LYNCHBURG, Va. – The FGCU baseball team hit a couple of home runs against Liberty on Saturday, but ultimately came up short against the Flames, 8-3. The Eagles fall to 20-11 and 7-4 in the ASUN while Liberty improves to 19-10 and 6-5 in league play.

"We got ahead early and unfortunately couldn't hold on," said head coach Dave Tollett. "We've got to do a better job of stringing together hits to put some runs on the board. We couldn't convert some chances late in the game and then they put us away late."

Junior Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) hit his second home run in as many days, a two-run shot to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the third inning. It was also his 10th home run of the season, tying him for the team lead. Freshman Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) also hit a home run, his ninth of the season.

After Kinker gave the Eagles the lead, Liberty tied it up in the fourth before taking the lead with two more runs in the fifth.

Povey got the Eagles back within one with a home run in the sixth, but that was as close as they got as the Flames scored four runs in the eighth to put the game away.

Liberty pitcher Dylan Cumming earned the win by throwing 8.0 innings with five strikeouts while senior Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, Fla./Canterbury HS) took the loss.

The Eagles will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow when the two teams meet at 11 a.m. for the series finale.

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 656-396-3 overall record (.623) and a 218-119 (.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.