FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Softball team (12-11) picked up a pair of wins against LIU Brooklyn (4-16) and Boston University (0-12) on Friday at the FGCU Softball Complex. In the first game the Eagles beat LIU by 7-1 score before beating Boston University by a 6-1 count in the second game.
David Deiros earned his 500th career win in the Eagles' first game of the day against LIU Brooklyn. He has compiled a 501-222-3 record in 13 seasons as the head coach.
Senior
Shelby Morgan (High Springs, Fla./Sante Fe HS) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning for the Eagles in game one against the Blackbirds. Senior
Kelsey Carpenter (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) played a key role in the offense during game one, going 1-2 with two runs batted in, two walks and a run scored. Senior
Christine Marino (Miami, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes HS/Bryan College) contributed two hits in three at-bats with a run scored as well.
In game two, freshman
Brittany McGuire (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) did the heavy lifting in the batter's box going 2-3 with four RBI, with one of the hits being a two-run bomb to right center.
"All 500 means is that I am old," laughed Deiros after the doubleheader. "It means that I have had a bunch of really good players over our 13 years here to go ahead and put us in a great situation to win ballgames. The win today is not for me, I never pitched a ball, I never hit a ball, I never caught a ball, that's not what this is about. This is about all of the kids that have come in beforehand, played the right way, graduated and really put FGCU up on the map. I could not be more proud of all of them."
GAME ONEMorgan earned the complete-game victory against LIU Brooklyn to improve her record to 5-1 on the season. The senior allowed three hits, one earned run, did not issue a walk and struck out two.
Freshman
Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) led off the game with a single up the middle. Huff got caught stealing and with two outs in the inning, before Carpenter reached on a walk with two outs and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After a McGuire walk, junior
Alexis Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) singled to left scoring Carpenter on the play for the first run of the game.
With one out in the bottom of the second, Marino reached first on a single to left. Freshman
Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) reached first after being hit by a pitch that would advance Marino to second. Huff then walked on a 3-2 count, after battling through seven pitches, to load the bases. Freshman
Ashley Swiderski (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and hit an RBI groundout to the pitcher that scored Marino. On a 1-1 count, Carpenter singled through the right side to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead.
After Ross reached on a walk with one out in the third, sophomore
Jeanie Verderese (Jacksonville, Fla./Creekside HS) singled through the left side. Marino then hit the ball to the Blackbirds second basemen who threw out Verderese at second, but on the attempt to get Marino at first Ross scored with both runners safe on the play.
The Eagles tacked on their final two runs of the game in the sixth inning. Marino started things off with a one out single up the middle, and was replaced by pinchrunner
Carissa LiCata (Okeechobee, Fla./Okeechobee HS). Lopez then singled to the pitcher, and on the attempt to get LiCata at third the LIU first basemen threw the ball away, allowing her to score with Lopez advancing to third. Pinch hitter
Michaela Hynes (Windermere, Fla./West Orange HS) stepped to the plate and hit an RBI single down the left-field line to move the score to 7-1.
The Blackbirds only run of the game came in the fifth inning off of an RBI single to the left side.
GAME TWOThe Green and Blue sent junior
Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley HS) to the circle against the Terriers. Dobson improved her record to 4-2 with a complete-game victory, allowing one earned run, five hits, two walks and struck out seven.
Boston University's only run came in the top of the seventh with an RBI single that went back to the pitcher.
The Eagles scored three in the first inning to get things started against the Terriers. Huff led things off again for FGCU as she reached first on a walk. Carpenter reached via another walk before McGuire hit an RBI double down the left-field line that scored Huff on the play. Carpenter scored and McGuire advanced to third on the next pitch after the catcher let the ball get away. McGuire would then score on an RBI groundout for the final run of the inning.
McGuire added two more runs for the Green and Blue in the fifth inning when she hit a homer to right center that scored Carpenter, who had reached on a walk to start the inning. The final run of the game for FGCU came in the sixth when McGuire added her fourth RBI of the game on a groundout to first base that scored Huff.
The Eagles continue the FGCU/Four Points by Sheraton Spring Break Classic Saturday, Mar. 7 as they take on Quinnipiac at 4:45 p.m. and Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. at the FGCU Softball Complex.
THE SCHEDULEFriday, Mar. 6Pittsburgh 8 Quinnipiac 0
LIU Brooklyn 9 Quinnipiac 0
Pittsburgh 1 Boston University 0
FGCU 7 LIU Brooklyn 1FGCU 6 Boston University 1Saturday, 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 .692 (501-222-3). 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.
