JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team was unable to hold on to two late leads against Jacksonville, Sunday, as the Eagles fell to the Dolphins, 9-8, in 10 innings. The Eagles fall to 27-17 and 12-9 in the ASUN while JU improves to 22-18 and 9-12 in league play.

"It's never easy losing games like that," said head coach Dave Tollett. "We had a couple of chances to shut the door and couldn't do it. Jacksonville battled and got the clutch hits they needed to win the game. We'll have to learn from it and rebound next weekend."

The Eagles held a four-run lead at the seventh-inning stretch, but the Dolphins scored two in the seventh and two in the ninth to tie the game. After the Eagles retook the lead in the tenth, JU answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to walk it off.

Redshirt-junior Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) led the Eagles with three hits while junior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) reached base five times and drove in two runs.

On the mound, senior Joey Mugavero (Estero, Fla./Estero HS/Florida Southwestern State) settled down after giving up three runs in the first by throwing 6.0 innings with six strikeouts and just those three runs allowed.

After falling behind early, the Eagles cut into their deficit in the third as they scored two runs on a single by Figueredo and a run-scoring double play. Ellis tied the game in the fourth with a single before sophomore Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) doubled home two to give the Eagles a 5-3 lead.

In the seventh, Figueredo extended the lead with a single which was followed by a passed ball to score another run and give the Eagles a 7-3 lead.

JU did not go down quietly as they scored two in the seventh and two in the ninth to tie the game. The Dolphins nearly won the game in the ninth on the hit that tied it, but Farrow cut down the winning run at the plate with a great throw on the fly from left.

In the tenth, the Eagles took the lead on a fielder's choice, but it was not enough as Trace Burchard won the game with a two-out two-run single in the bottom of the inning.

The Eagles will not play a midweek contest this week with final exams taking place, so the Green and Blue will next play on the weekend when they travel to Kennesaw State to take on the Owls.

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 663-402-3 overall record (.623) and a 221-124 (.641) 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 92 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.

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