FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming home proved to be just what the FGCU softball team needed as the Eagles won a pair of contests Tuesday night. FGCU (12-9) won an offensive shootout 12-9 over Holy Cross (2-5) to begin the day and followed with a 3-1 victory over Ball State (7-14).

"Can we have two more different ballgames than what we saw today?" head coach David Deiros asked following a pair of wins. "We had a slugfest in game one and a pitchers duel in the second one. It was a really good effort by our kids to go ahead and stay with what we were trying to do. I loved the resilience and I love the effort today, we just have to keep that recipe going every time we step onto the field."

Erica Ward (Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian Academy/State College of Florida) highlighted an offensive onslaught to start the day that saw the Eagles prevail 12-9. Ward drove in five runs, three on her first career home run, to lead the Eagles. FGCU led 3-1 after the first before both sides scored five runs in the second and two more in the third. The back-and-forth affair slowed in the middle innings and FGCU closed out the game, allowing just one run the rest of the way.

FGCU's contest against Ball State proved to be the exact opposite as the Eagles and Cardinals combined for four runs and nine hits with the Green and Blue coming out on top, 3-1. FGCU capitalized on an error in the first and held onto a slim 1-0 lead until the fourth. Morgan Sutherland (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) then delivered a clutch single up the middle to put the Eagles in front for good with an insurance tally coming in the sixth for the 3-1 victory.

FGCU 12, HOLY CROSS 9
In a wild affair, the Eagles scored 10 runs in the first three innings and held off Holy Cross to seal a 12-9 victory.

After Holy Cross scratched across the first run of the game on a double to center, the Eagles responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame. Consecutive walks to Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) and Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) set the table for Ward. The junior transfer crushed her first home run as an Eagle over the wall just to the left of center to give the home team a 3-1 advantage.

A five-run inning for the Crusaders cancelled out the lead and put Holy Cross in front 6-3 only for FGCU to come right back in the bottom half.

It was again the top of the order that got the offense going, beginning with a Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) bunt single. The junior then stole second and moved to third on a Lopez single. After Lopez stole second, Fournet reached on an infield single to score Huff and Ward followed with an RBI triple to tie the game. Bri Innamorato (Mullica Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace HS) capped the inning with a two-run double to left to give FGCU an 8-6 lead.

The Crusaders continued the run-scoring frenzy with a two-run third only for FGCU to get the runs back in the bottom of the third on a Fournet double to right-center.

Fournet then increased the lead to 11-8 in the fifth on another RBI base hit.

Both teams scored a run in the sixth before FGCU closed the door in the seventh to close out the wild affair.

Ward ended with a game-high five RBIs on three hits while Fournet drove in four on three hits.

Taylor Wade (Pace, Fla./Pace HS) got the win (5-4) after pitching six innings with four strikeouts. Riley Randolph (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) got her first save of the year, allowing one hit in the final frame.

FGCU 3, BALL STATE 1
With Randolph on the mound, the Eagles looked to give their ace an early lead after the sophomore allowed just a two-out walk in the first. The Green and Blue did just that, taking advantage of an error on the pitcher after she bumped into her catcher on a shallow pop fly with the bases loaded to score Huff.

Perhaps the biggest defensive play of the evening came in the third on a hard hit line drive off the bat of Janae Hogg. The rocket off the bat of Hogg was ticketed for right-center field and with a runner at first, had the potential to tie the game. Jeanie Verderese (Jacksonville, Fla./Creekside HS) left her feet and made a leaping grab to prevent any damage from being done and kept FGCU in front for the time being.

The Cardinals were able to tie the game in the fourth but the Green and Blue responded in the fifth. After Lopez was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a ground out, Sutherland hit the first pitch she saw up the middle to bring Lopez home.

Then in the sixth, Bree Tourtillott (Dixon, Ill./Oregon HS/Tallahassee Community College) connected, pulling the ball to left allowing Innamorato to score with ease on a sacrifice fly giving FGCU a 3-1 advantage.

The two-run cushion was enough for Randolph (6-2), who finished off the victory.

Sutherland, who was brought into the game in the first for an injured Ward, collected two of the five hits for FGCU.

UP NEXT
The Eagles finish off the week tomorrow against Holy Cross at 5 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 recently enters his 15th 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 (554-276-3). 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.