FGCU Baseball @ Miami Preview

The FGCU baseball team (24-12, 6-3 A-SUN) return to Alligator Alley on Wednesday night, April 17 at 6:30 pm as they face Miami (21-12, 10-8 ACC).

Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a series win over Kennesaw State winning two-of-three games.

On Friday, the Eagles earned an 8-4 win over the Owls at Stillwell Stadium. Studstill pitched seven innings and fanned eight en route to earning his fifth win of the season. Both junior Richie Garcia and senior Eric Gonzalez notched home runs in the victory.

The teams faced off in a doubleheader on Saturday. The Green and Blue won the first game 6-4. Gonzalez led the scoring effort with three hits, three RBIs and two runs. Junior Hunter McGarry earned his sixth save of the season and is now tied for the sixth-most by an Eagle pitcher in a single season.

The offense struggled during the 4-0 loss in game two, finishing the night with just three hits. The team's current 6-3 mark in A-SUN play is the best through the opening nine games since the 2015 season.

The Eagles are currently second in the A-SUN Conference standings, behind Liberty (27-8, 9-3 A-SUN) and ahead of Jacksonville (21-15, 7-5 A-SUN).

Gonzalez was named A-SUN Player of the Week on Monday afternoon for his offensive effort in the Green and Blue's series win over Kennesaw State. Gonzalez is batting .283 with four home runs and 25 RBI.

"We're really excited for Eric. He's worked really hard," head coach Dave Tollett said. "He's totally committed to the team and he has spent a lot of time over the past 12-15 days watching film and learning about his swing, which has resuled in him making some good adjustments. He had some big hits for us in the last week and we hope he continues to keep learning and keep getting better, but we're really pleased with him."

The team has one of the best offenses in the A-SUN and sits at the top league in batting average (.284), hits (351), home runs (31), on-base percentage (.395), runs (264), scoring (7.3) and slugging percentage (.420).

Senior Jay Hayes leads the league in on-base percentage (.478), RBIs (39), home runs (8), and total bases (84).

Junior Alex Brait leads the team in both hits (53) and runs (36). The catcher has caught nine runners stealing so far this season. With two more, he will tie for 10th in the FGCU single-season standings.

Garcia and Gonzalez have combined for a total of 143 defensive assists through 36 games. Garcia is nine career assists away from registering on the FGCU top 10 list.

Opponents are currently batting .238 against the Green and Blue pitching staff. The lowest opponent batting average in program history is .243 (2013).

Junior Mason Studstill has struck out a league-high 72 batters. With 11 more Ks, he will tie for the ninth-most in a single season by an Eagle pitcher.

Scouting The Hurricanes:
This week, Miami cracked into the top 25 for the first time under first-year head coach Gino DiMare. The Hurricanes came in at No. 22 in Collegiate Baseball's NCAA Div. 1 Poll and No. 23 in the D1Baseball Top 25. They also check in at No. 20 in the most-recent RPI rankings.

The Hurricanes went 5-0 last week after winning both midweek games against FGCU and sweeping the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. for an ACC matchup.  It was the first time in program history that Miami swept Virginia.

Sophomore Raymond Gil is batting a team-high .372 and has a .651 slugging percentage. Classmate Alex Toral leads the team with 14 home runs. Overall, the Hurricanes have cranked out 50 home runs which is good for sixth in the nation.

Freshman Jordan Lala has stolen 17 bases, the third-most of any freshman in the nation. Miami's pitching staff has a 3.69 ERA, which is second in the ACC behind No. 7 Louisville's 3.14.

Series History:
Tuesday's meeting will be the third between the two teams this season. The Eagles and the Hurricanes faced off in a home-and-home series last week. On Tuesday night, the Green and Blue traveled to Mark Light Field for the first game. FGCU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the game was halted due to weather.  The Hurricanes spread nine runs over four frames to take a 9-3 lead.

The Eagles had chances to regain their lead, but Miami ultimately held on and earned a 13-9 victory.

The Hurricanes traveled to Swanson Stadium last Wednesday to complete the midweek series. Miami's starter Slade Cecconi threw five innings and did not give up any hits. The score was 10-0 Miami heading into the bottom of the ninth, but sophomore Christian Proffitt prevented the Eagles from being shutout with a pinch-hit double that scored junior pinch hitter Cameron Krzeminski.

Overall, the Hurricanes lead the series between the two teams 21-5 and have a 3-1 edge when they are ranked.