FGCU-FAU box score | 2023 FGCU baseball stats | 2023 FGCU schedule | ASUN scoreboard/schedule | ASUN standings
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Great baseball teams find a way to win games without their best stuff. And Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium, the FGCU baseball team got it done in dramatic style without their best stuff.
 
The Eagles (36-12) answered every offensive punch FAU threw at them all night long, and got huge seventh- and ninth-inning pitching efforts to earn a clutch 8-7 victory over the Owls. The win was FGCU's first over FAU this season, avenging two earlier losses.
 
The victory helped FGCU – currently 59^th in the NCAA RPI rankings – eclipse the 2022 team's win total with seven games remaining in the regular season, and was the Green & Blue's eighth win in its last nine games. FAU, which entered Tuesday with a No. 64 RPI ranking, fell to 28-21.
 
"That was not pretty, but it was a huge RPI game for both of us," said FGCU head coach Dave Tollett. "I didn't think we played exceptionally well, but we did some pretty special things to get out of some jams."
 
FGCU racked up 13 hits against seven FAU pitchers – as sophomore outfielder Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS), sophomore infielder Edrick Felix (Orlando, Fla./Victory Charter HS/College of Central Florida), senior designated hitter Joe Kinker (N,orth Port, Fla./Venice HS), senior catcher/infielder Alejandro Rodriguez (Cidra, Puerto Rico/Montverde Academy/Eastern Florida State) and redshirt sophomore infielder Trevor Kole (Parkland, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons HS) each had two hits.
 
Povey launched his 14^th homer of the season in the fifth inning, giving FGCU a nation-best 114 homers this season. Kinker, Rodriguez, Kole, and junior infielder/pitcher Jacob Lojewski (West Palm Beach, Fla./Delray American Heritage HS) each racked up doubles – giving FGCU 110 two-baggers in 2023.
 
FGCU trailed 6-3 heading to the bottom of the sixth, only to pile up four runs to take a 7-6 lead. Graduate outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) and Felix each hit RBI singles, Kinker laced an RBI double, and senior infielder Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) drove in another via a groundout.
 
That lead was short-lived, through, as FAU scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh to tie it 7-7. Enter senior reliever Nick Love (Fernandina Beach, Fla./Yulee HS/Central College of Florida/Jacksonville), who earned two strikeouts and a fly ball to help FGCU escape further damage.
 
But the Owls couldn't contain FGCU in the bottom of the inning, as an FAU throwing error off a Kole grounder scored senior pitcher/outfielder Stephen Wilmer (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS/Pasco-Hernando State/ECU) for an 8-7 Eagles lead.
 
"We had such unselfish at-bats all night long, guys hitting balls to positions when they had their infield back, which is the sign of a good ballclub," Tollett said. "Kole played really well, and delivered when we needed him to in the field and at the plate. This was just a really good win at a time when we needed it."
 
FAU had its chances again in the ninth off FGCU senior closer LJ McDonough (Blanchard, Okla./Blanchard HS/Wichita State), loading the bases without an out. But McDonough earned three straight strikeouts to preserve the victory.
 
The Eagles, who share the ASUN Conference lead with Lipscomb, now hit the road for a three-game weekend series at North Florida. FGCU then travels to play FAU on May 16, and 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 707-420-3 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.
 
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---