KENNESAW, Ga. – The FGCU softball team (22-24, 5-10 Atlantic Sun) hits the road to face Kennesaw State (29-14, 10-5 Atlantic Sun). The Green and Blue open up the series today with first pitch slated for 8 p.m. The series concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 18 with first pitch at 1 p.m.

The Eagles will get their first look at Kennesaw State this season. The Green and Blue won three of four games last year and hold a 14-5 all-time record against the Owls.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
Senior Kelsey Carpenter (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) leads the team in homeruns (5), hits (45), RBI (30), slugging percentage (.523), walks (17) and total bases (69). Freshman Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) has a team-high 30 runs, 21 stolen bases and a batting average of .354.

Junior Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley HS) leads the Eagles with a 3.16 ERA. Dobson has notched 10 wins, which is good for seventh most in the A-Sun, to lead the Green and Blue while adding a team-best 76 strikeouts.

Offensively, the team has held a combined batting average of .268 to go along with 154 RBI and 182 runs. In the circle, the Eagles have a combined ERA of 4.03 in 293.1 innings pitched and have a total of 177 strikeouts.

THE OWLS
At the plate, Kennesaw State is led by Megan Veringa who is batting .354 and slugging .523 through 42 games. Veringa also adds eight homeruns, 46 hits, 43 runs batted in and 81 total bases. Hilary Kartman is the second threat in the Owls lineup with 11 homers and 34 RBI while batting .273.

In the circle, Paige Morgan leads the team with an 11-4 record and an ERA of 3.50. Kennesaw State's team ERA is nearly 1.2 runs lower than its opponents.

Under interim head coach Troy Acheson, Kennesaw State was selected to finish sixth in the preseason Atlantic Sun Coaches' Poll, two spots behind FGCU. The team finished last season with an overall record of 24-29 and an A-Sun mark of 13-12.

UP NEXT
FGCU will take a week off from A-Sun play as they travel to FAU on Wednesday, Apr. 22 for a doubleheader with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. After the midweek contest, the Eagles will travel to FIU on Saturday, Apr. 25 for another doubleheader with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.

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  .687 (511-235-3). 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.