FGCU-Indiana State box score | 2023 FGCU baseball stats | 2023 FGCU schedule
 
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The 2023 FGCU baseball team (4-1) absorbed its first loss of the 2023 season Tuesday, falling to 2022 NCAA Regional participant Indiana State 8-7 in the Snowbird Baseball NCAA Classic at Centennial Park.
 
The Eagles were vying to start a season 5-0 for the first time since 2004, when the program competed in Division II. Indiana State improved to 2-1.
 
Senior first baseman Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla/Venice HS) continued his torrid start to the season, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Sophomore outfielder Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) and junior infielder Edrick Felix (Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida) each went 2-for-4.
 
Redshirt senior outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) went 1-for-4 with two runs scored – increasing his streak of reaching base to 74 games. Povey also scored twice.
 
FGCU started hot, as Kinker singled in the game's first run and junior infielder Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./Delray American Heritage HS) followed with a two-run single for a 2-0 first-inning lead.
 
Indiana State scored its first run in the second, but FGCU matched it in the fourth via another Kinker RBI single to make it 4-1. The Eagles had their chances to tack on more runs, but had two runners thrown out on the basepaths and another picked off to prematurely thwart bigger innings.
 
"I think we got beat on what we call the special teams of baseball, which is base-running," said FGCU head baseball coach Dave Tollett. "That is something we have strived hard in the fall and early in the spring to be better at, and we weren't better than them today in that category. There were four huge baserunning mistakes that changed this whole game.
 
"I don't think we played our best, but I thought we played well enough to win. We have to continue to respect the game of baserunning, that part of it. But we knew what we were going to get from Indiana State. They're a good club every year, they aren't going to beat themselves. I felt like we beat ourselves."
 
The Sycamores, who had two runners picked off themselves during the game, blew it open with a six-run sixth inning highlighted by third baseman Mike Sears' grand slam for a 7-4 lead.
 
FGCU responded in the eighth, however, as Povey tripled down the right field line to score Ellis and sophomore infielder Jake Mummau (Palm Harbor, Fla./Palm Harbor University HS/St. Petersburg College), and senior designated hitter Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) drove in Povey with a sacrifice fly to the warning track.
 
Indiana State would take the lead for good in the bottom of the eighth, as Sears singled in the eventual winning run off freshman left-hander Chase Kriebel (Shippenville, Pa./Clarion Area HS), who took the loss.
 
The Green & Blue are back at Swanson Stadium this weekend for a three-game series against UMass-Lowell. First pitch Friday is set for 6:30 p.m., with Saturday's game at 2 p.m. and Sunday's at 10 a.m.
 
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 675-409-3 overall record (.621) 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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