DELAND, Fla. – Only six games remain in the 2017 regular season for the FGCU softball team as the Eagles hope to make a return trip to the ASUN Tournament. Currently in fifth place with a half-game lead over Jacksonville, the Green and Blue head to DeLand to face last-place Stetson with all three teams separated by just 1.5 games.

A live video stream is available through Hatter Vision and live stats are also available through Stetson Athletics.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
FGCU dropped two contests last night to USF, a team that began the year in the Top 25. FGCU had chances to win both games but surrendered a late run in the opener to fall 1-0. LuLu Newmark (Pembroke Pines, Fla./American Heritage HS/Bowling Green) then gave FGCU a 2-1 advantage late in the second game but a six-run fifth put the Bulls in front for good in a 9-2 loss.

Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) picked up three hits last night, bringing her average to .404 this season. Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) and Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) sit right behind Huff, both with averages above .310.

Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) had another fantastic outing, tossing five innings of four-hit softball, striking out seven in the 1-0 loss. The sophomore is now 12-9 on the year with a 2.39 ERA.

CONFERENCE UPDATE
At 4-7 in ASUN play the Eagles find themselves in a fight for the final two spots in the upcoming ASUN Tournament. FGCU could finish as high as No. 2 if the Green and Blue sweep the final two series and get help from other teams. Currently, the Eagles are one game up in the loss column over Jacksonville, a team the Green and Blue also holds the tiebreaker over with their series win earlier in the season.

USC Upstate is the only team to have secured a spot in the conference tournament with its 11-4 record. Lipscomb and UNF bring identical 7-5 records into the weekend with Kennesaw State a game back at 8-6. Jacksonville (4-8) and Stetson (3-9) complete the standings.

The top six teams will travel to Nashville for the 2017 ASUN Tournament May 10-13.

A LOOK AT THE BOOK
A number of Eagles have made their mark in a very short period of time. A career .369 batter through three seasons, Huff holds the highest career batting average amongst players that played their entire career at the Division I level. Overall, the junior sits fifth all-time in program history. Four spots behind Huff, Fournet's .337 average is good for tenth in the history of the program.

Fournet's 30 doubles is good for fifth all-time as well, while also sitting third in Division I history.

Randolph's 1.86 ERA puts her fifth in FGCU history, however, the left-hander holds the lowest ERA in Division I history.

FGCU Career Records (FGCU transitioned to Division I in 2007-2008)
Batting Average

	Name	Years	Avg.
1.	Carmen Paez	2007-08	.430
2.	Jessica Carter	2007-09	.427
3.	Ashley Cecil	2003-05	.425
4.	Cheyenne Jenks	2006-09	.381
5.	Kelsey Huff	2015-17	.369
6.	Kelsey Carpenter	2012-15	.359
7.	Lauran Ziegler	2009-10	.356
8.	Courtney Platt	2008-11	.355
9.	Jessica Gary	2007-10	.342
10.	Racquel Fournet	2016-17	.337

 
Doubles

	Name	Years	2Bs
1.	Courtney Platt	2008-11	49
	Cheyenne Jenks	2006-09	49
3.	Jessica Rouse	2004-07	38
4.	Kelsey Carpenter	2012-15	32
5.	Racquel Fournet	2016-17	30
6.	Jessica Carter	2007-09	29
7.	Louie Ross	2012-16	28
	Desiree Miller	2012-16	28
9.	Kirsten Bembnowski	2011-14	27
	Blaire Toleman	2003-05	27

 
Earned Run Average

	Name	Years	ERA
1.	Kelly Powe	2004-05	0.87
2.	Sarah Backe	2006-07	1.18
3.	Rachael Edinger	2006-08	1.29
4.	Annie Voyles	2004-05	1.53
5.	Riley Randolph	2016-17	1.86
6.	Dana Frantz	2006-09	2.10
7.	Catherine McDaniel	2009-11	2.16
8.	Shelby Morgan	2012-15	2.33
9.	Christine Beck	2003-06	2.34
10.	Stephanie Sullivan	2010-11	2.56

 
SCOUTING THE HATTERS
Stetson's speed has caused problems for the opposition this year. The Hatters have stolen 121 bases this season, led by Jessie TenBroeck's 46 successful attempts. Along with TenBroeck, Kelsey Waters and Linda Ross both have swiped at least 20 bases this season. Waters also paces the Hatters bats with a .398 average and five home runs.

Brooke Hutto and Tori Perkins are both over 100 innings this season with Hutto bringing a 13-5 record and a 2.20 ERA into the weekend series. Meanwhile, Perkins is 8-9 on the year with a 3.38 ERA.

After taking two of three from the Hatters in 2016, the Eagles bring their all-time record against Stetson to 11-16. Prior the last season, FGCU had lost eight-straight to Stetson.

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 (566-294-3). 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.