JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The FGCU baseball team (21-12, 7-2 ASUN) emerged victorious from its rubber match against Wright State (14-10, 13-3 Horizon), earning a 6-4 win on Saturday afternoon at Jim Case Stadium to secure the overall series. Despite entering that game having been outhit 34-20 in the neutral site matchups, the Eagles earned a 10-8 advantage with the bats in game three.

With this weekend's results in the books, Wright State is slotted 32nd in the RPI, while FGCU checks in at No. 55.

"I'm proud of the way that this team has competed throughout the weekend," head coach Dave Tollett said. "We knew this was going to be a tough series because Wright State has a really good ball club and their offense is pretty impressive. I thought we did a great job today, not just at being timely with our hitting but at taking advantage of freebies. I also felt like we pitched the ball pretty well. Gallo gave us a good start and Mugavero did a great job at bringing us home. This was a good weekend for our program against a really good team."

The Eagles' offense got going from the jump and put up a trio of runs in the first inning. Redshirt-sophomore Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) led off with a single and, after advancing to third on a failed pickoff, was brought in by senior Richie Garcia's (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) base knock. Freshman Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) completed the early spurt with a two-RBI double, driving in both Garcia and sophomore Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/ECU/Pasco-Hernando State) and boosting the team to its early 3-0 lead.

Sophomore Ronaldo Gallo (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) earned the start on the bump and retired the side in back-to-back frames. The Raiders eventually got their first hit of the day when they led off with a single in the top of the third, but the runner was left on the base paths.

Wilmer extended FGCU's advantage in the bottom of the frame when he belted out a solo shot for the second time in as many days. The home run, his fourth of the year, extended the Eagles' edge to 4-0.

After stranding another runner in the fourth, Wright State used a pair of home runs in the fifth and sixth innings to cut the Green & Blue advantage in half. The Eagles were held scoreless during the stretch and left a runner on base in each frame.  

The momentum started to swing towards Wright State in the seventh inning, where the team put up a two-spot and knotted the score up at 4-4. The swing began with back-to-back singles before an Eagle error allowed both of the runners to score. With runners on first and second and no outs, Gallo handed the ball over to freshman Mason Miller (Odessa, Fla./Mitchell HS). The rookie notched an out before walking a batter to load up the bases. After the Eagles were able to make a play at the plate for out No. 2, junior Joey Mugavero (Estero, Fla./Estero HS/Florida Southwestern State) was called from the bullpen to take over for the southpaw. The new arm forced a Raider to ground out and ended the inning.

FGCU had a chance to regain the lead in the bottom of the frame when both sophomore Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) and Farrow reached base, but the rest of the lineup was unable to string anything together. Mugavero sat the Raiders down in order in the top of the eighth to keep the game tied up at 4-4.

FGCU regained the lead for good in their half of the inning, which was led off by junior Alejandro Figueredo's (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) single. Sophomore Jalen Townsend (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park HS) came out to pinch run for Figueredo and was joined on the base paths by Long, who reached on Wright State's fourth miscue of the game. Ellis pushed both of the runners into scoring position with a sac bunt before Garcia was intentionally walked to load up the bases. Kinker then stepped up and ripped a double down the left field line, driving in both Townsend and Long and handing the Eagles their final 6-4 margin of victory.

In his final inning of work, Mugavero worked around a Raider single to preserve the lead and pick up the win, moving him to 4-0 on the year.

With the result, the Eagles secured their sixth series win of the 2021 season and extended their advantage on Saturdays to 9-1. The team will now prepare for a midweek contest at Miami on Wednesday, April 21. First pitch against the 'Canes, who are ranked 20th in RPI, is set for 6 p.m.

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
FGCU	7-2	21-12
Stetson	5-2	19-11
UNF	4-3	10-15
Jacksonville	0-9	7-22

North Division Standings

School	ASUN	Overall
Liberty	9-1	23-8
Kennesaw State	9-2	21-9
Bellarmine	5-9	10-21
Lipscomb	4-8	11-18
North Alabama	3-10	4-27

Recent Results
Friday, April 16
Kennesaw State 5, Bellarmine 2
FGCU 13, Wright State 12 (DH Game One)
Wright State 10, FGCU 3 (DH Game Two)
Liberty 13, North Alabama 5
UNF 7, Stetson 3

Saturday, April 17
FGCU 6, Wright State 4
Kennesaw State 3, Bellarmine 1

Weekend Series
April 16-18
Kennesaw State at Bellarmine
FGCU vs Wright State (neutral site @ Jacksonville State)
Liberty at North Alabama
UNF at Stetson
Appalachian State at Lipscomb

COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 629-376-3 overall record (.625) and a 205-112 (.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—