FORT MYERS, Fla. - After crossing the halfway mark of the regular season conference campaign with a series win last weekend, Florida Gulf Coast University will begin the second half of Atlantic Sun Conference play this Friday when Austin Peay State University visits to start a three-game series at Swanson Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

The Eagles (18-17, 10-5 ASUN) moved back over .500 for the season with a 7-5 win at USF Tuesday night. Prior to that, FGCU won an ASUN series at Stetson thanks to an 8-3 win in the rubber game of the series Sunday. Mac Moise scored four times in the finale and hit a two-run homer in the ninth to keep momentum on the side of the Green & Blue.

The second half of the conference schedule could benefit FGCU moving forward. The Eagles have only played two of five ASUN series at home so far. In those games, the Eagles swept Bellarmine and Central Arkansas to be a perfect 6-0 at home. In road games, the Eagles have lost two out of three at Queens and Kennesaw State before taking two at Stetson to be 4-5 on the road in league play.

However, this APSU team that visits Swanson Stadium this year has at times been an offensive juggernaut. Some of the Governors' numbers are reminiscent of FGCU's offensive output last season when the Eagles led the country in home runs per game. This year, APSU ranks third in the country in batting average (.343), doubles (97), hits (445) and home runs per game (2.53). The Governors are also second in the country in slugging percentage (.640). Individually, Lyle Miller-Green leads the ASUN in homers with 19 with John Bay tops in slugging percentage in the ASUN at .881.

Austin Peay has scored 10 or more runs in the last seven games in a row; however, the Govs have lost their last two. Tuesday night, APSU dropped a 16-15 decision at Middle Tennessee State. In the finale of an ASUN series last Sunday, the Govs couldn't get a sweep of Jacksonville as the Dolphins took an 18-11 win.

Pitching has helped to carry the Eagles over the past two weekends. Davian Garcia has posted back-to-back quality starts in the Friday starting role. Chase Kriebel has helped to anchor the Sunday spot, getting a complete game against UCA and pitching five scoreless in the win at Stetson. Justin Henschel has moved from starting to the back end of the bullpen as he helped to nail down the two wins at Stetson.

As the season progresses, RPI becomes as much of a factor as conference standings. The top four teams in RPI in the conference will occupy Pool A of the ASUN Championship, with the next four teams taking the spots in Pool B. Three teams from Pool A will move out of round robin play to the championship bracket, with only one team coming out of Pool B. Currently, FGCU is in third in RPI in the conference at 131, one spot behind Stetson (130) and almost 50 spots ahead of Jacksonville (180). While APSU is one game out of a tie for first in the ASUN standings, the Govs are currently ranked 205 in RPI and in fifth place, five spots ahead of Lipscomb (210).

Saturday's game is set for 2 p.m. with Sunday's finale slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be available via ESPN+.