FORT MYERS, Fla. – In a back-and-forth battle, the FGCU baseball team came up short against Jacksonville, falling 9-7, Friday evening at Swanson Stadium. It is the first ASUN loss of the season for the Eagles as they fall to 3-1 and 16-6 overall while the Dolphins improve to 12-8 and 1-3 in conference play.

"Tonight was not our best performance," said head coach Dave Tollett. "We were sloppy in the field and left too many runners on and when you do that against a good team like Jacksonville, it's going to be tough to win games. We'll have to regroup and come back better tomorrow."

Sophomore Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) reached base five times as he went 3-for-3 with two walks, two RBI, and a run scored. Freshman Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) and junior Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) each added two hits and a run batted in.

On the mound, sophomore Jason Woodward (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS) did not have his best stuff, but after allowing three runs in the first two innings, settled down and finished with three-straight scoreless innings while striking out four.

The Dolphins took an early lead, scoring two runs in the first as they took advantage of a couple of walks and an Eagle error, but FGCU came right back in the bottom of the first, taking advantage themselves of two JU errors while getting an RBI triple from junior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) and an RBI single from Povey.

After Jacksonville scored a run in the top of the second, the game remained tied until the fifth when junior Luis Rodriguez (Guarenas, Venezuela/Miami Christian HS/Santa Fe College/Dyersburg State) tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Farrow then added a couple of more runs in the sixth with a two-run double as the Eagles took a 6-3 lead after six innings.

The lead did not last long, however, as the Dolphins came back with three runs in the seventh to tie the game.

The Eagles put two runners on in each of the next two innings, but could not come up with the big hit to retake the lead.

With the game still tied heading to the ninth, the Dolphins finally did get the big hit that both teams were looking for as Jonah Diaz hit a bases-loaded two-run single. JU added a third run on an error before handing the ball to their hard-throwing closer Tyler Vogel.

After striking out the leadoff hitter, Vogel lost his command a little as he walked the next batter on four pitches before throwing a wild pitch. Alejandro Rodriguez followed by hitting a ground-rule double to drive in a run and bring the tying run to the plate, but Vogel induced two flyouts to right field to end the game and secure the win for the Dolphins.

The Eagles will look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon when the two teams meet on the field for game two at 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 652-391-3 overall record (.623) and a 214-116 (.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.