DELAND, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team exploded for 40 runs in two wins over Stetson on Saturday to open ASUN play. Picking up in the fourth inning after last night's game was suspended, the Eagles set a new Division I era scoring record by winning game one, 25-11. They followed that up with a 15-2 victory in the regularly scheduled game.

The Green and Blue improve to 15-4 on the season and 2-0 in the ASUN while the Hatters fall to 12-7 and 0-2 in conference play.

"Today was a great way to start conference play," said head coach Dave Tollett. "Everybody contributed on offense all day which makes it really fun in the dugout. Also want to give credit to Tyler Shuck who gave us a great start in the second game after we had to used a lot of arms in game one. We'll look to keep swinging it well tomorrow."

All nine starters had an RBI in game one, led by junior Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) with six including a three-run home run. He added six more RBI in game two, which included another three-run home run, to give him 12 RBI for the day.

Sophomore Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) went 5-for-5 with a home run and five RBI while freshman Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) also drove in five runs and had a home run in game one.

In addition to Rodriguez's big game two, junior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) and junior Luis Rodriguez (Guarenas, Venezuela/Miami Christian HS/Santa Fe College/Dyersburg State) also had big performances with four RBI each.

When game one picked up in the fourth inning, the Eagles led 5-0 and immediately added five more in the fourth when the game resumed.

Stetson tried to make it a game with a grand slam in the fourth and then two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to get within one at 11-9 after six innings, but the Eagles responded with nine runs in the seventh on six hits, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch as FGCU sent 14 batters to the plate.

The Eagles then added two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth to set a new Division I era record, breaking the old record of 23 which was set against Bethune-Cookman in 2019. The all-time record is 29 which was done twice – against Saint Rose College in 2005 and Gannon in 2007.

FGCU kept the fireworks going in game two as Figueredo got the Eagles off to a fast start with a two-run double in the first. Luis Rodriguez and Alejandro Rodriguez then each added RBI base hits in the third and fourth culminated by a three-run home run from Alejandro to put the Eagles up 9-0.

The Eagles added three more runs in the fifth and seventh to go up 15-0 before the Hatters broke up the shutout with two runs in the eighth.

On the mound, senior Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) was splendid as he threw 6.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts to improve to 3-1 on the season.

The Eagles will look for the series sweep tomorrow with Najer Victor taking the mound. First pitch from Melching Field is set for 1 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 649-388-3 overall record (.623) and a 213-115 (.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 89 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 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. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) 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 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) 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.