FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team (7-3) is set to host Indiana State (6-4) for a midweek game at Swanson Stadium on Tuesday, March 9. First pitch against the Sycamores is set for 6:30 p.m. and the contest will be open to approximately 500 fans, all of whom must remain masked and socially distanced at all times. For those who cannot attend, the game will be streamed on YouTube Live.
Weekend Warriors
The Eagles are coming off a split weekend against No. 21 FAU, having earned an 8-0 shutout victory on Friday night before falling, 9-14, during Sunday's finale. The teams were slated to play a third game on Saturday, March 6 but it was postponed to later in the season due to inclement weather.
On Friday night in Boca Raton, senior
Mason Studstill (Titusville, Fla./Rockledge HS/Miami/Eastern Florida State) and junior
Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) held FAU's offense, which entered the weekend seventh in the nation in scoring, scoreless for the first time this season. Studstill was dominant on the mound, tossing 8.0 frames while scattering a pair of hits and walking just three batters. He finished his night with nine strikeouts and was awarded
ASUN Pitcher of the Week honors for his efforts. Shuck, who was tasked with getting the final three outs, did so with ease, sitting down the Owls in order.
This weekend's series was also highlighted by sophomore
Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS), who tied the program's single-game record with his 5-for-5 performance in the first outing against FAU. The utility player finished his weekend with six hits, seven RBI and one home run.
Not Your Average Joe
Kinker has had a hot start to the 2021 season and is currently batting .417 on the year, the second-highest of any player in the ASUN. The former ASUN All-Freshman pick also checks into the league's rankings in RBI, where he's tied for first (12). Kinker has homered twice so far this season and has come around to score six times.
Closing the Door
FGCU has had success in the backend of ballgames because of the team's closers. Senior
Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida-Manatee), sophomore
Chris Seymour (Boynton Beach, Fla./Park Vista HS) and freshman
Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Pa./East Ridge HS) have each picked up one save through the start of this year's campaign and have fanned a combined 13 batters.
Playmaker
With 21 assists through 10 games, senior
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) is closing in on former Eagle Brandon Bednar (2011-13) for sixth in the program's career record book. The infielder currently has 376 and needs 31 more to surpass Bednar for the spot.
Staff
The Green & Blue's staff ERA of 3.98 is the second-lowest of any other squad in the conference and ranks within the nation's top-100 (82nd). The group has posted a pair of shutouts (vs. Kansas on Feb. 28 and vs. FAU on March 5) and has struck out a total of 86 batters.
Scouting the Sycamores
Indiana State entered the 2021 season as the reigning MVC Champions, having won the 2019 tournament title. That year, the Sycamores advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time since 2014. The team went 2-2 at the Nashville Regional, picking up win over McNeese State and Ohio State, but falling twice to eventual national champion, Vanderbilt.
The Sycamores are coming off a three-game sweep of FIU and have won five of their past seven games, which includes a pair of wins over No. 16 Tennessee.
Offensively, this year's squad is led by redshirt-senior Max Wright's .382 batting average. The catcher/outfielder has homered three times and racked up seven RBI. He is joined above the .300 mark by three other Sycamores. As a team, Indiana State is batting .249, just .003 short of matching the Eagles' .252 average.
Redshirt-senior Geremy Guerrero headlines the Indiana State pitching staff, having posted a 1.65 ERA through three starts. The southpaw has fanned 22 batters and given up eight hits, while walking just five.
What to Watch
The New Opponent: Tuesday's game will be the first in the history between the Eagles and the Sycamores. Over the past two seasons, FGCU is 6-6 against first-time opponents.
Krzeminski's Bat: Senior
Cameron Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) has been heating up in the box and batted .667 during the series against No. 21 FAU. The infielder also added his second career home run during Sunday's game against the Owls, a two-run shot that scored Coffers.
The Home Swing: The midweek tilt with the Sycamores will kick off a stretch that will see the Eagles play four-of-five games at Swanson Stadium. In addition to a home-and-home against USF (March 12-14), FGCU is also slated to host No. 8 Miami (March 17).
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www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 615-368-3 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 84 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—
