FORT MYERS, Fla. - After starting the baseball season in Texas, Florida Gulf Coast University returns to the Sunshine State for its next 18 contests, beginning with a neutral site affair against Indiana State University in North Port Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
The game will take place at CoolToday Park, the Spring Training home of the Atlanta Braves. While the game is just over 70 miles from the FGCU campus, Braves Spring Training will have an FGCU feel this season with the addition of Chris Sale to the Atlanta rotation.
Wednesday's game is the fourth in a row for the Eagles against a team that made the NCAA postseason in 2023. The Eagles recently completed a competitive three-game set at No. 5 TCU over the weekend and will now face the ISU team that the Horned Frogs defeated to earn a spot in the College World Series last year.
The Eagles (0-3) had a solid offensive start to the 2024 season, even if the results on the scoreboard don't match the offensive output. As a team, FGCU had an OPS of .960. The Eagles combined for 14 extra-base hits out of 29 hits and compiled 24 RBI as a team.
Individually, a pair of Eagles started the season with slugging percentages at 1.000 or better.
Ian Farrow is slugging 1.231 after hitting a home run in each of the three games in Fort Worth.
Harrison Povey hit homers in each of the series' last two games and is slugging at an even 1.000 clip.
This will be the third all-time meeting with ISU, as the Sycamores have won each of the three meetings. Last season, FGCU rallied with three runs in the eighth to tie the game, but ISU scored a run in the home half of the inning to earn an 8-7 win in Port Charlotte. Povey had a double and a triple in the contest, with
Jacob Lojewski adding a pair of RBI.
Following Wednesday night's game, the Eagles will return home to open Swanson Stadium for 2024 against Bethune-Cookman. Friday's first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
