FORT MYERS, Fla. – For nearly every baseball team, Opening Day cannot come soon enough with the excitement of a new season and a fresh slate. For FGCU, the anticipation of first pitch Friday evening at Swanson Stadium is exponentially higher and the excitement of a new season will be more focused into a determined drive when the Eagles host North Dakota State at 6:30 p.m. to open the year.

Probable Rotations
Game 1 presented by Hampton Inn | Friday, Feb. 13 | ESPN+ | RHP Evan Dempsey (5-1, 1.97 ERA) vs. RHP Parker Puetz (4-1, 2.09 ERA)
Game 2 | Saturday, Feb. 14 | ESPN+ | RHP Chris Diaz (6-2, 4.80 ERA) vs. RHP Brayden Marks (4-1, 2.09 ERA)
Game 3 | Sunday, Feb. 15 | ESPN+ | TBD vs. LHP Jonah Walker (4-1, 2.09 ERA)

By the time first pitch is thrown, it will have been 263 days, 21 hours and 25 minutes since FGCU last stepped foot on a baseball diamond, where they won their last game of the season. That's been 263-plus days of reminders that they were not able to determine a champion on the field and had a postseason opportunity taken away.

The dichotomy of this weekend's opening series in Fort Myers will be stark. North Dakota State won the Summit League Tournament last year and advanced to the Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional, stealing a 4-3 win over No. 23 Kansas along the way.

Friday's meeting will mark just the third time the two programs will meet on the diamond, with the Eagles holding a 2-0 advantage after a 9-8 win at Swanson Stadium over the Bison on Mar. 16, 2022. The first meeting also came in the Eagles' home ballpark, a 15-8 decision on Mar. 15, 2004.

FGCU is 13-10 all-time in season openers, but have only won four of the past 10. The Green & Blue are 15-6-2 in the opening series, with 11 of the 15 wins coming as series sweeps. The Eagles are 16-7 in home openers.
 
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