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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 24 FGCU baseball team (27-10 overall, 11-4 ASUN Conference) aims to maintain its hold on first place in the conference standings Friday night, beginning a pivotal three-game home series against Jacksonville State at 6:30 p.m. at Swanson Stadium.
 
Swanson Award winners will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony Friday night, $3 beer and Nutrl will be on sale for all fans 21+, and it is Youth Night – with free admission for kids 12-under along with a post-game poster signing.
 
Despite losing four of its past five games, as well as its first ASUN series last weekend at Eastern Kentucky, the Eagles are tied with Lipscomb atop the ASUN. Jacksonville State enters the weekend 17-18 overall and 10-5 in the conference – tied for third with Austin Peay.
 
FGCU is coming off a 5-4, 11-inning loss at FIU on Wednesday night, a game that saw the Eagles pitching staff strike out 18 but walk home the tying and winning runs. The Green & Blue hammered two more home runs against the Panthers, bringing its season total to 87 – just one off South Carolina's national lead of 88 homers.
 
Junior infielder Edrick Felix (Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida) crushed a two-run homer against FIU, his team-leading 18^th. Felix also leads the Eagles with a .388 batting average, 17 doubles, 51 RBIs, and .816 slugging percentage, and a gaudy 1.285 OPS.
 
FGCU is hitting .321 as a team, and four other Eagles have hit at least 10 home runs – junior infielder/pitcher Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./Delray American Heritage HS) has 14, senior infielders Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) and Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) each have 13, and senior pitcher/outfielder Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) has 11.

Graduate outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) drew two walks against FIU, extending his unofficial NCAA record for consecutive games safely reaching base to 106.
 
The Eagles are ranked first in the country in runs scored (371) and slugging percentage (.592) – and are among the top 10 in six more offensive categories.

FGCU coach Dave Tollett is just two victories from the 700-win plateau. Tollett's .625 winning percentage (698-418-3) ranks 31st among active Division-I coaches -- with only nine coaches on that list earning more victories. Tollett is also 35th among active Division-I coaches in victories.
 
Jacksonville State has lost two straight games, and dropped last weekend's home series to Jacksonville. The Gamecocks rank third in the ASUN in batting average (.298), but have only hit 33 home runs – 10^th in the league.
 
JSU's Javon Hernandez leads the ASUN with a .440 batting average, and is second on the team (TJ Reeves, 39) in RBIs with 34. Reeves and Mason Maners have each hit a team-high seven home runs.
 
FGCU expects to start junior left-hander Nick Love (Fernandina Beach, Fla./Yulee Central College of Florida/Jacksonville) Friday night. Jacksonville State will counter with right-hander AJ Causey.
 
For complete coverage of FGCU baseball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_Baseball and online at http://www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU baseball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting http://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 698-418-3 overall record (.625) 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.
 
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 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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