The FGCU baseball team is set for a highly anticipated showdown with the Miami Hurricanes coming to Fort Myers for a midweek game.
Last season, the two teams met at Swanson Stadium with over 2,000 fans lined up to watch the Eagles shut out Miami 3-0.
Head coach Dave Tollett has yet to announce a starter, but it looks like it is set up for Evan Lumbert who was skipped on Sunday and pitched three innings to prepare himself for the game.
The Hurricanes are 12-11 on the season, but are coming off a sweep of #24 Virginia. They also have wins over #23 Duke, #21 UCF and the reigning national champions #1 Florida. Offensively, Miami is led by Isaac Quinones with a .392 batting average and Hunter Tackett at .333. Their leader in RBIs is Rimy Gonzalez at 11. Compared to the Eagles, FGCU has eight players with 11 or more RBIs and have scored nearly double the runs the Hurricanes have scored.
However, they have had a very successful season on the mound with a team ERA under three. Daniel Federman, Jeremy Cook and Cooper Hammond have all pitched really well out of the bullpen and may possibly have Marc Stewart on the mound as he last pitched last Wednesday in a midweek game against FAU.
For the Eagles, Eric Gonzalez has been a huge surprise, getting inserted into the lineup after a Jake Smith injury and batting a team-high .404 on the season. Marc Coffers and Gage Morey each have averages just under .400. Spencer Levine has hit a couple of home runs in the past week despite having a sub .200 batting average.
Pitching wise, the likely starter Evan Lumbert is 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA. His four starts have come on Sundays and helped pitch three scoreless innings after Brian Wilcox was pulled in the first inning without recording an out. Closer Kenton Herring has also put his tough start aside and leads the team with four wins out of the bullpen.
After this game, the Eagles will head on the road for a series with Jackson State before heading to face the Gators in another midweek game.