FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Softball team (10-11) will host the FGCU/Four Points by Sheraton Spring Break Classic Friday Mar. 6 through Sunday Mar. 8. The tournament will include Pittsburgh, LIU Brooklyn, Boston University and Quinnipiac.
The Green and Blue will begin the tournament against LIU Brooklyn at 4:45 p.m. and Boston University at 7 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, they will take on Quinnipiac at 4:45 p.m. and Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. The Eagles will conclude play on Sunday with a start time and opponent to be determined.
500 CAREER WINSHead coach
David Deiros enters the weekend one win away from 500 on his career. He has compiled a 499-222-3 record in 13 seasons and has built the FGCU softball program from the dirt up.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELDFGCU will begin the tournament on Friday against the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn. LIU comes into the tournament with a 3-15 record with wins over Georgia Tech, Florida A&M and Princeton. At the plate, The Blackbirds are led by outfielder Whitney West who is hitting .322 with seven runs batted in, 19 hits and eight runs while swiping six bases. Sophomore Shelley Procter has started the majority of the games for LIU Brooklyn pitching 55 innings, striking out 32 while holding a record of 1-9.
The Eagles will take on the Terriers of Boston University in their second game on Friday. The Terriers come into the weekend holding a record of 0-10 with key losses to No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 15 Washington, No. 21 Arizona State and No. 22 Texas A&M. Lauren Hynes leads Boston University with a .316 batting average and six hits with three RBI while slugging .368. Moriah Connolly adds eight hits and nine runs while hitting .276. In the circle, Sydni Overly holds a 3.27 ERA over 15 innings while striking out nine to lead the Terrier pitching staff.
FGCU will open the second day of the tournament against Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats come into the tournament holding a 1-3 record with their lone win coming against Army. Infielder Molly Jarrett leads Qunnipiac with a .571 batting average with one homerun and three RBI. Nikki Barba leads the team with four runs batted in and a .417 batting average. Sydney Robey is the top starting pitcher for the Bobcats with a 1-2 record over seven innings with two strikeouts.
The Saturday evening game for the Green and Blue will be played against Pittsburgh. The Panthers come into the weekend holding a 15-2 record with key victories over Virginia, Rutgers and Winthrop. At the plate, Pittsburgh is led by Shelby Pickett who is hitting .477 with 31 hits, three homeruns, 19 runs batted in and is slugging .754. McKayla Taylor is the second threat in the Panthers lineup with five homers, 16 RBI while hitting .440. Savannah King has been the work horse in the circle pitching 52 innings and compiling a 9-0 record with a 1.75 ERA. Kayla Harris has also pitched 42 innings with a 4-2 record and an ERA of 2.50.
The Eagles will play one game on Sunday against one of the four teams in the tournament depending on records after the first two days.
THE GREEN AND BLUEThe Eagles enter the weekend with a 10-11 record after facing tough competition in several tournaments to open the season.
Offensively, the Eagles are led by senior
Kelsey Carpenter (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) who is hitting .372 on the season with 20 hits, three doubles, two triples, a homerun and 14 RBI. The outfielder is holding a slugging percentage of .517 through 21 games with a fielding percentage of 1.000. Freshman Chandler
Middlebrook (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale HS) leads the team with two homeruns while adding 10 runs batted in.
The pitching staff is led by senior
Shelby Morgan (High Springs, Fla./Sante Fe HS) who is 4-1 on the season with 23 strikeouts and a 2.98 ERA in 44.2 innings. Junior
Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley High School) has also been a major contributor in the circle holding a 3-2 record on the season. Dobson has pitched 33.2 innings with 29 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.53.
THE TOURNAMENTThe FGCU/Four Points Sheraton Spring Break Classic will get underway Friday at 10 a.m. as Pittsburgh takes on Quinnipiac. The tournament will feature five games on Friday, five games on Saturday and three games on Sunday for a total of 13 contests, all at the FGCU Softball Complex.
Tickets for the FGCU/Four Points Sheraton Spring Break Classic are available at a cost of $6 for adults and $3 for children. Tickets provide entrance to the entire day of the tournament. For more ticket information and additional deals, visit FGCUathletics.com/tickets, or call or visit the ticket office at 239-590-7145.
For further information on the FGCU/Four Points Sheraton Spring Break Classic visit the Tournament Central page on FGCUAthletics.com.
THE SCHEDULEFriday, Mar. 610 a.m. Pittsburgh vs. Quinnipiac
12:15 p.m. LIU Brooklyn vs. Quinnipiac
2:30 p.m. Boston University vs. Pittsburgh
4:45 p.m. FGCU vs. LIU Brooklyn 7 p.m. FGCU vs. Boston UniversitySaturday, Mar. 710 a.m. LIU Brooklyn vs. Boston University
12:15 p.m. Quinnipiac vs. Boston University
2:30 p.m. Pittsburgh vs. LIU Brooklyn
4:45 p.m. FGCU vs. Quinnipiac 7 p.m. FGCU vs. Pittsburgh Sunday, Mar. 8 9 a.m. Quinnipiac vs. TBA
11:15 a.m. TBA vs. TBA
1:30 p.m. TBA vs. TBA
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 .689 (499-222-3). 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.
