LYNCHBURG, Va. – The FGCU baseball came up empty in the quest to avoid a sweep on Sunday as the Eagles fell to Liberty, 8-2. FGCU falls to 20-12 on the season and 7-5 in the ASUN while the Flames improve to 20-10 and 7-5 as well in conference play.

"It was a tough weekend for us," said head coach Dave Tollett. "Liberty's got some really good pitchers and they shut us down for three days. The good thing about baseball is that we've got another game on Tuesday so we've got to learn from this weekend and regroup for the next game."

Redshirt-junior Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) and graduate student Logan Sartori (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Texas A&M/Hutchinson CC) each had two hits and an RBI on the day. They also both added a walk to reach base three times in the game.

Senior Joey Mugavero (Estero, Fla./Estero HS/Florida Southwestern State) pitched the longest out of FGCU's five pitchers on the day, throwing 4.2 innings while allowing three runs and striking out five. Joe Adametz III earned the win for the Flames with 7.0 innings of one-run ball while striking out seven.

After Liberty jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning, Sartori got the Eagles on the board with an RBI single in the second. However, the Flames responded with a run in the third and fourth to push their lead back up to 6-1.

The Eagles had their biggest threat in the fourth as they loaded the bases with two out, but a fielder's choice ended the inning.

Liberty added two insurance runs in the eighth before Ellis knocked in a run in the ninth with a single to produce the final score.

The Eagles will stay on the road to begin this week when they travel to Tampa to take on South Florida, Tuesday at 6 p.m. They will then return home for an Easter weekend series with North Florida beginning on Thursday.

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 656-397-3 overall record (.623) and a 218-120 (.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.