DELAND, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team took down Stetson, 6-2, on Sunday to secure the sweep of the Hatters to open ASUN play. The Eagles improve to 16-4 on the season while Stetson falls to 12-8.
"It was a great weekend for Eagle baseball," said head coach
Dave Tollett. "To come on the road and sweep a good team like Stetson will really help us down the road this season. We've got a big game against South Florida on Tuesday and then back to conference play next weekend where we'll look to continue to stay hot against Jacksonville."
After scoring 40 runs in the first two games of the weekend, the Eagles relied more on their pitching on Sunday. Sophomore
Najer Victor (Philadelphia, Pa./East Ridge HS) struck out six in 5.0 innings while allowing just one run. Graduate student
Josh Seils (Brookeville, Md./Sherwood HS/Towson) followed with two innings of one-run ball before senior
Joey Mugavero (Estero, Fla./Estero HS/Florida Southwestern State) finished the game with two scoreless while striking out three.
At the plate, sophomore
Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) and freshman
Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) each hit home runs in the game. Junior
Luis Rodriguez (Guarenas, Venezuela/Miami Christian HS/Santa Fe College/Dyersburg State) also added a couple of hits and two RBI.
It looked like it might be another high-scoring affair for the Eagles as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Junior
Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) knocked in the game's first run with a single before Rodriguez drove in two with a double.
After a couple of scoreless innings, Povey extended the FGCU lead with a two-run home run in the fourth, his sixth of the season, tying him with Farrow for the team lead for the time being. Farrow then retook the team lead with a solo shot in the fifth.
Stetson got on the board in the sixth and added another run in the seventh, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the game.
The Eagles will return home for a midweek matchup with South Florida on Tuesday. First pitch from Swanson Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.
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COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 650-388-3 overall record (.623) and a 214-115 (.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.
