FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (15-13) took on Pittsburgh (20-4) of the Atlantic Coast Conference and SIU Edwardsville (16-5) from the Ohio Valley Conference on Tuesday at the FGCU Softball Complex. The Eagles split the two games, falling to the Panthers by a 7-3 count before shutting out the Cougars, 3-0.
In game one, junior
Alexis Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) went 1-3 while freshman
Michaela Hynes (Windermere, Fla./West Orange High School) added a hit and the only RBI of the game for the Eagles.
In game two, junior
Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley HS) earned the complete-game victory to improve her record to 6-2 on the season. Dobson allowed five hits, zero runs, walked two and struck out five.
After not having a shutout through their first 15 games of the season, the Eagles have now posted four in the last 13 contests and three in the last nine. In that nine-game stretch FGCU is 7-2, and in the seven victories it has outscored its opponents by a 37-5 margin.
Freshman
Chandler Middlebrook (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale HS) did the heavy lifting in the batter's box against the Cougars, going 2-3 with two RBI, with one of the hits being a two-run bomb to left center.
"Those were two very competitive games against some very good softball teams," said head coach
David Deiros. "It was great preparation for the start of our Atlantic Sun season this upcoming weekend. Our kids have gotten enough repetitions and enough practice to get ready to go. The real season starts Saturday and we are looking forward to it."
GAME ONESenior
Shelby Morgan (High Springs, Fla./Sante Fe HS) took the circle in the first game of the day against the Panthers. The senior pitched six innings, allowing nine hits, six runs, four earned, walked four and struck out one. Freshman
Gabbee Draney (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) worked an inning of relief, allowing one hit, one earned run and walked one.
Pittsburgh started the game quickly scoring its five runs in the top of the first inning. The Panthers added a run in the fourth and sixth innings to go along with their 10 hits on the day.
The Eagles scored two in the first inning to get on the board against the Panthers. Freshman
Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) led off the game for FGCU as she reached on a walk. Junior
Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) then reached on a fielder's choice with Huff out at second.
Brittany McGuire (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) advanced McAvoy to second with a single through the right side. With two outs in the inning, Ross singled through the left side with McAvoy scoring on the throw to second. Hynes then stepped to the plate and singled to right, scoring McGuire on the play.
The Green and Blue added their final run in the fifth inning when Huff scored on a wild pitch after reaching on an error by the pitcher earlier in the inning.
GAME TWOThe Cougars could not muster a run off of five hits in the contest and only threatened in the fifth and sixth innings. In comparison, the Eagles scored three runs off of five hits in the game.
After three-and-a-half scoreless innings, Middlebrook hit a two-run shot over the wall in left center after senior
Kelsey Carpenter (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) reached on an error in the inning.
The Eagles only other run came in the fifth inning. Sophomore
Jeanie Verderese (Jacksonville, Fla./Creekside HS) started things off by reaching on a throwing error by the third baseman before Huff advanced her to second on a sacrifice bunt. McAvoy singled to left which advanced Verderese to third. McAvoy then stole second which allowed Verderese to score on the throw from the catcher.
The Eagles will open up Atlantic Sun Conference play at UNF (16-10) this Saturday, Mar. 14 and Sunday, Mar. 15 for a trio of contests. The doubleheader on Saturday is slated for 1 and 3 p.m. before the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. UNF was selected to finish fifth in A-Sun preseason poll, and the Ospreys' are currently sitting in fourth place.
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 is in 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 .691 (504-224-3). 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 District Champion/2001 Regional Runner-up Gulf Coast High School in Naples.
