was able to end the game.

With the result, Tipton (1-0) was awarded the first win of his FGCU career, while McGarry collected his third save of the season. The stopper is now tied with former Eagle Kenton Hering (2016-18) for second in program history with 15 career saves. He needs five more to surpass current record-holder Sterling Koerner's (2014-17) 19.

The teams will wrap up the weekend on Sunday, March 21 at Noon. The matchup at Moore-Kittles Field will be the final of the four-game series and the Eagles will look to split things up, 2-2.
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 620-371-3 overall record (.625) 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.

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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 40 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.
 
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