JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With their 6-5 Friday night win at Harmon Stadium, the FGCU baseball team (15-10, 3-2 ASUN) has secured the overall series against host UNF (9-13, 3-2 ASUN), their first of the 2021 conference season. The Eagles now lead the weekend 2-0 and will have the chance to complete the sweep during Saturday's series finale.

The teams traded runs throughout the opening innings and were tied throughout the middle of the ballgame. Sophomore Tyler Tipton (Tampa, Fla./Gaither HS/South Florida State), who entered in the bottom of the sixth with two outs on the board and a pair of runners on, tossed 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to close things out for the Green & Blue, picking up his third win of the year (3-0).

"It's exciting to get a series win on the road," head coach Dave Tollett said. "I thought that Gus gave us a good start, especially once he settled in, and Tipton was lights-out. He entered the game and got an out right away. After struggling a bit yesterday, to put seven zeros on the board was great to see. Offensively, I thought Farrow had a great day and we also had some key hits from Long and Krzeminski. Hopefully, we can close this thing out tomorrow."

FGCU's offense picked up where it left off from the night before and quickly plated three runs in the first inning. Freshman Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) got the scoring started with his two-RBI single and freshman Johnny Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) completed the three-spot with an RBI knock of his own.

The Eagles were unable to hold on to their early 3-0 lead for long, as the Ospreys responded in their half of the inning. An RBI double plated the team's first run of the day before a three-RBI homer completed the spurt and put UNF on top at 4-3.

Both sides were forced to put up zeros in the second, as each starter settled in. FGCU's bats were unable to be contained for long and the team got back into the scoring column in the third. Senior Cameron Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS­­) and sophomore Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) got on base in the first two at-bats of the frame and were pushed into scoring position when senior Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla/Barron Collier HS) laid down a sac bunt. Farrow then collected his third RBI of the game, driving in Kinker with a single. The Eagles were able to pick up an additional run on the play, as a UNF error allowed Krzeminski to come home, handing FGCU a 5-4 edge.

The Ospreys responded once again, pushing across an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth to tie the teams up at 5-5. UNF's Isaiah Byers, who scored the team's fifth run of the day, was one of just three baserunners that Carter allowed to reach over the next three innings.

While Carter was able to hold the home team's offense in check for a few frames, UNF threatened to regain in the lead in the bottom of the sixth. A pair of singles put the go-ahead run on first, forcing the Eagles to make a change. Tipton came out of the bullpen and took an Osprey down swinging to end the threat.  

UNF's starter Austin Bogarts forced the Eagles to strand a total of three runners on the base paths from the fourth inning through the sixth until back-to-back Green & Blue singles at the start of the seventh pushed him out of the game.

Both Krzeminski and Coffers led off that frame with knocks, with Coffers' pushing his classmate over to third. The Ospreys made a pitching change to try and minimize the damage, but a failed pickoff attempt allowed Krzeminski to score the go-ahead run to make it a 6-5 ballgame. The reliever then notched three-consecutive outs to prevent the Eagles from distancing themselves any further, stranding Coffers.

UNF kept the pressure on the visitors in the bottom of the seventh, pushing the first two batters on. Tipton worked around the runners to get out of the inning clean and went on to retire the side in the eighth.

Both teams had chances to score in the final inning, but neither was able to capitalize. Krzeminski roped a leadoff double and advanced to third on Coffers' second sac bunt of the day, but the rest of the lineup was unable to bring in the insurance run. The tying run reached base for the Ospreys in the bottom of the ninth when Blake Marabell singled, but a twin kill ended the game and preserved the Eagles' victory.

FGCU and UNF will play one final game on Saturday, April 3 at 1:05 p.m. The series finale at Harmon Stadium will have a chance for the Eagles to pick up their third sweep of the season, having achieved the feat twice against USF, and their first against an ASUN opponent since 2019 (April 18-20 vs 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.

ASUN Roundup
South Division Standings

School	ASUN	Overall
Stetson	3-1	17-9
FGCU	3-2	15-10
UNF	3-2	9-13
Jacksonville	0-4	5-16

North Division Standings

School	ASUN	Overall
Liberty	5-1	16-7
Kennesaw State	4-2	16-8
Lipscomb	3-4	9-11
Bellarmine	4-6	8-15
North Alabama	3-6	4-18

Recent Results
Thursday, April 1 
FGCU 12, UNF 11
Lipscomb 9, Bellarmine 7
Davidson 8, North Alabama 4
Stetson 11, Jacksonvile 1

COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 624-374-3 overall record (.625) and a 202-111 (.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.
 
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