FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The FGCU baseball team stumbled in game two of its final home stand against Kennesaw State, losing 14-5 Friday at Swanson Stadium.

Friday's loss to Kennesaw State officially put the Eagles (38-16, 20-9 ASUN) out of contention of earning at least a share of the ASUN Conference regular season title. FGCU will now aim for No. 2 overall seed for the upcoming ASUN Championship as Lipscomb walked-off Jacksonville State 6-5 to clinch the regular season championship. 

"I expected more out of us than what we showed tonight," said FGCU baseball head coach Dave Tollett. "We will regroup and come out on Saturday to get this bad taste out of our mouths."

A 45-minute weather delay to begin the night did not appear to faze FGCU early, soaring out to a 2-0 lead courtesy of RBI singles by both senior Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS) and senior Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State). Kinker missed out on notching his 18th home run of the season by inches, settling for the RBI single off the top half of the right-field wall.

KSU battled to grab its first lead of the contest in the fifth, 3-2. The first three Owls runs were spotted by an FGCU balk, a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the same inning, senior Stephen Wilmer's (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) stand-up triple plated the tying and go-ahead run for the Eagles, giving the FGCU back the lead 5-3.

The lead would be short lived as Kennesaw State cut the deficit to one with a sixth-inning solo shot and reclaimed the lead once-and-for-all in the seventh - utilizing a 3-run frame for a 7-5 advantage.

The Owls battered the FGCU pitching staff for 16 hits and began to finish off the Eagles with a 3-run blast in the eighth inning. KSU scored at least one run in the final six innings to reach its double-digit mark of 14, highlighted by a five-run eighth.

Seven of KSU's 14 runs were scored in the final three frames. Jamarie Brooks had the Eagles number Friday, going a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBIs.

FGCU produced 10 hits but failed to record a home run for just the eighth time this season. The Eagles have sent the ball over the fence in 46 of 54 games, leading the nation with 123 homers.

Sophomore Alejandro Valiente (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Florida Southwestern/Bethune-Cookman) absorbed the loss in his 18th appearance this season.

Senior Day and the rubber match game three of the series is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m.

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 709-424-3 overall record (.626) and a 248-139 (.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 98 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 49 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 3.57 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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