Box Score FGCU-Florida A&M box score | 2023 FGCU baseball stats | 2023 FGCU schedule
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After two days of nearly power-free baseball, the No. 24 FGCU baseball team (14-3) awoke from its offensive slumber Sunday – cranking four home runs in a 12-5 victory over Florida A&M to earn a series victory at Moore-Kittles Field.
 
The Eagles took the final two games of the three-game series, earning their fifth series victory of the season heading into ASUN Conference play next weekend.
 
Junior infielder/pitcher Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./Delray American Heritage HS), junior infielder Edrick Felix (Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida), Senior pitcher/outfielder Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU), and senior infielder Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) all hit home runs against the Rattlers on Sunday. FGCU entered the series finale with just one home run in its previous two games against Florida A&M (6-11).
 
Redshirt senior outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) went 2-for-2 with two walks and also got hit twice by pitches to extend his streak of reaching base to a school-record 86 games – 15 games shy of the 101-game NCAA record.
 
"We got some wind in our direction, which really helped for us," said FGCU head baseball coach Dave Tollett. "Guys were just seeing it better than in the first two games. We are thrilled to come back home with three series victories under our belts to get ready for ASUN play."
 
FGCU piled up 14 hits – the 14^th time to pile up 10-plus hits in 17 games this season – in the victory. Ellis, Figueredo, Felix, Wilmer, Lojewski and senior first baseman Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) each had two hits Sunday.
 
Freshman right-hander Justin Henschel (Plantation, Fla./South Plantation HS) earned the victory in his first collegiate start, scattering eight hits over five innings and striking out six. Henschel received his first start on the heels of a stellar relief performance the previous weekend at Florida State.
The Rattlers again jumped out to an early lead, going up 2-0 in the first via a double steal and a Joseph Pierini RBI single. But FGCU stormed back in the second, as Wilmer laced an RBI double, Lojewski cranked his two-run homer and Figueredo singled in another run to make it 4-2.
 
Felix ripped a solo homer in the third to make it 5-2, only to see Florida A&M cut that lead to a single run in the fifth via a RBI doubles from Pierini and Janmikell Bastardo.
 
Kinker singled home Ellis in the sixth to make it 6-4, and Wilmer provided a big cushion via his three-run blast in the eighth for a 9-4 advantage. The Rattlers would score via a FGCU wild pitch in the eighth, but Figueredo erased any hopes of a comeback by launching his three-run homer to left in the ninth.
 
Tre Simmons (0-2) took the loss for Florida A&M, allowing five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. The FGCU relief trio of junior Alejandro Valiente (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/FSW/Bethune-Cookman), junior Jackson Woodward (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS/Eastern Florida State College) and freshman Chase Kriebel (Shippenville, Pa./Clarion Area HS) combined to allow just two hits in the final four innings.
 
"For (Henschel's) first start as a freshman, I couldn't have asked for a better performance," Tollett said. "We didn't play well behind him early, and it didn't faze him at all. He did a really good job. And Valiente was throwing the ball great to get us where we needed to get."
 
FGCU returns to Swanson Stadium on March 17-19 for its ASUN Conference-opening series against Liberty.
 
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 685-411-3 overall record (.623) 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 96 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 23 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 24 in 2023), 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 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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