FGCU Baseball Notes & Information
Games	FGCU (12-7) vs Stetson (14-7)
Dates & Times	Friday, March 26 (6:30 p.m.) // Saturday, March 27 (6:30 p.m.) // Sunday, March 28 (1 p.m.)
Location	Melching Field at Conrad Park // DeLand, Fla.
Live Stream	Hatter Vision
Live Statistics	SideArm
Twitter	@FGCUEagles // @FGCU_Baseball
Instagram	@FGCU_Baseball
Facebook	FGCU Baseball

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (12-7) is preparing to open up its 2021 ASUN slate this weekend, as the Eagles are set to take on Stetson (14-7) March 26-28. All three games will be played at Melching Field at Conrad Park in DeLand and will be streamed on HatterVision. First pitch is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start both Friday and Saturday with Sunday's series finale scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

Here Comes the (A)SUN
FGCU enters this year's conference slate as the reigning ASUN Regular Season Champions, having captured the title in 2019. The crown was the fifth in the program's history since 2008. This year, the Eagles will look to maintain their standing at the top of the league and earn their second trip to an NCAA Regional after taking home the ASUN Tournament title in 2017.

Prior to the start of the season, the Eagles were picked to finish third by the league's coaches and collected three first-place votes. The team finished behind Liberty (73 points, four first-place votes) and Stetson (69 points, two first-place votes). The announcement was also highlighted by senior Mason Studstill (Titusville, Fla./Rockledge HS/Miami/Eastern Florida State), who was named the ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year and received a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-ASUN Team. He was joined on the 14-player squad by senior Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS).

Last Time Out
The Eagles are coming off a weekend series against Florida A&M that was played on the road in Tallahassee. After falling in the first two games, FGCU claimed back-to-back victories to split the series, 2-2.

Redshirt-sophomore Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) led the team throughout the weekend, finishing with 10 hits, four runs and six RBI. With his performance, he extended his current hitting streak to 11 games. The outfielder has reached base safely in all but one contest this season and is currently leading the Eagles with a .380 batting average.

Production
As a team, FGCU ranks within the nation's top-100 in numerous categories, including hits (178, 32nd), batting average (.284, 51st), runs (113, 62nd) and on-base percentage (.381, 70th). In addition to Ellis, five different Green & Blue starters are currently slashing above .300.

Weekend Warriors
The Eagles have won or split all of their weekend series so far in the 2021 season. The team's non-conference weekend matchups have been highlighted by a pair of sweeps over USF, a four-game sweep of Big 12 foe Kansas and a series split with No. 21 FAU.

Closing the Door
Over the weekend, senior Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida-Manatee) picked up the 15th save of his career and is now tied with former Eagle Kenton Hering (2016-18) for second all-time in the Green & Blue record book. The stopper needs just five more to surpass current record-holder Sterling Koerner's (2014-17) 19.

Scouting the Hatters
Stetson is coming off a 6-3 midweek win against FIU, which they earned on Tuesday evening in Miami. A three-run ninth inning powered the Hatters past the Panthers, picking up their fourth midweek victory of the year.

The Hatters have slowed down since opening up their slate with a 10-game winning streak, but have won three of their last five outings. Stetson will enter the weekend looking to win a series for the first time since sweeping North Alabama earlier in the year (Feb. 26-28).

As a team, Stetson is ranked within the nation's top-100 in doubles (38, 32nd), runs (133, 38th), hits (173, 59th) and home runs (17, 67th). That effort is led by graduate student Hernen Sardines, who is leading the country in doubles (10) and is batting .342. Sardinas is one of nine Hatters that has homered this year, with three different players tied for the team lead (three).

The Hatters' staff ERA of 4.27 is second amongst all ASUN teams, behind only Liberty's 3.55. Stetson has posted four shutouts so far this year and has had two different players toss complete games in freshmen Anthony DeFabbia and Jovani Gill. As a staff, Stetson has fanned 177 batters and given up 88 earned runs. By comparison, the Eagles have struck out 151 and been tagged with 84 earned runs.  

What to Watch
Coffers' Bat: Senior Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) is closing in on reaching 200 career hits. The outfielder currently sits at 191 and would be the second player to achieve the feat this season, joining Garcia.

Friday's Result: FGCU has won its conference-opening game in four of the five seasons that the team went on to win the regular season championship. The Eagles picked up wins in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014 but dropped its ASUN opener in 2019.

The Advantage: The Eagles enter the weekend with a 20-19 all-time advantage over Stetson. This year, the team will look to snap its six-game, regular season losing streak against the Hatters.

ASUN Roundup
South Division Standings

School	ASUN	Overall
Stetson	0-0	14-7
FGCU	0-0	12-7
UNF	0-0	6-11
Jacksonville	0-0	5-12

North Division Standings

School	ASUN	Overall
Liberty	3-0	13-5
Kennesaw State	4-2	11-8
Lipscomb	2-1	7-8
Bellarmine	3-3	7-11
North Alabama	0-6	1-16

Upcoming Series - March 26-28
Liberty at Bellarmine
Kennesaw State at Georgia State
Lipscomb at North Alabama
FGCU at Stetson
UNF at Jacksonville

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 621-371-3 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.

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 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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—