NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After suffering a 3-0 loss to begin the day the FGCU softball team turned the tables and kept its tournament hopes alive with a 3-0 win to end the day. The No. 4 Eagles (28-29) fell to No. 1 USC Upstate (42-11) but later eliminated No. 3 UNF (31-27) to advance and play Lipscomb tomorrow at 12:30 local time.

"You have to give Upstate a lot of credit, they came out and shell-shocked us," said head coach David Deiros. "I thought we battled really hard to keep that as a 2-0 ballgame. Then they extended the lead and at that point it time it was a matter of getting our offense going. I'm really happy with how we swung our bats in the last three innings. We did just enough against North Florida to go ahead and squeak it out. The two runs in the top of the seventh were monstrous. Give credit to Taylor, she pitched magnificently."

The FGCU bats were stifled by USC Upstate as the Green and Blue fell 3-0 to open the second day of the ASUN Tournament. The top-seeded Spartans scored twice on five consecutive singles in the first inning and tacked on another in the fourth on a solo home run. Bree Tourtillott (Dixon, Ill./Oregon HS/Tallahassee Community College) broke up the no-hitter with a double in the fifth but the Eagles were kept off the board throughout the contest.

Facing elimination, FGCU used some fantastic defensive work and an RBI single from Jeanie Verderese (Jacksonville, Fla./Creekside HS) to take a 1-0 lead after two innings. The defense continued to be the key throughout the contest before FGCU manufactured two runs in the seventh to advance in the ASUN Tournament to face Lipscomb.

GAME ONE: USC Upstate 3, FGCU 0
The Spartans opened the game with five-straight singles off Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS), but a runner caught stealing and some timely pitching from Randolph limited the damage.

The sophomore conceded one run the rest of the way, a solo home run with two outs in the fourth, to put USC Upstate in front 3-0.
Tourtillott broke up the no-hitter with a double off the wall in the fifth, forcing a pitching change from the Spartans.

Upstate threatened in the sixth, putting a runner at third with two outs, but on a walk the runner attempted to advance home as the batter rounded first, however, the Eagles smartly cut the runner down at the plate.

Despite the brief swing in momentum, the Eagles went down in order in the seventh, falling 3-0.

Randolph suffered the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits. Taylor Wade (Pace, Fla./Pace HS) pitched the final 2.1 innings and allowed just a single walk.  

GAME TWO: FGCU 3, UNF 0
The Eagles flashed the leather early, with Bri Innamorato (Mullica Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace HS) and Verderese making tremendous diving plays at short and second respectively to keep the Ospreys off the board. The defense led to offense in the top of the second when Tourtillott came around to score on a bloop single off the bat of Verderese to put FGCU in front 1-0.

The game remained 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, thanks to more defensive works including Tourtillott throwing out a would-be base stealer. At that time, Wade replaced Randolph in a planned move.

Wade kept the Ospreys in check, keeping the 1-0 lead as the game moved into the seventh. The Eagles put runners on first and second to start the inning before Verderese laid down a perfect bunt to move both runners up 60-feet. Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) then brought Tourtillott home with an infield single, which was followed by a Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) sacrifice bunt to send Morgan Sutherland (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) home.

Leading 3-0, Wade closed out the game to send the Eagles through to the next round.

Randolph got the win, tossing four scoreless innings while allowing only two hits. Wade picked up her second save of the year, conceding just two hits over three innings.

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 (572-297-3). 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.