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FLORENCE, Ala. – The 19
th-ranked FGCU baseball team continued its torrid offensive onslaught on North Alabama on Saturday afternoon, doubling up the Lions 14-7 for an ASUN Conference series victory at Mike D. Lane Field.
FGCU won its sixth straight game to improve to 20-4 overall and 4-1 in the ASUN. UNA lost its ninth straight and fell to 5-16, 0-5. With Saturday's offensive production, the Eagles now score over 10 runs a game this season. The Green & Blue also reached the 20-win plateau faster than any team since the 2017 squad that was ranked 12
th in the country when they won No. 20 on March 25, 2017.
FGCU and North Alabama had first pitch Saturday moved hours earlier in the day Saturday after a deadly series of tornado-laden storms swept through the area overnight, which caused the Eagles to shelter inside their hotel and ultimately change accommodations. The storms also knocked out power on UNA's campus, including the lights at their home stadium.
What the storm didn't do was damper FGCU's bats. Although the 14 runs scored was half of the historic 28-run bombardment Friday night, the Green & Blue still recorded 11 hits and three home runs – bringing their ASUN-leading total to 53.
"We really won the freebie war, too, which is a big part of what we try to do," said FGCU head baseball coach
Dave Tollett of FGCU's seven walks and four hitters hit by pitches. "We got a real good bullpen effort from
Connor O'Hara (two hits over 5 1/3 innings), which was timely. The wind is really blowing out up here, too, which helps."
Sophomore outfielder
Harrison Povey (
Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS), senior catcher/infielder
Alejandro Rodriguez (
Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State), and senior designated hitter
Joe Kinker (
North Port, Fla./Venice HS) each went deep for FGCU. All nine Eagles recorded a hit, with Povey going 2-for-5.
Redshirt senior outfielder
Brian Ellis (
Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) went 1-for-3 with two walks and a hit by pitch, bringing his ASUN-record total to 93 straight games reaching base. Ellis is now just nine games away from breaking the unofficial NCAA record of 101 games held by Texas' Mark Payton.
Unlike Friday, it took FGCU three innings Saturday to start belting baseballs all over Mike D. Lane Field. Ellis singled in senior outfielder
Stephen Wilmer (
Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) to begin the Eagles' three-run third, Povey launched a three-run homer to right, and Rodriguez added a solo shot to left for a 5-0 advantage.
UNA tacked two runs on in the bottom of the third before FGCU got busy again in the fourth. Povey drew a bases-loaded walk, and senior infielder
Alejandro Figueredo (
Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) singled in two more runs to make it 8-2.
UNA's
Kyle Machado cranked a three-run homer in the fourth and Andrew Knight added a solo shot to narrow the margin to 8-6, but FGCU's offense was undeterred. A Lions fielding error on an Ellis ground ball scored two more FGCU runs in the fifth, and Povey slapped an RBI single up the middle for an 11-6 lead.
Machado launched an RBI double in the sixth to score another UNA run and make it 11-7. But FGCU put it away for good in the ninth via a Figueredo sacrifice fly and Kinker's two-run blast to left for the final margin.
The two teams finish the series at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday. Freshman right-hander
Justin Henschel (
Plantation, Fla. South Plantation HS) is expected to start for FGCU.
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
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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 691-412-3 overall record (.626) and a 232-131 (.639) 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 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 19 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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 3.67 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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