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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The hottest offensive team in college baseball aims to continue its torrid streak Tuesday, as the FGCU Eagles (35-12) play host to the FAU Owls (28-20) on Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
FGCU is coming off a series victory against Stetson, and has won seven of its last eight games. The most recent triumph came Sunday, as senior infielder
Alejandro Figueredo (
Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) clubbed a three-run homer in the eighth inning to secure an 11-8 victory.
That homer was No. 113 for FGCU this season, the most in the nation. The Green & Blue also have 106 doubles in 2023 – joining Maryland as the only other team to have 100-plus doubles and 100-plus homers this season.
More importantly, the series victory kept FGCU atop the ASUN Conference standings – dead even with Lipscomb at 18-6 in league play. Taking two of three games against Stetson also secured a seventh ASUN series win in eight attempts in 2023.
Senior designated hitter
Joe Kinker (
North Port, Fla./Venice HS) was named ASUN Player of the Week on Monday after a torrid weekend stretch that saw him hit .636 against the Hatters with three home runs and nine RBIs. Kinker homered twice in FGCU's 10-7 loss Friday night, and belted his 17th homer of the season in Sunday's victory. His .643 on-base percentage and 1.455 slugging percentage led the Eagles over the weekend.
Kinker's Player of the Week award is his third overall, FGCU's 39th all time, and the third this season for the Green & Blue. Kinker won the March 13 award, and junior infielder
Edrick Felix (
Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida) won April 24. Kinker also won the Player of the Week award as a freshman on March 11, 2019.
Kinker is hitting .380 this season for the Eagles (35-12 overall, 18-6), just a blip behind Felix's .381 mark. He has 13 doubles and has driven in a team-best 66 runs. Kinker's .483 on-base percentage in 2023 trails graduate outfielder
Brian Ellis' (
Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) .486 mark, and Kinker is slugging .722.
Felix leads FGCU with 21 home runs – tied for
Ian Farrow's single-season school record set just last season. Six Eagles have hit at least 13 home runs this season.
Ellis carries a national-record 116-game streak of consecutive games safely reaching base into Tuesday night against the same Owls team he broke the former record of 101 games against on April 11.
Senior pitcher/outfielder
Stephen Wilmer (
Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) is scheduled to start Tuesday's game on the mound – his second collegiate pitching start. He will face FAU left-hander Brandon Smith.
The Owls dropped their C-USA series finale at Charlotte 12-4 on Sunday, but have won five of their last six games. FAU, which is mired in a tie for fifth in C-USA, has won two straight against FGCU in a series that is tied 15-15.
FAU's best hitter is also one of the best in the country, as Nolan Schanuel is third in the nation with a .456 batting average. Schanuel has 14 doubles, 17 homers, 53 RBIs and is slugging .913 (second in the nation). Schanuel went 1-for-4 with an RBI in FAU's 5-4 victory on April 11 at Swanson Stadium, and was 1-for-3 with a solo homer and two runs scored in an 8-4 walk-off Owls home victory on April 4.
The Eagles hit the road after Tuesday's game for a three-game weekend series at North Florida. FGCU closes the regular season with a pivotal home series May 18-20 against Kennesaw State, with the ASUN Tournament beginning May 23 in DeLand, Fla.
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 706-420-3 overall record (.627) and a 246-136 (.644) 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 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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