FORT MYERS, Fla. – The bats of the FGCU softball team scored four runs in the first three innings, helping the Eagles to a 5-1 victory over Stetson Sunday afternoon. With the win alongside the results from around the Atlantic Sun, FGCU is now in a tie for first place with two other teams. The Eagles are now 21-20 on the season with a 5-4 record in the A-Sun meanwhile the Hatters fall to 27-18 and 6-5 in conference play.

"That was a great team win from start to finish," said head coach David Deiros. "We put the pressure on early and really other than a bad defensive inning, I thought our kids did a fantastic job in all aspects of the game. Every series is important, every game is important and every pitch is important. You can't take any time off because the teams in our conference are that good. If you want to be in it at the end, you have to take every opportunity seriously."

Helped along by another solid performance in the circle by Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS), the Eagles utilized two clutch singles in the first to take a 2-0 lead. Stetson grabbed one back in the second inning but FGCU plated another on a Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) double, her 39th RBI of the season to move in front 3-1. Bri Innamorato (Mullica Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace HS) tacked on another run in the third and Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) capped the scoring in the fifth to complete the 5-1 win for the Green and Blue.

Randolph worked around a leadoff single to keep the Hatters off the board in the first, allowing her offense to put her in front. Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) led off the FGCU first with a single and stole second before moving to third on a Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) sacrifice bunt. Louie Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) then came through with two outs, singling to left field to put FGCU in front 1-0. After a pair of walks to load the bases, Bree Tourtillott (Dixon, Ill./Tallahassee Community College/Oregon HS) also singled to left, scoring Ross to put FGCU in front 2-0.

Stetson took advantage of an Eagle error in the second inning to score its lone run of the game off of Randolph but the freshman limited the damage, sending FGCU back to the plate with a 2-1 lead. Again with two outs, the Eagles came through. After McAvoy singled, Fournet doubled to left to score the senior from first giving the Eagles a 3-1 lead after two innings of play.

After a scoreless third for the Hatters, Innamorato plated Carissa LiCata (Okeechobee, Fla./Okeechobee HS) with a bunt single, extending the lead to 4-1. Following a scoreless fourth, a Lopez double plated Tourtillott to make it 5-1, allowing Randolph to comfortably close out the win.

The freshman worked a flawless sixth before allowing only a single in the seventh to close out the win for the Green and Blue. The victory was Randolph's tenth of the season. She tossed a complete game, allowing one unearned run on six hits, striking out five batters.

Fournet led the way at the plate with two hits in a game where nine Eagles collected a hit and five tallied an RBI.

UP NEXT
The Eagles remain at home as Kennesaw State comes to Fort Myers for a three-game series. Action at the FGCU Softball Complex begins Saturday, April 16 with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. before the series concludes Sunday, April 17 at 1 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 (533-262-3). 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.