Florida Gulf Coast University will secure a first-round bye in the upcoming Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament with one win during its final regular season series at Jacksonville, according to a May 13 announcement. The Eagles are currently on an eight-game conference winning streak that began three weeks ago and includes victories over North Florida, Stetson, and West Georgia.
The team enters the series with a record of 33-18 overall and 16-10 in conference play. Jacksonville stands at 29-23 overall and 14-13 in the ASUN. FGCU’s only home series loss this season came against Jacksonville, despite holding a strong home record of 22-8—the best in the conference. In contrast, Jacksonville has also performed well at home with a 19-9 record at John Sessions Stadium.
A sweep by FGCU could push Jacksonville down to fourth place in the division depending on other results within the conference. The Dolphins have only been swept once before by FGCU, back in 2008.
FGCU leads the league statistically with both the highest batting average and lowest earned run average (ERA). Their pitchers have tallied over one hundred more strikeouts than any other ASUN team this season. The Eagles are also notable for having three pitchers ranked among the top ten in ERA, four hitters among the top ten in batting average, and five hitters among the top ten for hits.
While FGCU holds an all-time advantage over Jacksonville (42 wins to 29), games played at John Sessions Stadium favor Jacksonville by a margin of 15 to 12. After concluding their regular season games against Jacksonville, FGCU will proceed directly to DeLand for participation in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
