TAMPA, Fla. – The FGCU Softball team (4-5) took on St. John's University (3-4) of the American Athletic Conference and Fordham University (4-4) of the Atlantic-10 Conference on Saturday at the USF President's Day Weekend Tournament. The Green and Blue split their double header, beating St. John's 2-1 and falling to Fordham by an 11-1 count.

"We are a work in progress," said head coach David Deiros. "I am encouraged by the way that we played against St. John's. We just need to make sure that we can put complete games together against the better teams on our schedule. The cool part about it is that we get to go out again tomorrow and play USF."

The Eagles needed a rally in the sixth inning to pull out the win against St. John's during their first game of the day. However, in the second game against Fordham, the offensive was stifled as they only scored one run.

GAME ONE
The Green and Blue sent freshman Gabbee Draney (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep High School) to the circle in the first game of the day. The freshman threw a complete game allowing three hits, one run, striking out three and walking five. Draney improves her record to 1-2 with the win.  

FGCU scored its first run in the bottom of the first when Chandler Middlebrook (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale High School) singled to left field scoring Kelsey Carpenter (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) who was on base via a fielder's choice earlier in the inning.

The Red Storm tied the game in the sixth inning with an RBI single through the right side. That hit could have given them the lead if Stimson was not thrown out at home on the play when Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) fielded the ball in right and threw home to Christine Marino (Miami, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes HS/Bryan College). Marino miss played the ball, but hustled to chase it down and threw it to Draney covering the plate to preserve the tie.

The Eagles came away with a 2-1 win against the Red Storm after late inning heroics from Jeanie Verderese (Jacksonville, Fla./Creekside HS) as she laid down a squeeze bunt that scored Carissa LiCata (Okeechobee, Fla./Okeechobee High School) for the final run of the game.

GAME TWO
The Eagles took on the defending Atlantic-10 Conference Champion Rams of Fordham and fell 11-1 in the afternoon game. The Rams scored a total of six runs in the second inning which involved four unearned runs that occurred after a wild pitch and an error on the catcher. The Rams scored in the first and fourth innings as well.

The Green and Blues' only run came in top of the first inning. LiCata got things started for the Eagles with a single through the left side, and would steal second. A few hitters later, Alexis Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) came up to bat and singled up the middle, scoring LiCata on the play.

The Eagles sent Junior Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley High School) to the circle against Fordham. She would pitch two innings, allowing seven hits, seven runs, three earned and stuck out two. Dobson's record drops to 1-1 on the year. Senior Shelby Morgan (High Springs, Fla./Sante Fe HS) would make a two-inning relief appearance where she allowed three hits, four earned runs and one walk.

FGCU will conclude play at the USF President's Day Weekend Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 15 when they take on the Bulls of USF at 2 p.m.

THE SCHEDULE 
Friday, Feb. 13
No. 11 Tennessee: 9 FGCU: 2
FGCU: 12 Detroit: 2

Saturday, Feb 14
FGCU: 2 St. John's: 1
Fordham: 11 FGCU: 1

Sunday, Feb 15
2 p.m. USF vs. FGCU

OTHER SCORES AT TOURNAMENT
Fordham: 3 St. John's: 0
No. 11 Tennessee: 5 Fordham: 0
USF: 4 St. John's: 2
USF: 8 Detroit: 0
St. John's: 3 Detroit: 2

For up-to-the minute information on the FGCU softball program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_Softball and Instagram at fgcusoftball and stay tuned at FGCUAthletics.com.

The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros enters his 13th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to 11 seasons with a winning record, eight campaigns with 35+ wins and a win percentage of .695 (492-215-3). The 2014 Eagles finished with a 33-26-1 and wins over SEC, Big 10, Big East, and ACC opponents.  FGCU finished their season with an RPI ranking in the top-100 for the 3rd consecutive season and the 5th time in their seven years at Division I. Deiros is a former head coach at the 1998 Florida State Runner-up Lely High School in Naples and is the founding head coach of the 1999