FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Fourth-seeded Jacksonville used a four-run rally in the ninth inning to produce a 4-1 win over the top-seeded FGCU baseball team (27-19) in the first game of a best of three ASUN quarterfinal series inside Swanson Stadium on Friday night.
 
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. Should the Eagles win, they would force a winner-take-all third game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The winner of the series advances to next week's final four.
 
"Credit to Jacksonville. They made the winning plays," FGCU head coach Dave Tollett said. "Mason was terrific tonight, and it's a shame we couldn't tack on some more runs for him earlier in the game. Now it's win or go home on Saturday."
 
The Dolphins led off the ninth with a single up the middle and then used a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt attempt to put two on with nobody out off FGCU's Mason Studstill. On the ensuing play, a grounder to short led to a throwing error as the Eagles threw errantly trying to get the out at second. The tying run scored on the play, and a two-run triple in the next at bat gave Jacksonville a 3-1 lead. An RBI groundout finished the scoring.
 
Prior to all that, Jacksonville was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-28 against Studstill (Titusville, Fla./Rockledge HS/Eastern Florida State/Miami), who had retired 11 straight hitters entering the ninth. Instead, he fell to 7-3 on the season with a final line that included six hits, four runs (three earned) and one walk with five strikeouts over 8 1/3 innings.
 
FGCU scored the game's first run in the fourth inning on an RBI single to left from Johnny Long. The Eagles, however, struggled outside of that hit, finishing just 3-for-30 from the plate, 1-for-10 with two outs, 1-for-11 with runners on base and 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
 
Outside of Long's single, FGCU got one hit apiece from Stephen Wilmer and Ian Farrow off Jacksonville starter, Tyler Santana, who battled through five walks and a high pitch count to go the first 6 2/3 innings with just one run allowed. Jagger McCoy (W, 2-3) closed out the seventh and went the distance to get the win in relief.
 
The Eagles had several chances to add runs after taking the lead in the fourth. In the second, a single, a passed ball and a walk put runners on second and third, but a pop out ended the threat. Three walks in the third loaded the bases, but a line drive to right stopped that rally. Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) singled and took second on a balk in the sixth but was stranded.
 
For FGCU, Joe Kinker (11), Brian Ellis (5) and Alejandro Figueredo (2) had hitting streaks come to an end, although Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) pushed his streak to three, which is now a team-best. Farrow pushed his streak of reaching base to 18, which is now a team-high as Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) had his 20-game streak snapped.
 
Notes
Other ASUN quarterfinal games from Friday night included Kennesaw State defeating Lipscomb 14-1, Liberty taking down Bellarmine 5-2 and North Florida defeating Stetson 5-4.  
 
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COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 636-383-3 overall record (.623) and a 211-115 (.647) 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 42 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—