College baseball: Last-season slump knocks defending champ FGCU out of ASUN tournament

The Florida Gulf Coast University baseball team would love to follow Stetson's lead next season.

A year ago, the Hatters went 27-29, got hot in the Atlantic Sun to finish second, then struck out in two conference tournament games.

This season, Stetson is 41-11, including 15-3 in ASUN play. They are ranked 13th. The Hatters are the regular-season conference champions and the top seeds for the six-team ASUN tournament that begins Wednesday at North Florida.

The Eagles (33-21, 8-13)-- who made their first-ever NCAA tournament last season and beat third-seeded Michigan in a first-rounder at North Carolina -- join outgoing conference member USC Upstate as the only two teams not to make this year's ASUN draw.

FGCU was ranked early in the season, but lost nine of its last 10 games.

Lipscomb, which took two of three from FGCU on Thursday and Saturday in Nashville, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology brushed by the Eagles and Spartans by just a game in the standings.

The Eagles, who were tabbed by the conference's coaches to finish second behind Stetson, had missed the ASUN tournament when eligible only once before, in 2011.

The ASUN is not your typical mid-major. In fact, of 32 conferences it rates seventh in baseball.

"We ran into some arms; I mean this is the best the conference has been since 2010 when we had three first-rounders (including Boston Red Sox All-Star Chris Sale, the former Eagle who was selected 13th overall)," FGCU program-founding coach Dave Tollett said.

"Stetson's getting ready to host (an NCAA regional). They'll be the first ASUN team ever to host. They are really, really good. They've got a first-rounder, they probably have a fourth-rounder and probably a future first-, second- or third-rounder. They could pitch in the SEC."

Eye on the Eagles: Have to play favorites with Rivera

Tollett knew the season would be a challenge after losing ASUN Player of the Year Nick Rivera (.303, 20 home runs as a senior), a Bishop Verot grad and third team All-American, junior All-ASUN shortstop Julio Gonzalez (.326, 39 RBIs two seasons ago; taken by the Kansas City Royals in the 17th round last summer), All-ASUN pitcher Kutter Crawford (1.71 ERA as a junior; taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 16th round), former All-ASUN Tournament team member Matt Reardon, an important second baseman who didn't recover from a knee injury suffered late during his junior season, and Tollett's forever right-hand man Rusty McKee to retirement from the craft.

But he did not see this coming.

"I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn't know it was going to be that tough," Tollett said.

The Eagles weren't at all statistically bad. With an average of .280, FGCU was second in ASUN batting behind Jacksonville's .293, which also illustrates the power of ASUN pitching. The Eagles' 41 home runs was the best among ASUN teams as was the .406 slugging percentage.

At 4.17, FGCU's ERA was third, but well behind Stetson's 2.61. The Eagles took a big hit on April 20 when they lost key sophomore reliever Trey Vickery (2-0; team-leading 2.21 ERA) to injury.

"He was our best numbers guy and our stopper and closer," Tollett said. "It really, really hurt us late."

Longtime FGCU baseball assistant McKee retiring

FGCU sat at 19-5 and was ranked No. 22 after a 1-0 home win against Miami on March 28.

"I thought we had it rolling, I really did," Tollett said. "I thought we had picked up right where we left off. And we got to 30 wins pretty easy."

But the Eagles sank from there, going 14-16 the rest of the way. They dropped nine of their final 10 games.

FGCU's Rivera overcomes parents' drug use, arrests

FGCU hit just .224 over its last 15 games as the Eagles tried to make up ground.

"Everyone started sort of pressing, trying to pick it up, and it went the opposite way," Tollett said.

Especially with Rivera making the transition from key player and team leader to crazy-busy graduate assistant coach, and with McKee no longer around, "leadership" was lacking in the clubhouse, Tollett said.

"We stumbled last year and started 14-16 and because of leadership got it turned around," Tollett said.

Tollett understands what happened and why, but is having a very tough time with this. 

"I'm not handling it well," Tollett said. "I've never felt this bad in 30 years of coaching."