FORT MYERS, Fla. – Carrying the No. 1 seed into the Atlantic Sun Softball Championships, FGCU softball earned a first round bye and awaits the winner of No. 4 Kennesaw State and No. 5 Lipscomb as the Eagles look to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. The Owls and Lady Bisons meet Wed. to determine who will advance to play the host Eagles Thurs. at 12:30 p.m. at the FGCU Softball Complex.

Tournament passes will be available for $15 for adults and $10 for youth (ages 3-12) and individual session tickets will be available for $7 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 3-12). No team pass lists will be accepted. Admission for all college students presenting a valid student ID from any A-Sun institution will be free. Children 2 years and under will be admitted free.

Live stats will be available through the Atlantic Sun website and all games can be streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
Ending the season on a six-game winning streak, FGCU secured its third A-Sun regular season title and its first outright title in program history. Ending the season 30-25 and 13-5 in conference play, FGCU dominated the conference postseason awards. Of the five superlative awards, the Eagles claimed four. Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) earned Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of Year honors after ending the year with a 1.48 ERA and 15 wins. Louie Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) was named the conference's Player of the Year after hitting a conference-best .410 with nine doubles, 2 triples, and three home runs. Head coach David Deiros was tabbed the Coach of the Year as well.

The Eagles also placed Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) and Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) on the First Team, while Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) and Bri Innamorato (Mullica Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace HS) garnered Second Team honors. Fournet and Randolph also earned spots on the All-Freshman Team.

Huff finished second on the team with a .371 average and 23 stolen bases. Behind her, Fournet enters the tournament hitting .365 with 16 doubles and seven home runs.

Along with Randolph, FGCU carries Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Tallahassee Community College/Kankakee Valley HS), Taylor Wade (Pace, Fla./Pace HS), and Gabbee Draney (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) on its pitching staff. Dobson brings a 3.62 ERA into the tournament, followed closely by Wade at 4.00 and Draney at 4.36.  Every Eagle pitcher has recorded more than 50 innings this season and four wins.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Eagles are 6-4 in the A-Sun tournament with three of those victories coming in 2012. As the No. 1 seed that season, FGCU claimed wins over Jacksonville, Stetson, and Kennesaw State to earn its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

In previous seasons, FGCU was the No. 6 seed in 2014, earning two wins and the No. 3 seed in 2013, defeating Kennesaw State.

In A-Sun history, the No. 1 seed has emerged champions on 19 of 29 occasions.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
The Eagles took two-of-three from the Owls earlier this season. Kennesaw State finished the year 27-26 and 8-10 in conference play to claim the No. 4 seed. Kennesaw States likes to run, stealing 126 bases this season. Taylor Denton continues to lead the Owls with a .323 average and 31 stolen bases while Kara Chambers is second on the team with 24 stolen bases to compliment her .291 average. Kennesaw State isn't all speed however. Courtney Sutter, a Second Team All-Conference honoree, has hit eight home runs and driven in 30 runs in 2016.

In the circle Logan Viers, another Second Team selection, leads the Owls with a 1.76 ERA to earn 11 wins on the season. Viers has 110 strikeouts through 147 innings. Morgan Sikes also carries a sub-2.00 ERA into the tournament and a team-leading 12 wins.

With the two wins earlier this season, FGCU is 16-8 all-time against Kennesaw State. FGCU is also 3-0 against Kennesaw State in postseason play. The latest meeting in the A-Sun Championships came in 2014, a 5-3 win for the Green and Blue. The Eagles and Owls also met in 2012, an 8-0 win for FGCU.

SCOUTING THE LADY BISONS
Lipscomb was the only program to claim the season series against FGCU, earning two wins over the Eagles back in early Apr. Brittany Elmore and Abby Fenichel were named First Team All-Conference after leading Lipscomb to a 26-27 record in 2016 and an 8-10 record in A-Sun play. The preseason favorites, Lipscomb enters as the No. 5 seed. Elmore ended the year pacing the offense with a .369 average while scoring 36 runs. Sarah Higgins, a Second Team honoree, finished the year hitting .256 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs.

Kelly Young earned Second Team honors following a 13-11 season and a 3.04 ERA. Young recorded three shutouts this season over 161 innings of work. In addition, Lipscomb looks to Tanner Sanders in the circle. Sanders finished with a 9-14 record along with a 2.51 ERA.

Lipscomb's two wins this season against FGCU improved its record over the Eagles to 14-8. The two sides have never met in postseason play.  

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 is in 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 .669 (542-266-3). 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.