FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU baseball team battled until the final out, Thursday afternoon against Kennesaw State, but ultimately came up short against the Owls, 7-6. With the loss, the Eagles are eliminated from the ASUN Tournament and finish the season with a 35-23 record. KSU improves to 33-26 and will play Lipscomb in tomorrow's semifinals.

"Today was a tough way to end the season," said head coach Dave Tollett. "We battled back multiple times, but credit to Kennesaw as they did too. In an elimination game, both teams are going to do everything they can to win the game and ultimately, we came up just a bit short. We failed to accomplish what we set out to do, but I am still incredibly proud of the guys and all the did accomplish this season."

The game featured five lead changes, including four in the last three innings. Junior Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) gave the Eagles the early lead, hitting his 20th home run of the season to begin the second inning. The Eagles made it 2-0 in the fifth as graduate student Logan Sartori (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest HS/Texas A&M/Hutchinson CC) came around to score on an error.

The first lead change occurred in the home half of the fifth as Josh Hatcher hit a three-run home run for the Owls.

After a scoreless sixth inning from both clubs, the Eagles retook the lead in the seventh with two runs. Sophomore Ian Farrow (Merritt Island, Fla./Merritt Island HS) tied the game with a two-out single before coming around to score on a double by junior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) to give the Eagles a 4-3 lead.

In the home half of the seventh, Zac Corbin put the Owls back on top as he hit a two-run home run.

The Eagles had another answer in the top of the eighth as they loaded the bases for sophomore Trevor Kole (Parkland, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons HS), who laced a two-run single through the left side of the infield, putting the Green and Blue back up, 6-5.

However, the Owls responded once again in the bottom of the inning as Nick Hassan hit a two-run single to put KSU back on top. A double play with the bases loaded got the Eagles out of the inning without further damage, giving them a chance in the ninth.

In the ninth, Kinker nearly tied the game as he hit a fly ball to the warning track for the first out. After another flyout, the Eagles kept fighting as freshman Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) and junior Luis Rodriguez (Guarenas, Venezuela/Miami Christian HS/Santa Fe College/Dyersburg State) singled to put the tying run on second. Unfortunately, the rally ended there as Jack Myers got Sartori to ground out to second base and end the game.

The ASUN Tournament will continue at Swanson Stadium on Friday and Saturday. Liberty will play Eastern Kentucky at 11 a.m. followed by Lipscomb versus Kennesaw State at 3 p.m on Friday. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 1 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 671-407-3 overall record (.623) and a 226-128 (.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 45 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.