JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Entering the season with a projected sixth place finish in the preseason poll, the FGCU softball team secured the 2016 Atlantic Sun regular season title with a 7-2 win over Jacksonville Saturday. The victory wrapped up the program's third overall regular season title, the program's first since 2012, and the Eagles' first outright A-Sun title. The Green and Blue conclude the year 30-25 and 13-5 in the A-Sun while Jacksonville finishes the regular season with a 27-28 record and an 8-10 mark in conference play.

The victory today also solidified FGCU's No. 1 position in the upcoming A-Sun Softball Championships which FGCU will host. The tournament begins Wednesday, with FGCU beginning play Thursday at the FGCU Softball Complex.

The 30 wins this season marks the 12th time in FGCU history the softball program has reached the 30-win mark and the seventh time since the program transitioned to Division I in 2008. In addition, FGCU softball earns FGCU's eighth regular season or post season A-Sun or CCSA title during the 2015-16 season. The 2016 softball crown is also the 53rd since FGCU made the transition to Division I athletics.

Guided by dominant performance in the circle by Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Tallahassee Community College/Kankakee Valley HS), FGCU took the lead in the second inning on a Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) double. After putting another run on the board in the third, Louie Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS) doubled FGCU's lead with a double to make it 4-0 after four innings. Jacksonville tallied two runs in the sixth before the Eagles all but ended any hope of a comeback with three runs in the seventh inning, completing the 7-2 win.

"I thought that Ashley's start today was huge," said head coach David Deiros. "To have a perfect game going through three and a third, she stifled them and controlled their bats. That was monstrous for us. She really only made one bad set of pitches and that was the walk before the home run. We had already built up a cushion so it was tolerable. At that point we just needed to get four outs from Riley. Truthfully, this season is eerily similar to 2012. Things weren't easy for us during our non-conference season but we put things together in conference play to get the number one seed and win the tournament. This team has fought hard and prepared themselves for competition. We restructured our preparation over the last month or so, the kids bought in and started to believe in themselves."

The Eagles looked to grab an early lead for the third time this series with a pair of one-out singles by Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) and Ross only for a ground out and a strikeout to put a halt to the threat in the first. Dobson silenced the Dolphin bats in the first sending the Eagles back up to bat in a scoreless ballgame.

FGCU did its damage after two quick outs in the second. Following a Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) walk, Amber Plaza (Fort Myers, Fla./Miami Dade College/Bishop Verot HS) singled to put runners at first and second. Huff then drove in Lopez with an RBI double to put the visitors in front 1-0 on the afternoon.

Working with the lead, Dobson forced two ground outs around her only strikeout of the game to work a clean second inning. The Eagles tacked on an insurance run in the third on a Brittany McGuire (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) pinch hit sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 in favor of the Green and Blue.

Another flawless frame by Dobson allowed the Eagles to increase their lead in the fourth. Following Plaza's second base hit of the afternoon, Huff reached on a bunt single. Morgan Sutherland (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier High School) came on to run for Plaza at second just before Ross roped a doubled down the line in left, scoring both Sutherland and Huff to make it 4-0 FGCU.

Perfect through three innings, Dobson surrendered her first hit in the fourth with one out but quickly induced a double play ball to end the frame. Then in the fifth, an error allowed a leadoff runner to reach and ultimately advance to third on two ground outs but a third ground ball ended the inning, sending the Eagles into the sixth with a 4-0 lead.

In the sixth, FGCU put both Huff and McAvoy aboard with a double and a hit by pitch, respectively, but could not capitalize keeping the advantage at 4-0.

Having conceded only one hit through 5.2 innings, Dobson's first walk led to a two-run home run to cut the lead to 4-2. Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) then came on and immediately forced a pop out to send the game into the seventh.

The Eagles offense was not finished however, as Bri Innamorato (Mullica Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace HS) led off the final inning with a single to center. After she stole second and move to third on a sacrifice bunt, Lopez drew a walk to put runners at the corners. A Bree Tourtillott (Dixon, Ill./Tallahassee Community College/Oregon HS) double scored both runners to make it 6-2 before a McAvoy single made it 7-2.

Randolph wasted no time in the seventh, striking out the side to complete and 7-2 win and securing the 2016 A-Sun title.

Dobson won her fourth game of the season, tossing 5.2 innings. The senior didn't allow a hit through 3.1 innings and did not concede a run until the sixth. Randolph picked up her third save of the season, pitching 1.1 innings while striking out three, all in the final inning.

Huff, McAvoy, Ross, and Plaza all tallied multiple hits with Ross and Tourtillott driving in two runs each.

UP NEXT
The Eagles turn their attention to the A-Sun tournament. FGCU begins its questions for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012 Thursday, May 12. The first round of the tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11.

A-SUN TOURNAMENT TICKET INFORMATION
Tournament passes will be available for $15.00 for adults and $7 for youth (ages 3-12) and individual session tickets will be available for $6.00 for adults and $3 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.
 
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.