FORT MYERS, Fla. – One of the nation's most powerful offenses returns home to The Nest and Swanson Stadium this week as FGCU hosts Queens for a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m.

The series schedule was adjusted to a Friday doubleheader, followed by a single game on Saturday due to anticipated inclement weather in Southwest Florida later in the weekend.

It is the league opener for both teams, and the Eagles (13-4) are hosting Queens (4-13) in a series for just the second time since the Charlotte-based school joined the Atlantic Sun Conference for the 2022-23 academic calendar year. FGCU leads the series, 8-4, after winning four of six throughout the pair of three-game series played last year.

FGCU has put on a show thus far, entering the weekend ranked second in the nation in doubles and hits, while ranking third in batting average, 16^th in on-base percentage, 20^th in slugging percentage and 27^th in scoring.

Javier Gorostola, currently riding a school-record 35-game hitting streak, has been the most potent offensive threat for the Eagles. He enters the weekend leading the nation in hits and leading the ASUN in batting average. Get past Gorostola and … well, it doesn't get much easier as every single projected starter for the Eagles is hitting .300 or higher.

That doesn't mean the Eagles pitchers don't pull their weight. The Green & Blue hurlers rank 12^th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and 55^th in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Florida Gulf Coast batters eagerly await the visit from Queens and look for the Royals to continue their history of issuing free passes the hard way. QUC pitchers head to Fort Myers having already hit 38 batters this year, a number that ranks ninth highest nationally. Meanwhile, Royals batters like to invoke the small ball game, ranking seventh in the nation in sacrifice bunts.

FGCU has gone 13-4 in its ASUN opening games since joining the league in 2008, with an 11-5 record in those initial league series. That includes five sweeps as part of those 11 series wins.

Queens heads to Fort Myers, having won their last two conference-opening games, and hopes to make that three straight on Friday.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the Eagles, follow FGCU Athletics on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit FGCUathletics.com.