FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team continued its strong offensive weekend against Cincinnati, taking the series finale against the Bearcats, 16-8, to split the opening series as the Eagles and Bearcats both now sit at 2-2 on the season.

"I thought we fought back hard being down 0-2 in the series," said Dave Tollett. "They've showed me a lot, they've got a lot of fight and they've got a lot of character. We just need to clean up some things for us to be the type of ball club I think we need to be."

It was the Alejandro show at the plate on Sunday as junior Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) continued his hot start to the season as he went 4-for-6 with three RBI while junior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) also drove in three with two hits and three walks.

Redshirt-junior Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) reached base five times today with a hit, a walk and three hit-by-pitch, which ties the single-game FGCU record. Through four games this season he has an on-base percentage of .565 which raises his career mark to .496, the highest in the nation among active players.

On the mound, sophomore Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Pa./East Ridge HS) provided the best pitching performance of the weekend as he threw 5.2 innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out 10 in just his second-career start. His 10 strikeouts is also the most for an Eagle pitcher since Mason Studstill struck out 11 on March 6, 2020 against St. Joseph's.

As they did in both games yesterday, the Eagles jumped out to a big early lead, scoring five runs in the first inning. After a single by junior Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) drove in Ellis for the first run of the game, a bases-loaded walk and hit-by-pitch forced in two more runs. Rodriguez capped off the scoring with a single through the left side to drive in two more runs. The Eagles sent 11 men to the plate in the first which included two at-bats for Ellis, who was a hit by a pitch in both plate appearances.

In the third, the Eagles put up another five-spot to double their lead. A two-run single by sophomore Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) and another RBI single by Kinker provided the first three runs before freshman Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) chopped a single off the leaping first baseman's outstretched glove to drive in two more.

Each team score once in the fifth and twice in the sixth as the Eagles maintained their 10-run lead with just three innings to go.

The Bearcats pushed across four runs in the seventh, but the Green and Blue responded with three runs in the home half. Rodriguez and Ellis each hit RBI singles while Figueredo drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.

Senior Joey Mugavero (Estero, Fla./Estero HS/Florida Southwestern State) closed out the game on the mound for the Ealges, throwing the final 2.1 innings, allowing just one run and striking out two.

The Eagles will return to action on Wednesday when they host Minnesota. First pitch from Swanson Stadium is set for 6:30 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 638-387-3 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 58 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 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 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. 25, 2021-22), 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 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.