FGCU Baseball @ Kennnesaw State Preview

The FGCU baseball team (22-11, 4-2 A-SUN) will hit the road to take on Kennesaw State (16-18, 3-3 A-SUN) for an A-SUN Conference series April 12-14. First pitch of the weekend is set for 6 p.m. on Friday at Stillwell Stadium. The teams will face off in a doubleheader at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up the series due to inclement weather.

A Look at FGCU:
Despite a pair of low-scoring games this week, the Eagles still lead the A-SUN in batting average (.292), hits (322), runs (249), scoring (7.8), slugging percentage (.432) and on-base percentage (.404).

Senior Jay Hayes leads the Green and Blue's offense in batting average (.376), doubles (14), home runs (8) and RBIs (38). Junior Alex Brait has cranked out a team-high 51 hits, the most of any A-SUN player. The catcher is one of two players that have started all 33 games for the Eagles this season. He has caught eight runners stealing this season and, with three more, will register in the FGCU single-season top 10.

Junior Richie Garcia is one of the best defensive players on the team. The infielder has tallied 264 assists so far in his career. With just 18 more, he will stand alone as having the 10th-most assists in program history. Garcia has also started every game for the team this season.

Junior Mason Studstill (4-0) leads the FGCU pitching staff with 64 strikeouts, an average of 11.76 per nine innings. He allows an average 3.86 hits per inning, which is good for third in the national standings.

With two more wins, sophomore Tyler Shuck (6-0) will enter a six-way tie for the seventh most victories in a single season. Current Baltimore Oriole Richard Bleier earned eight wins in the 2007 season.

With his fifth save against Lipscomb last weekend, junior Hunter McGarry is now tied for eighth with three other Eagle pitchers for the most saves in a single season.

Last Time Out:
•     The Eagles dropped two midweek games against a Miami (22-12, 7-8 ACC) team that currently owns an RPI of No. 32.

On Tuesday, the teams faced off at Mark Light Field. The Eagles put up three runs in the first inning off the bats of Brait, Hayes and Garcia. Miami responded by scoring a total of nine runs over the next four frames.

The Green and Blue managed to get the tying run on first when the game was 11-9 in the top of the eighth, but could not bring anyone home. Miami responded to the push with a pair of insurance runs that boosted the team toward its 13-9 victory.

On Wednesday, FGCU hosted the Hurricanes at Swanson Stadium for the Battle of the Birds. Senior Justin Gill started on the mound and threw a season-high 6.0 innings. The Eagles struggled offensively and did not record a hit until senior Eric Gonzalez cranked out a two-out double in the seventh.

Sophomore Christian Proffitt prevented the Eagles from getting shut out when he tallied an RBI double that scored pinch hitter junior Cameron Krzeminski. The Hurricanes claimed a 10-1 win at the end of the night.

Scouting The Owls:
Kennesaw State enters the weekend at the fifth spot in the A-SUN standings. The Owls dropped an in-state midweek matchup at Georgia Southern on Wednesday night. Both teams scored two runs each in the sixth and seventh frames, but the Eagles' offense erupted as they tacked on five runs in the eighth.

The team batting average of .278 is second in the A-SUN behind FGCU. Junior Terence Norman leads the Owls' offense with a .328 batting average and 40 hits.

Junior Garrett Hodges has launched a team-high six home runs and 27 RBIs. He has cranked out 10 extra-base hits, the second-most behind senior Jake Franklin's 16.

Senior Brooks Buckler (2-2) owns a team-low 3.17 ERA through his eight starts this season. Sophomore Ryan Kennedy (3-2) has struck out 37 batters and conceded eight extra-base hits.

The Owls' pitching staff owns a 4.55 ERA and has allowed 190 runs through 34 games.


Series History:
Friday's game marks the 40th meeting in the series between the two teams, which FGCU currently leads 25-14. The Eagles have earned a 10-6 advantage over the Owls at Swanson Stadium as well as a 12-5 edge at Stillwell Stadium. The teams are split 3-3 in neutral site matchups.

Last year, the Green and Blue won two-of-three against Kennesaw State in an April series at Swanson Stadium. The Owls took the first game 2-1, but the Eagles responded with a 3-0 shutout win on Saturday and a 4-3 triumph in Sunday's rubber match. In 2015, FGCU bested KSU 6-2 in the A-SUN Championship game at Swanson Stadium to take home the title.

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for all three games and will air livestream on the Kennesaw State Facebook page.

Starters:
Game One: Studstill vs Buckler
Game Two: Lumbert vs Kennedy
Game Three: Shuck vs senior Jake Rothwell

Livestats Links:

Game One: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=242227

Game Two and Three: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=242241

Game Three: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=242242

Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/KennesawStateOwls/