FGCU-Hofstra box score | 2023 FGCU baseball stats | 2023 FGCU schedule
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 2023 FGCU baseball team (4-0) completed its first opening-weekend series sweep in three seasons Sunday, defeating the Hofstra Pride 7-4 at Swanson Stadium.

The Eagles swept South Florida to open the 2021 season, but have not started a campaign 4-0 since sweeping four straight against Eastern Michigan in 2018. The Green & Blue also started the 2004, 2006 and 2008 campaigns 4-0 – with the 2004 squad winning its first five games that season.

"To sweep an NCAA Regional team like Hofstra, a team that is a lot like us, a lot of things have to go your way," said FGCU head baseball coach Dave Tollett. "Our kids really played well this weekend. Our offense was so productive over the last three games, too, that it is tough to throw the ball down the middle with our guys who can hit it hard. You try to get a little too fine with it, and we end up winning the freebie war like we did today."

Senior first baseman Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla/Venice HS) went 2-for-4 with a double and his first home run of the 2023 season Sunday, a solo shot that is his 43^rd in an FGCU uniform. Kinker is now three homers behind Nick Rivera's 46-homer school record set in 2013-17.
 
Redshirt senior outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) went 1-for-4 with a run scored Sunday – increasing his streak of reaching base to 73 games. Senior infielder Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) also doubled and drove in two runs.
 
FGCU wasted no time denting Hofstra starter Brad Camarda – as Kinker drove in sophomore outfielder Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) with a fielder's choice groundout and Rodriguez doubled home senior designated hitter Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
 
The Pride tied it in the fourth via an FGCU wild pitch and designated hitter Nick Marrero's RBI single, and took a 4-2 lead in the fifth when Marrero singled home two more.
 
That lead lasted precisely a half-inning, as Kinker smacked an opposite-field homer to right and sophomore infielder Jake Mummau (Palm Harbor, Fla./Palm Harbor University HS/St. Petersburg College) tripled Rodriguez home to tie it 4-4.
 
But unlike the rest of the weekend's hard-hitting Eagles offense, the Green & Blue took the lead for gook in the sixth without a single hit. Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk off Hofstra reliever Steven Kaenzig (0-1), Figueredo scored on a Kaenzig wild pitch, and junior infielder Edrick Felix (Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida) drove in Kinker on a sacrifice fly for the final margin.
 
Junior pitcher William Haberstock (Roswell, Ga./Centennial HS/North Alabama) threw 4 1/3 innings in relief of FGCU junior starter Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./Delray American Heritage HS) to earn his first victory in the Green & Blue. Junior Connor O'Hara (Davie, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first career save.
 
FGCU aims to extend its winning streak Tuesday afternoon in the Snowbird Classic, taking on NCAA Regional participant Indiana State at 1 p.m. at Centennial Park in Port Charlotte. The Green & Blue are back at Swanson Stadium next weekend for a three-game series against UMass-Lowell.
 
FGCU baseball tickets can be purchased online at www.FGCUTickets.com or at the Alico Arena box office. No pets or emotional support animals are allowed at Swanson Stadium. Only certified service animals are allowed.
 
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.
 
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE  
Tickets for the 2023 FGCU baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.  
 
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 675-408-3 overall record (.622) and a 228-118 (.659) 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 63 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, two National Freshman All-Americans, 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 (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.  
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. 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 four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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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