FORT MYERS, Fla. – Two home runs from junior Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) and another from freshman Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) led the FGCU baseball team over North Florida, 9-2, Thursday evening at Swanson Stadium. The Eagles improve to 22-12 overall and 8-5 in the ASUN while the Ospreys fall to 13-22 and 4-9 in league play.

"Great all-around game for the Eagles tonight," said head coach Dave Tollett. "We got a great start from Woodward. He came out and pitched with his heart tonight after being sick all week. Kinker's on fire right now so we've got to keep him that way and Povey's been steady all year. We also had more team at-bats such as groundballs with the infield back than we've had all year."

Kinker finished the night with five RBI and now has 12 home runs on the season to take over the team lead. Povey's home run was his 11th of the season, coming just two days after being hit in the mouth with a pitch at South Florida.

Sophomore Jason Woodward (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS) provided a quality start on the mound for the Eagles, throwing 6.1 innings while striking out five and allowing just two runs, only one of which was earned.

Kinker gave the Eagles the early lead in the first with a solo shot the other way before adding his second RBI in the third with a groundout. Junior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) had another productive out in the inning with a sacrifice fly.

Woodward retired nine of the next 10 batters, but got into some trouble in the seventh as the Ospreys loaded the bases with no outs. After getting a strikeout, junior Darien Smith (Jacksonville, Fla./University Christian HS/Eastern Florida State College/Jacksonville) came in relief and although the Ospreys scored two runs on an error and a sacrifice fly, he kept the Eagles out in front at the seventh-inning stretch.

The Eagles turned the game from a nail-biter into a blowout in the next two innings as Povey and Kinker each hit three-run home runs.



The two teams will meet again tomorrow for game two of the series. With expected inclement weather in the evening, the game has been moved up to a 1 p.m. first pitch.

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COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 658-397-3 overall record (.623) and a 219-120 (.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 44 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.