JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The FGCU baseball team (24-17, 10-6 ASUN) suffered a 5-2 loss on the road to Jacksonville (10-28, 3-13) on Friday night in the first of a three-game weekend series at John Sessions Field.
With the loss, the Eagles fall into a tie for first place with North Florida (10-6), who defeated Stetson 6-5 in their series opener. The Hatters are one game behind both at 9-7 as all four teams will continue action Saturday night at 7 p.m. in an ASUN South Division deciding weekend.
"Tonight was a tough loss but we still control our own destiny," FGCU head coach
Dave Tollett said. "We'll get some rest tonight and look to get a win tomorrow night."
After tying the game in the sixth, the host Dolphins broke open a 2-2 tie with three runs in the bottom of the eighth off FGCU reliever
Hunter McGarry (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Christian School/State College of Florida - Manatee), who fell to 1-3 on the year.
Mason Studstill (Titusville, Fla.Rockledge HS/Eastern Florida State/Miami) took the no decision after allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk while striking out five over seven innings.
Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Penn./East Ridge HS) did a nice job in relief, as he induced a fly out and struck out a pair after entering with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth.
The Eagles initially took the lead with two runs in the fifth on back-to-back RBI hits from
Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) and
Richie Garcia, who each finished 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Johnny Long (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) and
Cameron Krzeminski (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) each scored a run.
Joey Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) went 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to seven straight and his on base streak to 16 - both team-highs.
Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) drew a walk to extend his own on-base streak to 13.
Garcia (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) made his 223rd career start, which moves him into sole possession of second place in the program's Division I era list.
ASUN Standings
South Division
| School |
ASUN |
Overall |
| FGCU |
10-6 |
24-17 |
| North Florida |
10-6 |
17-19 |
| Stetson |
9-7 |
23-19 |
| Jacksonville |
3-13 |
10-28 |
North Division
| School |
ASUN |
Overall |
| Liberty |
15-1 |
31-11 |
| Kennesaw State |
12-4 |
26-15 |
| Lipscomb |
7-12 |
16-24 |
| Bellarmine |
7-15 |
12-29 |
| North Alabama |
6-15 |
7-36 |
Friday Results
Lipscomb 5, Bellarmine 3
Liberty 4, Kennesaw State 0
North Florida 6, Stetson 5
Jacksonville 5, FGCU 2
Louisiana 11, North Alabama 1
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 632-382-3 overall record (.624) and a 209-115 (.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 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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