JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After trailing by as much as 5-0, the FGCU baseball team (16-10, 4-2 ASUN) came back to claim a 7-5, extra-inning victory over UNF (9-14, 3-3 ASUN) on Saturday afternoon at Harmon Stadium. With the victory, the Eagles picked up their first series sweep against ASUN opponent and third overall in 2021.

Both redshirt-sophomore Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) and freshman Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) led the team at the plate, boosting the Eagles  with three RBI apiece.

In addition to the offense, FGCU's bullpen helped power the Eagles to their win. Junior Joey Mugavero (Estero, Fla./Estero HS/Florida Southwestern State) was dominant in relief, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings while picking up his second win of the year (2-0). Senior Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida-Manatee), who was tapped to close things out, earned his fifth stop of the season, pushing him to 17 on his career.

"This was a huge comeback win for us," head coach Dave Tollett said. "I can't emphasize enough how good Brian and Ian were for us today. For Ian, as a freshman, to step up and clear the bases with two outs is really exciting. I thought we had a good start from Gallo, but our bullpen was phenomenal. They held UNF hitless for over four innings. This kind of game makes us a little bit stronger."

After dropping the first two games of the series, UNF tagged up a combined four runs in the first two innings to take an early lead. The Ospreys used a sac fly and an RBI groundout to earn a 2-0 edge in the first before adding on with a fielder's choice and an RBI double in the second. Freshman starter Ronaldo Gallo (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) settled in after the opening frames and retired the side in the third.

FGCU struggled with timely hitting in the first half of the ballgame, stranding a combined six baserunners by the middle of the fifth. The Eagles had a solid chance to score during that frame when a pair of two-out baserunners reached in Ellis, who walked, and senior Richie Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS), who singled, but the Ospreys were able to get out of the jam.

The Eagles made another two-out push in the top of the sixth after senior Marc Coffers (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) was plunked and freshman Johnny Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) drew a four-pitch walk, but the rest of the lineup was unable to bring them in.

After going down in order in the previous inning, the Ospreys used a pair of two-out singles to add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth to go up 5-0. Gallo was relieved by Mugavero, who recorded the final out and stranded a runner. The freshman finished his start with a pair of strikeouts and five earned runs through 5.2 IP.  

For the third-consecutive inning, the Eagles put two-out pressure on UNF in the top of the seventh. Garcia singled and was joined on the base paths by sophomore Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) and senior Cameron Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS), who were each hit by a pitch. UNF made a pitching change, but Farrow stepped up to the plate and roped a three-RBI double in the first at-bat against the new arm, trimming UNF's lead down to 5-3.

While Mugavero cruised on the mound, retiring the side and notching a pair of strikeouts in the home team's half of the inning, the Eagles carried the momentum into the top of the eighth. Long and pinch-hitter Zac Calhoon (Osprey, Fla./Venice HS), who represented the tying run, reached base with back-to-back walks. Sophomore Jalen Townsend (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park HS) came out to replace Calhoon and both he and Long were able to score thanks to Ellis' bases-clearing double that tied things up at 5-5. Though UNF was able to get the go-ahead run on in the bottom of the frame, the Eagles turned a double play to end any chance for the Ospreys to score.

FGCU had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the ninth when Farrow and Coffers reached, but the team was unable to capitalize. Mugavero then sent the game to extra innings after sitting down all three batters in the bottom of the ninth.

Sophomore Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/ECU/Pasco-Hernando State) kicked off extras with a single and was pushed into scoring position by freshman Jacob Lojewski's (West Palm Beach, Fla./American Heritage Delray) sac bunt. Ellis then roped his second double of the day, plating Wilmer and handing the Eagles their first lead of the game at 6-5. Garcia completed the scoring when he drove in Ellis with an RBI single, boosting the team to its 7-5 advantage.

Freshman Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Pa./East Ridge HS) started off the bottom of the 10th on the mound, but was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk. McGarry fanned the first batter he faced and then forced back-to-back groundouts to help the Eagles complete their sweep.

Though the sweep is not the Eagles' first of the year, it is their first against an ASUN opponent since knocking off North Alabama at Swanson Stadium in 2019 (April 26-28). That year, FGCU swept three different conference teams at home en route to capturing the 2019 ASUN Regular Season Championship.

FGCU will now return to The Nest to host Jacksonville April 9-11.

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	19-9
FGCU	4-2	16-10
UNF	3-3	9-14
Jacksonville	0-6	5-18

North Division Standings

School	ASUN	Overall
Liberty	5-1	17-8
Kennesaw State	4-2	16-8
Bellarmine	5-6	9-15
Lipscomb	3-5	9-12
North Alabama	3-6	4-20

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

Friday, April 2
Liberty 9, VCU 3
FGCU 6, UNF 5
Bellarmine 7, Lipscomb 5
Davidson 6, North Alabama 4
Stetson 7, Jacksonville 5

Saturday, April 3
Davidson 5, North Alabama 0
FGCU 7, UNF 5
Stetson 3, Jacksonville 2
VCU 4, Liberty 2

Upcoming Games
Monday, April 5
North Alabama at No. 2 Ole Miss - 5 p.m. 

COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 625-374-3 overall record (.625) and a 203-111 (.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—