FORT MYERS, Fla. – After dropping the opener Saturday to Purdue, the FGCU softball team rebounded with a walk-off win over Iowa State to end its latest homestand. Racquel Fournet hit a laser down the line in right for her fourth home run of the year, giving FGCU (16-16) a 5-4 win over the Cyclones (13-13). Earlier in the day, FGCU dropped a 9-2 contest to Purdue (17-11) around a two hour weather delay.

The Eagles fell behind 3-0 after two innings against Purdue but remained close with a two-run double off the bat of LuLu Newmark (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Bowling Green/American Heritage HS) in the third. The visitors scored a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth, giving Purdue a 6-2 lead. The Boilermakers plated three more runs in the sixth, sending FGCU to a 9-2 loss.

Both FGCU and Iowa State struggled to get the bats going through the first four innings until FGCU plated three in the fifth. Iowa State however responded with three in the top of the sixth to tie the game late. Iowa State scored the eventual winning run in the top of the seventh on an error. The Eagles won the game late, on a walk-off home run off the bat of Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School).

For us to come out of today with a split is pretty amazing," said head coach David Deiros. "You can take a lot of positive things out of that. We fought back, stayed with it and we gave ourselves an opportunity to win. The thing we need to spend the next three days correcting before we start conference play, is we need to stop finding ways to shoot ourselves in the foot. We're finding new and imaginative ways to put ourselves behind the eight ball. When you start conference play it's already hard enough to win the games you have to win."

PURDUE 9, FGCU 2
The Eagles threatened in the first, loading the bases in the first but could not plate the first run of the game. Purdue was in a similar situation in the second, but a bases clearing double put the visitors in front 3-0 after two innings.

A two-out rally kept FGCU close, beginning with a Chandler Middlebrook (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale HS) single to right. Jeanie Verderese (Jacksonville, Fla./Creekside HS) tallied a single of her own before Gabbee Draney (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) recorded a single to load the bases. Newmark then crushed a double to the wall in left, plating two forcing Purdue to go to the bullpen.

The Boilermakers put a single run on the board in the fourth and tallied two more in the fifth, pushing the deficit to 6-2.

A two-run home run capped a three-run sixth for the Boilermakers, increasing the gap to 9-2.

Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Tallahassee Community College/Kankakee Valley HS) was hit with the loss, throwing 4.2 innings while allowing five earned runs on five hits. Draney threw the final 2.1 inning, conceding three earned on four hits. Carissa LiCata (Okeechobee, Fla./Okeechobee HS) tallied a pair of hits for FGCU while Newmark drove in the only two runs.

FGCU 5, IOWA STATE 4
The Eagles and Cyclones traded lead off singles, but neither could capitalize on the situation, sending the game into the second inning scoreless. Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) continued to limit Iowa State, keeping the visitors off the scoreboard through four innings.

The freshman worked herself out of a jam in the fifth when the Cyclones put runners at second and third with only one out, but a pop out and a line out ended the inning.
In the Eagle fifth, FGCU loaded the bases on a walk and a pair of singles. Louie Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) and Fournet drove in runs with sacrifice flies putting a runner at third for Middlebrook. The sophomore singled up the middle, scoring Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) to put FGCU in front 3-0 heading into the sixth.

A two-run home run in the sixth cut the FGCU lead to 3-2 and prompting the Eagles to bring Taylor Wade (Pace, Fla./Pace HS) into the contest. Wade walked the first batter she faced and the runner would later score on an error to tie the game.

The Cyclones took their first lead of the game in the seventh, scoring on an error with two outs in the inning to take a 4-3 lead. But FGCU refused to go down quietly, with Ross reaching on an error with one out. On the very next pitch, Fournet cleared the wall down the line in right to give FGCU a 5-4 win.

Wade's two innings were enough to give her the win, allowing two unearned runs on one hit. Randolph's day ended with two runs on six hits over five innings. Fournet led the Eagles with 3 RBIs while Huff tallied two hits.

UP NEXT
The Eagles kick off Atlantic Sun play with a trip to Spartanburg, S.C. to face the defending champions, USC Upstate. The Eagles and Spartans will meet in a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 3 p.m. The finale is slated for Saturday at 12 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG
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.
 
COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros enters his 14th 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 .673 (528-258-3). The 2015 Eagles finished with a 23-30 record and wins over Atlantic 10, Southland, AAC and ACC opponents. 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.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.