05/11/2026

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Florida Gulf Coast University baseball team (33-17, 16-10 ASUN) defeated the University of West Georgia (13-38, 10-17 ASUN) 5-2 at Swanson Stadium on Sunday, sweeping its three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series over the Wolves.

A diamond commencement: Honoring the seniors

Prior to Sunday’s game, the Eagles held a Senior Day ceremony honoring Simon Aluko, Levent Eldem, Ashton Pocol, Nathan Gagon, Jaret Nelson, and Logan Eisenbarth. FGCU President Aysegul Timur also presided over a special pregame graduation ceremony for Eldem, Pocol, and Jordan Vera, who missed the university’s formal commencement the previous weekend while the team was away for a three-game series at Stetson.

FGCU Head Coach Dave Tollett reflected on the significance of the veteran group following the win. “To watch them grow up as men first of all and you go from boys to men it’s just one of the special things that a lot of people don’t see from the coaching side,” Tollett said. “I mean they’re tremendous, tremendous human beings along with being great baseball players.”

First pitches and flowers: Celebrating Mother’s Day

FGCU also celebrated Mother’s Day with a special ceremony featuring the players and their mothers. In a coordinated tribute, the mothers lined up on the diamond to throw out ceremonial first pitches to their sons before the start of the series finale.

With the series sweep, FGCU moved to 16-10 in ASUN play, securing second place in the Graphite Division. The Eagles officially clinched a berth in the ASUN Championship following Saturday night’s 10-5 victory in game two. North Florida remains atop the division at 19-8, while Jacksonville (14-13) and Stetson (11-15) sit in third and fourth place, respectively.

The mentality: ‘Great teams play in May’

“Well I think if you look at our history here we want to be good in May. Great teams play in May and we will keep that focus going into Tuesday against FAU, and we’ll keep that focus heading into Jacksonville and then roll into the tournament,” Tollett said of the clinch. “We’re extremely happy about making the tournament. I’ve been the eighth seed in the tournament, I’ve been the one seed in the tournament. Been the one seed and been bounced, been the eight seed and been playing in the championship. It’s about getting in, it’s about who’s hot and we want to be playing our best baseball here in May.”

The “May Baseball” mentality Tollett describes is rooted in a culture senior pitcher Pocol and teammate Evan Dempsey attribute to the senior class. Pocol highlighted Jaret Nelson as a standard-bearer for the team’s “blue-collar” work ethic. “He’s the same guy every day. He’s putting in hard work every day. We kind of build off that. We see him going to work for all of us,” Pocol said.

Dempsey, echoed those sentiments, noting that his veteran teammates taught him the importance of intentionality. “I would say you’ve got to lace your shoes up every single day with a purpose,” Dempsey said. “I’ve lived with them for three years… you’ve got to play every game like it’s your last and for these guys it’s come to them for some of them, but I still got to play for them every day.”

Dempsey leads the charge on Senior Day

Starting pitcher Hunter Possehl and reliever Pocol provided a steady presence on the mound, combining to limit the Wolves to five hits as FGCU finished the afternoon with six total strikeouts. Dempsey led the offensive charge, going 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run, three RBIs, and a run scored.

While Dempsey is a junior, his performance throughout his career at FGCU has many expecting his name to be called in the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft in July.

“He’s a special one. He goes under that list of one of the best ever to play here,” Tollett said of Dempsey. “We’ve had some great ones but he is a tremendous baseball player and a great human being, but to say goodbye to one of those guys that those records are going to stand for a long time is really special because you’ve got a lot of wins from that kid. You’ve got a lot of hits from that kid. I think his best baseball’s ahead of him so we’re extremely happy for Evan.”

The rally: Reclaiming the lead in the seventh

West Georgia held a 2-1 lead until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Eagles manufactured two runs to reclaim a 3-2 advantage. Jeremy Comer sparked the rally by drawing a leadoff walk, with Drew Seidel entering the game to pinch-run. Gagnon followed with a single through the left side to advance Seidel to second, and Cole Lasher — pinch-hitting for Merrick Rapoza — drew a walk to load the bases.

Following a pitching change by the Wolves, Dempsey lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Seidel for the tying run. Jon Embury then delivered the go-ahead RBI single to right field, scoring Gagnon and completing the comeback.

Insurance and the Mother’s Day motivation

The Eagles added two insurance runs in the eighth to pad the lead. Cayden Hessemyer ignited the frame with a one-out double down the right-field line, but was forced out at third on a fielder’s choice hit to shortstop by Seidel. With Seidel on first, Gagnon kept the inning alive with a single through the left side to move Seidel into scoring position. Lasher then delivered an RBI single to right field to bring Seidel home.

Dempsey capped the scoring with an RBI single through the right side, driving in Gagnon for the final 5-2 margin.

“It’s Mother’s Day. We had a great ceremony before,” Dempsey said. “Something about Mother’s Day and ceremonies that we have. I think for some reason I just play better.”

Shutting the door: Pocol eclipses a legend

Pocol, who entered in the eighth in relief of Possehl, shut the door on the Wolves in the ninth. He retired the first two batters on groundouts to shortstop before fanning the final hitter on a 2-2 count to secure the victory and the series sweep.

Pocol echoed Dempsey’s sentiments regarding Mother’s Day. “It was special. Mother’s Day I’m glad my mom was up in the stands cheering me on,” Pocol said. “I mean she’s here at every game, she’s cheering me on. Just being able to close it out for the team it’s important. It’s important for the guys to know when you’re going in this game’s over.”

Tollett noted that Pocol is finally returning to form after dealing with setbacks. “He’s got some records there too. He broke Chris Sale’s strikeouts per innings pitched. It’s a pretty special arm when he gets going. He’s had some slight injuries and now he’s back fully healthy. I mean Ash is going to be really, really key for us as we move forward but he’s a good pitcher also.”

Backtracking: The early defensive duel

West Georgia opened the scoring in the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead after Anthony Cole hit a groundout to shortstop that allowed Mason Cooper to cross the plate. FGCU answered in the third when Dempsey launched a 397-foot solo home run into right-center field to draw the Eagles even at 1-1.

The Wolves responded in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Cole that scored Patrick McCullough, reclaiming a 2-1 lead that would hold until the Eagles’ late-inning heroics.

The final box score

Possehl (4-1) earned the win, surrendering two runs on five hits while striking out four across seven innings. Pocol picked up his fourth save of the season and the 10th save of his career, striking out two in two innings of relief. Davis Williams (1-3) took the loss for the Wolves, giving up two runs on five hits in two innings of work out of the bullpen.

Up next

FGCU remains home for its final game at Swanson Stadium as they face nonconference opponent Florida Atlantic University on Tuesday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.

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