FORT MYERS, Fla. – With back-to-back conference sweeps under its belt, the FGCU baseball team (19-10, 7-2 ASUN) will now turn its attention towards an upcoming midweek game on the road against Miami (17-11, 10-10 ACC) on Wednesday, April 14. First pitch against the Hurricanes is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Mark Light Field.
The game in Coral Gables will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra and will additionally be broadcasted on WVUM 90.5 FM.
Last Time Out
The Eagles are coming off a three-game sweep of Jacksonville, which they achieved at Swanson Stadium over the weekend. FGCU outscored the visiting Dolphins 41-19 and sophomore
Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) homered four times.
In addition to the numerous individual successes, the series was highlighted by the team's 18-4 victory on Friday night. FGCU's 18 runs are the most that the program has ever put up against Jacksonville.
RPI
The Eagles sit just outside the RPI top-50, checking in at No. 52. FGCU's ranking is the second-highest in the ASUN, behind Liberty's 37. Stetson (92) also joins the teams in the top 100.
What a Relief
Junior
Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS), who tossed 5.1 innings of scoreless relief to boost the Green & Blue to a game three win, was named ASUN Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday afternoon.
Shuck entered the game in the second and held Jacksonville scoreless while the Eagles overcame an 8-2 deficit. He fanned three batters, scattered a pair of hits and issued just one walk. At one point in his dominant outing, he retired 10-straight Dolphins.
200 Club
During the second game of the series, senior
Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) became the 16th player in program history to reach 200 career hits when he singled in the bottom of the sixth. He joins classmate
Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) in achieving the feat, as Garcia did so during the season-opener at USF.
The Heart of the Order
With his performance this weekend, Kinker now paces the ASUN and ranks 15th in the nation in both home runs (10) and RBI (36). He is the first Eagle to have double-digit homers since former teammate Kohl Gilmore, who finished the 2018 campaign with 11.
The Eagles have also been getting a lot of production out of the cleanup spot, as senior
Cameron Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) has 10 extra-base hits under his belt. The infielder has doubled seven times, tripled once, and put a pair out of the park. He is third on the team in extra-base hits behind Kinker (14) and Garcia (11).
The Bullpen
FGCU has been fairly reliant on its bullpen this year, as a combination of five different relievers has accounted for over a third of the team's total innings pitched. In addition to Shuck, senior
Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida-Manatee), sophomore
Tyler Tipton (Tampa, Fla./Gaither HS/South Florida State) and freshmen
Jason Woodward (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS) and
Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Pa./East Ridge HS) have each made nine-or-more appearances this season. McGarry (1-0), Tipton (3-0), Woodward (1-2) and Shuck (2-0) have each additionally earned a decision thus far.
Scouting the Hurricanes
Miami has dropped out of the national rankings after being swept on the road by Pitt. The Hurricanes were outscored 30-15 and gave up double-digit runs both Friday and Sunday. With the result, the team additionally slipped in the RPI from No. 15 to No. 25.
The losses to the Panthers snapped a six-game winning streak for Miami. Overall, the 'Canes have won six of their last 10 outings and are 5-0 in midweek contests. In addition to FGCU, Miami has faced off against FAU and FIU in midweek games and owns a 58-15 run advantage.
Offensively, the team is led by redshirt-junior Christian Del Castillo's .349 batting average. The outfielder has reached base in all but four games this season and has cranked out hits in 11 of his last 12 appearances. Freshman Yohandy Morales also stands out on the stat sheet, checking into the nation's top-100 in triples (three, 10th), total bases (67, 79th) and home runs (seven, 95th).
A member of the 2021 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, freshman Carson Palmquist has been dominant in the back-end of ballgames. The rookie's nine saves are tied with just two other arms for the national lead and he has fanned a team-best 39 batters. The southpaw is holding batters to a .107 average in the box in his team-high 12 appearances.
What to Watch
History: The Hurricanes own a 23-5 all-time advantage over the Eagles, which includes their current six-game winning streak. A Green & Blue victory would be the first since 2018 when FGCU defeated Miami 1-0 at Swanson Stadium.
Farrow's Bat: Freshman
Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) currently leads the team with nine doubles, an effort that ranks fourth in the ASUN. He is followed closely by Garcia, who has seven, and a pair of Eagles that have seven apiece.
Assists: With his 81 assists this season, Garcia continues to inch closer to the program's top three in career assists. The infielder, who currently has 436, is 44 away from overtaking former All-American
Jake Noll (2013-16) for third in program history.
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 |
| Stetson |
5-1 |
19-10 |
| FGCU |
7-2 |
19-10 |
| UNF |
3-3 |
9-14 |
| Jacksonville |
0-9 |
7-21 |
North Division Standings
| School |
ASUN |
Overall |
| Liberty |
8-1 |
21-8 |
| Kennesaw State |
7-2 |
19-8 |
| Bellarmine |
5-7 |
10-18 |
| Lipscomb |
4-8 |
11-16 |
| North Alabama |
3-9 |
4-25 |
Upcoming Games
Tuesday, April 13
Lispcomb at No. 19 Pitt - 3 p.m.
UNF at Georgia Southern - 6 p.m.
No. 17 Virginia Tech at Liberty - 6 p.m.
Belmont at North Alabama - 6 p.m.
Bellarmine at Kentucky - 6:30 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State - 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 14
FGCU at Miami - 4 p.m.
Jacksonville at The Citadel - 6 p.m.
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 627-374-3 overall record (.625) and a 205-111 (.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—
