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RICHMOND, Ky. – The No. 15 FGCU baseball team (27-9 overall, 11-4 ASUN Conference) split a Saturday doubleheader against Eastern Kentucky, winning the nightcap 23-7 in seven innings after dropping the first game 8-7 at Earle Combs Stadium.
The Eagles lost their first ASUN series of the season, having fallen to the Colonels 17-6 in the series, and are now a half-game behind Lipscomb in the ASUN standings. Eastern Kentucky departs the weekend series at 15-19 overall and 6-8 in league play.
FGCU's 23 runs in Saturday's second game was its second-highest scoring binge of the season (28 vs. North Alabama on March 24), and marked the sixth time the Green & Blue won a run-shortened game. It also ended a three-game losing streak -- the longest of the season.
"We played well enough to win the series," said FGCU head baseball coach
Dave Tollett.
The Eagles bashed 16 hits and five home runs against the Colonels in the nightcap, the latter increasing FGCU's home run total to 85. The Green & Blue entered the weekend just one homer behind South Carolina, 78-77, for the national lead – and hit eight homers in the three-game series. FGCU also had 10 hits in Saturday's first game, giving it 27 double-digit hit games this season.
Junior infielder
Edrick Felix (
Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida) and junior catcher
Mac Moise (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) each bashed two homers Saturday – with Moise cranking both his in the lopsided nightcap. Senior infielder
Alejandro Figueredo (
Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State), junior infielder/pitcher
Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./Delray American Heritage HS), and senior designated hitter
Joe Kinker (
North Port, Fla./Venice HS) each added homers Saturday.
The nightcap saw FGCU taking out all its offensive frustrations on the Colonels. The Eagles leapt out to a 4-0 first-inning lead on a run-scoring wild pitch, a two-run Kinker double, and an RBI single from senior catcher/infielder
Alejandro Rodriguez (
Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State).
Lojewski's solo shot and Moise's three-run blast in the third made it 8-2 in the third. FGCU tacked on five more runs in fourth – sophomore outfielder
Harrison Povey (
Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS) and Wilmer each hit RBI doubles, Rodriguez and Felix added RBI singles, and Moise grounded out to score another for a 13-4 advantage. Moise and Felix added solo homers in the sixth for a 15-4 lead.
But that was just prelude to the seventh – an inning that saw FGCU explode for eight runs that set the final margin. Figueredo launched a three-run blast, Felix and senior outfielder
Stephen Wilmer (
Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) added RBI singles, and three more runs scored on as variety of Colonels defensive blunders.
FGCU dropped Game 1 in dramatic fashion, taking a three-run lead into the bottom of the ninth only to depart with an 8-7 loss.
The Eagles grabbed a quick 5-0 lead in the first inning via a Felix two-run homer, a Wilmer RBI double, a Povey RBI single, and a Lojewski sacrifice fly. Kinker also blasted a solo shot in the third to expand FGCU's lead to 6-0.
EKU rallied to trim its deficit to 6-2 after the fifth, but coughed up a run to FGCU via a fielding error in the sixth to make it 7-2. The Colonels plated two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to trail 7-4, but the Green & Blue managed to work itself out of trouble in the seventh and eighth.
Graduate outfielder
Brian Ellis (
Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) 2-for-3 in the opener and drew three walks in the nightcap – efforts that extended his unofficial NCAA record for consecutive games safely reaching base to 105.
FGCU returns to the Sunshine State next week, starting at FIU at 6 p.m. Wednesday and then back at Swanson Stadium next weekend for an ASUN home series against Jacksonville State.
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.
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COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach
Dave Tollett currently owns a 698-417-3 overall record (.626) and a 239-133 (.642) 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.
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#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 97 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. 15 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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