FORT MYERS, Fla. – Three home runs by the FGCU baseball team powered the Eagles to a 13-5 win over Minnesota, Wednesday evening at Swanson Stadium. FGCU improves to 3-2 while the Golden Gophers fall to 1-4.

Redshirt-junior Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS), freshman Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS), junior Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) all hit home runs for the Eagles as the Green and Blue put up double-digit runs for the fourth time this season.

"It's a great win for us," said head coach Dave Tollett. "Minnesota is a quality club, it's a Big Ten win and we are going to enjoy this tonight. A lot of kids played well, just a team win tonight."

After sophomore Mason Miller (Odessa, Fla./Mitchell HS) threw three scoreless innings with six strikeouts, the Eagles put up a six-spot in the bottom of the third. Ellis got the Eagles on the board with a three-run home run before junior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) added a run-scoring single and junior Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) tacked on a two-run single.

The Gophers got back into the game in the fourth as they scored five runs, but the Eagles responded in the fifth with Povey's two-run home run, the first of his career.

FGCU put the game away in the seventh with a five-run inning. Kinker got the scoring started with a long solo home run before junior Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) drove in three with a bases-loaded double. Ellis added the final run of the night with a single to drive in his fourth run of the game.

The Eagles bullpen shined tonight as the final four pitchers combined to pitch 5.1 scoreless innings, led by 2.1 innings from junior Darien Smith (Jacksonville, Fla./University Christian HS/Eastern Florida State College/Jacksonville).  Senior Gus Carter (Melbourne, Fla./Eau Gallie HS/Florida Southwestern State), sophomore Nolan O'Shoney (Clarksville, Tenn./Clarksville Academy/Austin Peay), and redshirt-sophomore Dawson Place (Land O' Lakes, Fla./Sunlake HS/High Point) each threw a scoreless inning in relief.

The Eagles will return to action this weekend when they hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Bethune-Cookman. The series kicks off on Friday evening at 7 p.m.
 

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COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 639-387-3 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.