{"id":43005,"date":"2019-05-21T14:32:07","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T18:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=43005"},"modified":"2019-05-21T14:32:21","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T18:32:21","slug":"fgcu_baseball-will-face-stetson-in-the-first-round-of-asun-tourney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2019\/05\/fgcu_baseball-will-face-stetson-in-the-first-round-of-asun-tourney\/","title":{"rendered":"FGCU_Baseball will face Stetson in the first round of ASUN Tourney"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\nAfter winning the ASUN regular season championship, the FGCU baseball team (34-19, 16-7 ASUN) will enter the postseason tournament in DeLand as the top seed. The Eagles will face off against sixth-seeded Stetson (24-30, 11-12 ASUN), the host of the tournament, in the first game of the day at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22 at Melching Field. All games during the ASUN tournament will be streamed in ESPN +.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

600 WINS<\/strong>
The Eagles’ first victory in the tournament will mark head coach Dave Tollett’s<\/strong> 600th career win. In his 17th season with the Green and Blue, Tollett has compiled a 599-356-3 record, which includes a 199-108 mark in ASUN regular season play.
Tollett was named the program’s first-ever head coach in August of 2001 and has guided his team to at least 25 wins in every season. 
FGCU’s skipper captured his 500th career win with a 10-1 victory over UNC Wilmington as the team completed a road sweep over the Seahawks (March 5, 2017). 
His win percentage (.627) ranks 27th among active Division-I coaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE BRACKET<\/strong>
This year’s format is a six-team, double-elimination bracket with alternative bracket scenarios depending on how many teams are left at certain points.
Wednesday’s FGCU-Stetson matchup is the first of the 2019 ASUN Tournament. No. 2 Liberty and No. 5 UNF will face off in the second game of the day at 3 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. meeting between No. 3 Lipscomb and No. 4 Jacksonville.
The winner of FGCU vs. Stetson will play the loser of the Lipscomb vs. Jacksonville game at 3 p.m. on Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A LOOK AT FGCU<\/strong>
The regular season title is the fifth in program history for the Eagles (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014). The Green and Blue won the tournament championship and advanced to a regional in 2017.
Junior closer Hunter McGarry <\/strong>has nine saves this year, the second-most by an FGCU arm in a single season. He’s holding opponents to a .207 batting average, which checks in at sixth on the single-season list.
Junior Mason Studstill <\/strong>currently holds the single-season opponent batting average record at .164. He has 91 strikeouts on the season, which ties for the fourth most in Eagle history.Studstill (Titusville, FL\/Rockledge HS\/Eastern Florida State)<\/strong> allows an average of 5.18 hits per nine innings, which ranks eighth in the national standings, and he leads the team with a 2.31 earned run average.
Senior Keith Stevens<\/strong> leads the ASUN with a .411 batting average in conference play. His overall average (.345) leads FGCU. Last week, he was named ASUN Player of the Week for his efforts in the series against NJIT.
Stevens (Miami, FL\/Miami Killian HS\/Hillsborough CC)<\/strong> was the fourth player to receive a weekly award for the Green and Blue this season. Senior Evan Lumbert<\/strong> and freshman Joe Kinker <\/strong>swept the awards on March 11 and senior Eric Gonzalez<\/strong> was selected on April 15.
Junior Alex Brait <\/strong>and freshman Jalen Townsend<\/strong> lead the team with 10 stolen bases each.Townsend (Oviedo, FL\/Winter Park HS)<\/strong> has only been thrown out once, while Brait (Viera, FL\/Viera HS)<\/strong> has yet to be caught.
Brait<\/strong> also leads the conference with 75 hits on the season. He has been a force behind the dish for the Green and Blue and has thrown out 11 runners so far.
Junior Richie Garcia<\/strong> and Gonzalez (Miami, FL\/American HS\/ASA College)<\/strong> lead the Eagles’ defense, combining for 234 assists this season. Garcia (Davie, FL\/West Broward HS)<\/strong> cracked into the top 10 career records list this season and now checks in at ninth place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LAST TIME OUT<\/strong>
The Eagles took two-of-three against Liberty in a battle for the regular season title at Swanson Stadium last weekend. The Flames finished second in the ASUN standings after falling to the Green and Blue in Sunday’s rubber match.
Garcia<\/strong>, Brait<\/strong> and Stevens<\/strong> all homered in the 7-4 win over Liberty on Thursday night. Sophomore Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, FL\/Canterbury HS)<\/strong> was awarded the win for his scoreless relief work and improved to 7-1 on the season.
Despite sophomore Gus Carter<\/strong> pitching the best game of his career as an Eagle, the team lost a 4-2 battle on Friday. Carter (Melbourne, FL\/Eau Gallie HS\/Florida Southwestern)<\/strong>, who entered the game with 1.2 innings as his longest outing, threw six against the Flames and struck out a career-high seven batters. At one point, he retired nine straight.
Prior to first pitch on Saturday, head coach Dave Tollett<\/strong> honored the six members of the Class of 2019 – Justin Gill, Kohl Gilmore, Eric Gonzalez, Jay Hayes, Evan Lumbert <\/strong>and Keith Stevens<\/strong>.
Garcia <\/strong>and Hayes (Altamonte Springs, FL\/Lyman HS)<\/strong> each homered in the opening frame of the rubber match. Kinker<\/strong>(Northport, FL\/Venice HS) <\/strong>added a two-run long ball of his own in the fourth as the team cruised to an eight-run lead.
The Flames fought back and, in the final inning, got within one run of FGCU. McGarry (Bradenton, FL\/Bradenton Christian School\/State College of Florida) <\/strong>kept the team from tying things up, recording the last out of the game with a strikeout, thus handing the team the regular season title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SERIES HISTORY VS. STETSON<\/strong>
The Hatters claimed the series against the Green and Blue at their home ballpark in DeLand earlier this month.
In the opening game of the series, Stetson defeated the Eagles 2-1. The reigning ASUN Champions earned a 5-3 triumph during game two. The third game was cancelled due to weather.
With the pair of wins, the Hatters have now won the last six meetings between the two teams. FGCU still holds an 18-17 advantage in the history between the programs, which includes an 11-9 mark at Melching Field.
The Eagles own a 2-1 edge over the Hatters in head to head championship play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCOUTING THE HATTERS<\/strong>
Stetson clinched its spot in the ASUN Tournament after taking two-of-three from UNF at Melching Field last weekend. The Hatters were on the bubble of making the postseason entering the final weekend of regular season play.
After winning the 2018 ASUN Championship and advancing to a Super Regional, the Hatters were at the top of the preseason conference poll.
Senior Vlad Nunez leads the conference with 12 saves this season. He owns a 3.30 ERA through 43.2 innings of work.
Freshman Daniel Paret leads the Hatters’ pitching staff with a 3.47 ERA. The southpaw has 97 Ks on the season, the second-most in the league.
Senior Jacob Koos paces the Hatters with a .274 batting average. The outfielder has scored a team-high 32 runs and leads the team with 18 stolen bases.
Junior Jorge Arenas has cranked out a team-high 17 extra-base hits and has driven in 37 runs. The shortstop also leads the defense with 122 assists.
The Hatters own a 19-14 mark at Melching Field this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FINAL ASUN STANDINGS – listed by tournament seeding<\/strong>
1. FGCU (34-19, 16-7 ASUN) *<\/strong>
2. Liberty (37-18, 15-9 ASUN) *
3. Lipscomb (30-23, 14-10 ASUN) *
4. Jacksonville (30-25, 13-11 ASUN) *
5. UNF (31-23, 12-11 ASUN) *
6. Stetson (24-30, 11-12 ASUN) *
7. Kennesaw State (27-29, 11-13 ASUN)
8. North Alabama (16-38, 7-16 ASUN)
9. NJIT (17-27-1, 7-17 ASUN)
* – Clinched a spot in ASUN Championship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE STRENGTH OF THE CONFERENCE <\/strong>
The ASUN currently has four teams in the top-120 RPI ranking: Liberty (52), Jacksonville (79), UNF (110) and FGCU (116).
As a whole, ASUN teams are 7-9 against opponents ranked in the nation’s top 25.
FGCU owns a win over then-No. 5 Florida, who is currently No. 25 in RPI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2019 SCHEDULE<\/strong>
The Eagles began their 55-game campaign with a bang and opened the year playing each of their first 11 games in the friendly confines of Swanson Stadium.
The Green and Blue played a total of nine times against programs from Power 5 universities (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC).
FGCU played 36 home games and 19 contests on the road. Additional notable non-conference home games included dates with Rutgers (March 15-17), FAU (March 19), FIU (March 26) and Miami (April 10).
The first ASUN matchup was a series at UNF March 22-24, which the Eagles dropped 2-1.
FGCU competed 16 times against programs who have played in the NCAA Championship tournament at least once over the last two years. The mark includes a Florida squad that won the national championship two years ago and advanced to the 2018 College World Series. FGCU also graced a Stetson program (May 3-5) that hosted an NCAA Regional last year and advanced to a Super Regional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOLLOW ALONG<\/strong>
For constant news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the baseball team on Twitter @FGCU_Baseball, Instagram @FGCU_Baseball or on Facebook: Facebook.con\/FGCUBaseball. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com\/FGCUEagles.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COACH TOLLETT<\/strong>
FGCU coach <\/em>Dave Tollett<\/a><\/em><\/strong> currently owns a 599-356-3 overall record (.627) and a 199-108 (.648) 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 four-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four 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 54 all-conference selections, 31 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 15 current minor leaguers, four ASUN Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, three ASUN Players of the Year, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one seven-time MLB All-Star.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5X CHAMPS<\/strong>
The 2017 season was a magical one for the Green and Blue that ended in the program’s first Division I NCAA Championship tournament berth. The Eagles ended the year 43-20, which included a midweek sweep over No. 2 Florida, single wins over No. 1 Florida State, Miami, and a three-game sweep at UNC Wilmington. The wins over Miami, FSU, and UF marked the first time FGCU defeated all three programs in the same season.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching as high as No. 9 in the polls, the highest of any program at FGCU, the Eagles struggled in April but bounced back to finish third in the ASUN. During the ASUN Championship, FGCU won four games in a span of 29 hours for their first tournament crown.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green and Blue earned the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, defeating Michigan 10-6 before losses to Davidson and North Carolina ended their season. The tournament title added to FGCU’s four regular-season crowns.<\/em>
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