JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The FGCU baseball team (24-16, 10-5) will conclude ASUN regular season play with a three-game series on the road at Jacksonville (9-28, 2-13) beginning Friday night at 7 p.m.
Things To Know
- This weekend will play a crucial role in determining seeding and host sites for the upcoming ASUN divisional series round
- The Eagles control their own destiny as they search for the top seed in the ASUN South Division title race. They currently sit one game ahead of Stetson and North Florida, who are both 9-6.
- Stetson holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over FGCU while the Eagles hold the head-to-head over UNF
- Jacksonville, despite a poor overall record, is coming off a series in which they won two of three from Stetson.
What's On The Line
- The top two teams in the divisional race will host an ASUN quarterfinal round series with the top seed hosting Jacksonville and the second seed hosting the third seed. The winner of each quarterfinal series would advance to the final four May 21-23 in Jacksonville, Fla.
- The top seed can't be decided until at least Saturday and could go down to the last day. If FGCU wins the first two against Jacksonville while Stetson and UNF split their first two, the Eagles clinch the top spot.
Last Time Out
The Green and Blue are coming off a series victory over North Florida last weekend.
Stephen Wilmer (.500, 5 R, HR, 2B, 3 RBI),
Alejandro Figueredo (.400, 4 R, 2B, 2 RBI) and
Cameron Krzeminski (.400, 2 R, 2 2B, 6 RBI) led the Eagles offensively.
Joe Kinker added a team-best three doubles while
Marc Coffers knocked in four. On the mound,
Mason Studstill and
Tyler Tipton each picked up victories, and the Eagles got scoreless relief appearances from
Jason Woodward (5.2 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 7 K) and
Tyler Shuck (3 IP, 2 H, 2 K, SV).
Solid Offense
The Eagles rank among the top 60 schools in the nation in hits, on base percentage, runs, sacrifice bunts, scoring, hit batters and doubles.
Against Jacksonville, FGCU has scored 41 runs over three games this year, producing a season-high 18 runs on April 9 and tallying at least nine in all three contests. Overall, the Eagles have produced 10 games with double-digit runs this season.
Streaks and Other Stuff
Brian Ellis has a team-best 19 multi-hit games this year.
Joe Kinker checks in second with 14 but leads the team with 13 multi-RBI games, and he has pushed his squad-best hitting streak to six straight while four others have hit in three straight. If that isn't enough for Kinker, he has reached base in 15 straight with
Ian Farrow (12) close behind.
Eagles Shine At Night
With Friday and Saturday being played under the lights, the Eagles should be in good shape offensively as five players are hitting at least .300 at night, including
Richie Garcia (.383),
Joe Kinker (.357),
Brian Ellis (.339),
Johnny Long (.314) and
Stephen Wilmer (.303). Friday night starter
Mason Studstill is 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA in similar games, including 44 strikeouts over 45.1 innings. As a team, the Eagles are hitting .292 in night games as opposed to .274 in day games.
Leadoff King
Brian Ellis is having a monster season from the leadoff spot for the Eagles this year as the redshirt junior is hitting a team and career-best .353 with 39 runs, six doubles and 26 RBI. He has also drawn a squad-best 27 walks and been hit by the pitch 12 times for a .479 on base percentage. In fact, he reached base a team-leading 19 straight games earlier this year. With the stick, he has a team-high 19 multi-hit games with a trio of three-hit efforts and a four-hit outburst on his record, and he's hitting a team-best .486 with runners in scoring position. He's also tied for third on the team with seven multi-RBI efforts and his career .481 on base percentage is second-best in FGCU's Division I era.
Rare Breed
Richie Garcia (224) and
Marc Coffers (204) are just the third pair of FGCU teammates to have played in at least 200 games on the same roster, joining the 2011 duo of Mikel Alvarez (214) and Stephen Wickens (205) and the 2017 duo of
Nick Rivera (250) and Gage Morey (234). In fact, only seven Eagles have played in 200 career games.
Approaching History
Several Eagles are moving up the charts among the program's all-time leaders, led by
Richie Garcia, who sits among the top 10 in starts, runs, hits, doubles, home runs and walks. In fact, Garcia needs just two more hits to surpass Tim Roberson (247, 2008-11) for fifth-place in the program's Division I era record book. With his next start, he will take sole possession of second place, trailing just
Nick Rivera (245, 2013-17).
Marc Coffers sits seventh in the program's Division I era with 150 career runs, just one behind Jake Noll (151, 2013-16), six shy of Tim Roberson (156, 2008-11) and eight back of Zach Maxfield (158, 2009-11).
Mason Studstill sports the lowest opponent batting average (.191), the fifth-lowest earned run average (2.58) and the eighth-most strikeouts per nine innings (9.83). On top of that, he has the fifth-most strikeouts all-time among Division I era leaders.
Hunter McGarry sits three saves shy of sole possession of the program's all-time record.
Cam The Man
Cameron Krzeminski is hitting a team-best .519 when leading off an inning this year. He has moved into sole possession of second place on the team with nine multi-RBI games, and he's tied for third in multi-hit games with 11.
Among The Best
Several Eagles rank among the best in the country.
ASUN Standings
South Division
| School |
ASUN |
Overall |
| FGCU |
10-5 |
24-16 |
| Stetson |
9-6 |
23-18 |
| North Florida |
9-6 |
16-19 |
| Jacksonville |
2-13 |
9-28 |
North Division
| School |
ASUN |
Overall |
| Liberty |
14-1 |
30-11 |
| Kennesaw State |
12-3 |
26-14 |
| Bellarmine |
7-14 |
12-28 |
| Lipscomb |
6-12 |
15-24 |
| North Alabama |
6-15 |
7-35 |
Friday Schedule
Lipscomb at Bellarmine, 2 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Liberty, 6 p.m.
Stetson at North Florida, 6:05 p.m.
FGCU at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
North Alabama at Louisiana, 7 p.m.
Saturday Schedule
Lipscomb at Bellarmine, 2 p.m.
Stetson at North Florida, 2:05 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Liberty, 4 p.m.
North Alabama at Louisiana, 5 p.m.
FGCU at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
Sunday Schedule
Lipscomb at Bellarmine, 1 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Liberty, 1 p.m.
FGCU at Jacksonville, 12 p.m.
Stetson at North Florida, 1:05 p.m.
North Alabama at Louisiana, 2 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.
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 632-381-3 overall record (.624) and a 209-114 (.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 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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