TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team faced its toughest test of the season, Tuesday evening as they traveled to Dick Howser Stadium to take on #8 Florida State. After taking the early lead, the Seminoles came back and defeated the Eagles, 10-4.

The loss snaps FGCU's 10-game winning streak as the Eagles fall to 10-3 while Florida State improves to 8-4.

"We had chances early to make this thing interesting, but we couldn't get it done," said head coach Dave Tollett. "I thought [Mason] Miller had a good start, but then we fell behind and let them hit in advantage counts. They're a good baseball team, they can hit the fastball, and basically that's what happened."

Redshirt-junior Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) opened the game with a double down the first-base line. He then advanced to third on a wild pitch before coming home to score on a groundout by sophomore Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) to give the Eagles the lead just two batters into the game.

Sophomore Mason Miller (Odessa, Fla./Mitchell HS) kept the Seminoles off the board the first two innings, but in the third, Jaime Ferrer hit a solo home run to tie the game. Florida State then took the lead in the fourth with two runs on a run-scoring double and a groundout.

The Eagles had a chance to do some damage in the sixth as they loaded the bases with two outs, but FSU's Jackson Baumeister, who was ranked #53 on the MLB Draft prospect rankings last year as a high school senior, came in and induced a foul pop-up to escape the threat.

The Seminoles blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth with six runs. The rally started with a run-scoring single before James Tibbs hit a grand slam. Logan Lacy then capped off the inning with a solo shot as the Seminoles went back-to-back.

In the eighth, junior Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) provided the highlight of the night for the Eagles as he smashed a 405-foot home run the other way over the high fence in right field.

The Eagles did not go down without a fight as they scored two runs in the ninth on a run-scoring groundout by junior Jalen Townsend (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park HS) and a single by Ellis. FGCU kept fighting as they loaded the bases, but couldn't push any more runs across.

The Green and Blue will return home this weekend for three games against Fairfield. The Stags will be another tough test as they went 39-5 last season and earned an at-large bid to NCAA Regionals. First pitch on Friday night 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 646-388-3 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 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.