FORT MYERS, Fla. – With two victories Monday, the FGCU softball team not only clinched a spot in the Atlantic Sun Softball Championships, but the doubleheader sweep over the UNF Ospreys propelled the Eagles to the top of the A-Sun standings. Following a 6-0 win and a 5-4 victory, the Eagles are now 26-25 overall and 9-5 in the A-Sun, matching the record of the USC Upstate Spartans. The Ospreys fall to 19-26 overall and 5-9 in conference play.

Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) and Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) propelled FGCU to a series opening win over UNF Monday afternoon. After a period of rain during warmups, Randolph kept the Ospreys off the board despite a leadoff error. Huff then rounded the bases on a lead off, inside the park home run, the first in FGCU history. The Eagles tacked on two runs in both the second and third innings, allowing Randolph to cruise to her 14th win of the season, tossing a one-hit shutout in the 6-0 ballgame.

FGCU had to overcome an early 3-0 deficit in addition to a 97 minute rain delay to complete the doubleheader sweep. Guided by the top of the order and timely hitting, FGCU erased the deficit with a pair of runs in the first on Makensie McAvoy's (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) first career home run and two more runs in the second. After UNF tied the game in the fourth, Chandler Middlebrook (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale HS) put FGCU back in front with an RBI double. Randolph closed the door, securing the sweep for the Eagles in a 5-4 win.

"I thought we played really well in all phases," said head coach David Deiros. "We made a couple of mistakes we could have circumvented but all-in-all it was a really good day for us. Riley (Randolph) was phenomenal, she's had a really good year and today was probably her best day in the circle; she was dominant from start to finish. We spent all week preparing for what we wanted to do offensively and I thought our kids performed really well and responded the way they were supposed to. We clinched our spot in the tournament and now it's all about positioning. Now we spend the last four games jockeying for position to stay on top."

GAME ONE: FGCU 6, UNF 0
The Eagles got out of an early jam and a potential early turning point of the game after the Ospreys put the lead off runner aboard in the first. Randolph forced a ground out, followed by consecutive strikeouts to keep UNF off the board. Huff took full advantage of the situation, ripping a line drive past the first baseman and the right fielder, sending the ball all the way to the wall. Huff found an extra gear rounding second and avoided the tag at home for an inside the park homerun to put FGCU in front 1-0.

One inning later, the Eagles loaded the bases on a walk and a pair of singles before Michaela Hynes (Windermere, Fla./West Orange HS) drew a walk to plate FGCU's second run. Huff's second RBI came on a fly ball heading towards the line in left that was caught. Bri Innamorato (Mullica Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace HS) scored on the sacrifice fly to put FGCU in front 3-0.

Three-straight singles in the third put FGCU in a spot to add to its lead. The Eagles used a sacrifice fly from Innamorato and an error to plate two more runs, increasing their lead to 5-0. The Green and Blue tacked on one more, on a Louie Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) RBI single in the sixth to make it 6-0.
Randolph stifled the Ospreys, allowing only a two-out single in the third while striking out nine for her 14th win of the season.

Huff scored one more run and also tallied another RBI on top of her inside the park home run. Ross and Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) each tallied two hits in the win.

GAME TWO: FGCU 5, UNF 4
It was an ominous start for FGCU, as the Ospreys plated three runs in the top of the first. The Green and Blue immediately got back in the ballgame, sparked by the top of the order. Huff laced a double to the gap in right center to bring McAvoy to the plate. The senior lined her first career home run down the line in right to cut the deficit to 3-2. Fournet and Middlebrook then both reached with two outs, sending Innamorato to the plate. With a 3-2 count, rain began to fall heavily forcing a rain delay.

Following an hour and 37 minute delay, a pair of fly outs ended the inning. Taylor Wade (Pace, Fla./Pace HS) entered, replacing Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Tallahassee Community College/Kankakee Valley HS) following the lengthy delay. Wade allowed a long double but ended the frame with no damage done. The junior was rewarded with a leadoff single by Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS), followed by an RBI single off the bat of Huff. McAvoy repeated Huff's effort, singling to right and sending the sophomore to third. Consecutive walks then loaded the bases and eventually put FGCU in front 4-3.

UNF tied the contest with an unearned run in the fourth but FGCU got the run back in the bottom half on a Middlebrook RBI double, scoring Ross.

The Ospreys threatened in the fifth but Amber Plaza (Fort Myers, Fla./Miami Dade College/Bishop Verot HS) would quickly swing momentum back in favor of FGCU, catching an attempted runner stealing. After a two-out walk, Wade was removed from the game for Randolph who ended the inning with a pop out.

The freshman then struck out two in the sixth and two more in the seventh to seal the 5-4 win. Randolph earned her first save on the heels of Wade's sixth win of the season. Dobson tossed one complete inning, allowing one earned in that span. Her outing was cut short due to the lengthy delay. Wade tossed 3.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits while Randolph struck out four batters in eight total at bats over the final 2.1 innings.

The top of the lineup went 6-for-12 with three RBIs and four runs scored. Middlebrook also drove in two including the game-winning RBI.

UP NEXT
The Eagles go for the series sweep Tuesday at 1 p.m. against the UNF Ospreys. With a win, FGCU would overtake first place in the Atlantic Sun with one series remaining.

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 .670 (538-266-3). 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.