FGCU-Troy box score | 2023 FGCU baseball stats | 2023 FGCU schedule
 
TROY, Ala. – The No. 24 FGCU baseball team turned in another stellar offensive performance Wednesday night, touching Troy for 17 hits in an 13-5 victory over the Trojans at Riddle-Pace Field.
 
The victory improved FGCU to 12-2, and marked the fourth multi-game series victory for the Eagles this season. Sun Belt Conference member Troy, which entered the mid-week series with an unblemished record, fell to 11-2.
 
FGCU senior first baseman Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) continued his epic offensive tear, ripping a first-inning grand slam for his seventh homer this season and 48^th career blast in the Green & Blue. Kinker finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs and four runs scored.
 
Senior catcher/infielder Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) was 2-for-6 with a RBI and two runs scored.
 
Redshirt senior outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, extending his streak of reaching base to a school-record 83 games – 18 games shy of the 101-game NCAA record.
 
Troy immediately fell behind in the first inning, as starter Zack Szabo walked the bases full – and Kinker emptied them by hitting the 10^th pitch of his at-bat over the left-center field fence.
 
"That was one of the best at-bats I have seen in my career here," said FGCU head baseball coach Dave Tollett. "You battle 10 pitches and then hit a grand slam? You don't see that much in baseball. We were pretty good offensively last year, too, but this team can do some new things. We still need to be a little better in situational hitting, but a quarter of the way through the season we look pretty good in a lot of spots."
 
Trojans second baseman Evan Kavanagh doubled home a run in the first inning to cut it to 4-1, and then tied it in the second with an RBI groundout and a Kavanagh two-run single.
 
That tie didn't last long, though, as senior pitcher/outfielder Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) belted a solo homer in the top of the fifth to make it 5-4. The Eagles then tacked on three more runs in the inning via a sophomore outfielder Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) infield grounder and a two-run Rodriguez single up the middle.
 
Rodriguez struck again in the sixth with another RBI single, and Wilmer lifted a sacrifice fly down the left-field line to make it 10-4. Senior infielder Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) singled in another run in the seventh for an 11-4 FGCU advantage.
 
Troy third baseman Caleb Bartolero doubled in Kavanagh for the Trojans' final runs in the seventh. But FGCU wasn't done, as Kinker doubled in Ellis and junior catcher Mac Moise (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) singled Kinker home in the ninth.
 
FGCU senior right-hander Tyler Tipton (Tampa, Fla./Gaither HS/South Florida State) earned his first victory of the season. Mason Kennedy (0-1) took the loss for Troy.
 
The Green & Blue return to Tallahassee on Friday for a three-game series at Florida A&M. Troy FGCU is back at 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 683-410-3 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 95 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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