DeLAND, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (20-19, 3-6 Atlantic Sun) dropped the series finale against Stetson (22-7, 5-1 Atlantic Sun) by an 8-3 score on Sunday afternoon at Patricia Wilson Field.

"You have to give Stetson a lot of credit," said head coach David Deiros.  "They made a lot of plays in all facets of the game and made some very impressive defensive plays in pressure situations. There is no question that the effort is there from our team, but we are not executing well. We go back to the drawing board and get ready for USC Upstate this weekend."

Junior Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley HS) took the circle for the Green and Blue and pitched four innings, allowing four runs, three earned and four hits, while walking two and striking out two. Senior Shelby Morgan (High Springs, Fla./Sante Fe HS) entered the game in the fifth and could only get two outs before being replaced by sophomore Taylor Wade (Pace, Fla./Pace HS). Morgan allowed four hits, four earned runs, walked one, and struck out one. Wade finished the game for the Eagles and retired all four batters she faced.

The Eagles scored their first two runs in the first inning off of two hits. Freshman Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) led off the game with a bunt single. Huff then advanced to second when junior Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) reached after being hit by a pitch. After Huff and McAvoy stole third and second, freshman Michaela Hynes (Windermere, Fla./West Orange High School) knocked Huff in from third with a sacrifice fly to right. Junior Alexis Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) then singled through the right side to score McAvoy from third.

FGCU added its final run in the seventh inning when freshman Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) scored on a sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of McAvoy.

Stetson scored its eight runs off of two home runs and a double and had a total of eight hits on the day.

The Green and Blue return to action next weekend for a three-game series with USC Upstate. The conference matchup will begin with a doubleheader on Friday, April 3, with start times slated for 5 and 7 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, April 4.

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  .690 (509-230-3). 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.