FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (13-10, 1-2 ASUN) is preparing to hit the road for a conference series at UNF (9-11, 3-0 ASUN) April 1-3. The teams will play at 6:05 p.m. both Thursday, April 1 and Friday, April 2 with the series finale scheduled for a 1:05 p.m. start on Saturday, April 3. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and will be open to a maximum of 250 fans.
The Eagles will look to maintain their all-time advantage over the Ospreys, which currently sits at 23-21. The last regular-season meeting between the two sides was during the 2019 season, when the Ospreys won two-of-three on their home field.
Last Time Out
FGCU is coming off an 11-13 midweek loss to FAU, despite the Eagles tying for the third-most home runs in single-game history (five). Sophomore
Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) led the effort with his two bombs, an achievement that ties the Green & Blue's individual game record.
200 Club
Senior
Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) is closing in on 200 career hits, as he currently sits at 194. The outfielder will become the second Eagle to surpass the mark this season and the 16th overall, joining classmate
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS), who did so during the season-opening series against USF.
The Bats
FGCU's team batting average of .281 leads the conference. Kennesaw State (.280) and UNF (.259) round out the league's top three. Garcia paces the Eagles with his .390 average, followed by redshirt-sophomore
Brian Ellis' (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) .360. In total, four Green & Blue starters are slashing above .300 this season.
The Staff
Senior
Mason Studstill (Titusville, Fla./East Rutledge HS/Miami/Eastern Florida State), the ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year, has fanned a team-best 37 batters in his six starts and leads FGCU with a 1.93 ERA. The right-hander is holding opponents to a .194 batting average and has a 2-2 record in 2021. Junior
Gus Carter (Melbourne, Fla./Eau Gallie HS/Florida Southwestern State), who has made appearances as a starter and in relief, follows Studstill with 29 punchouts and a 3.55 ERA. Junior
Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) rounds out the team's top three arms with 20 Ks and a 3.74 ERA.
Web Gem
Garcia has continued to climb the program's all-time assists leaders in his final season with the Green & Blue. With 420, he currently ranks fourth all-time and needs 57 more to surpass major leaguer Jake Noll (2013-16) and crack into the top three. Garcia's 65 assists in 2021 are tied with Kennesaw State's Jesse Sherill for the conference lead.
Scouting the Ospreys
UNF opened up its 2021 ASUN slate with a three-game sweep of Jacksonville last weekend. The Ospreys outscored the Dolphins 27-12 to sweep Jacksonville for the first time since 2013. With the result, UNF extended its winning streak to four games, dating back to a midweek victory over USF.
The team's offense is led by senior Tyler Spratling-Williams, who has a .350 clip at the plate. The infielder is currently on a seven-game hitting streak, which includes nine RBI, a grand slam and three doubles. As a whole, the Ospreys are slashing .259 on the year and have belted a pair of grand slams.
As a staff, the Ospreys have struck out 147 batters, 25 less than FGCU's 172. Sophomore Tony Roca has made the most starts of any arm this year with five and leads the squad with 25 Ks. Most recently, the southpaw fanned seven during the team's 9-3 victory over Jacksonville. In the backend, graduate student Brandon Reitz has picked up four saves this year, good for 21st in the country.
What to Watch
RPI: FGCU is still second overall in the league with an RPI of 47, checking in behind Liberty (37th). The Eagles and the Flames are the only two teams from the ASUN in the top-50, with Stetson joining them in the top-100 (94th).
The Long Ball: Kinker's six home runs this season pace both the Eagles and the ASUN. The utility player has nearly matched the effort from his outstanding rookie campaign, which he finished with seven bombs.
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.
ASUN Roundup
South Division Standings
| School |
ASUN |
Overall |
| UNF |
3-0 |
9-11 |
| Stetson |
2-1 |
16-9 |
| FGCU |
1-2 |
13-10 |
| Jacksonville |
0-3 |
5-15 |
North Division Standings
| School |
ASUN |
Overall |
| Liberty |
5-1 |
16-7 |
| Kennesaw State |
4-2 |
16-8 |
| Bellarmine |
4-5 |
8-14 |
| Lipscomb |
2-4 |
8-11 |
| North Alabama |
3-6 |
4-17 |
Upcoming Series
Thursday, April 1 - Saturday, April 3
North Alabama at Davidson
FGCU at UNF
Stetson at Jacksonville
Bellarmine at Lipscomb
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 622-374-3 overall record (.625) and a 200-111 (.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—
