FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a trip to the ASUN Championships secured the FGCU softball team now focuses on seeding during the season's final weekend. The 2017 regular season concludes Thursday and Friday against the Lipscomb Bisons.

The Eagles and Bisons begin the three-game set Thursday with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. with the finale slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch Friday.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
Fighting for one of three remaining spots in the ASUN Tournament last weekend, the Eagles needed at least two wins and some help to clinch a spot in the postseason. The Green and Blue began the three-game series against the Hatters with a 5-1 victory, with all five runs crossing the plate in the seventh inning. LuLu Newmark (Pembroke Pines, Fla./American Heritage HS/Bowling Green) provided the big hit, a three-run home run to put the game out of reach.

After dropping the second game, the Eagles bounced back in a big way, scoring a season-high 13 runs to claim the rubber match 13-3. Five RBIs from Bri Innamorato (Mullica Hill, N.J./Bishop Eustace HS), including a three-run homer to make it 7-0, paved the way for the Green and Blue. FGCU took advantage of seven walks and two Hatter errors in the contest while tallying nine hits.

While her average has dropped slightly, Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) remains one of the top hitters in the conference. The left fielder brings a .392 average into the Lipscomb series, along with six triples, three doubles, and 18 RBIs.

Opponents continue to pitch around Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School), who has now walked 35 times this season. The sophomore is now hitting .300 with 14 doubles and 38 RBIs.

In the circle, Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) moved into third in the ASUN with a 2.25 ERA after allowing just two earned runs over three starts and 17 innings of work last week.

CONFERENCE UPDATE
With three wins over Lipscomb and three Osprey losses, the Eagles could rise to as high as third at season's end from their current fifth-place position. The Green and Blue are currently even with Lipscomb in the loss column, but a half-game back due to the cancelled game against Kennesaw State. Unless there is major movement in the standings, FGCU and Lipscomb will likely play each other again next week in the opening round of the ASUN Tournament.

USC Upstate controls its own destiny at the top of the conference with an 11-4 record. The Owls ended the year 11-6, meaning a single Spartans win this weekend will secure a regular season title. UNF currently sits in third, with a 9-6 mark, two games ahead of Lipscomb with FGCU a half-game back of the Bisons.

The final spot in the ASUN Tournament will be decided in Jacksonville when the Hatters and Dolphins meet. Stetson trails Jacksonville by a game in the standings.

A LOOK AT THE BOOK
A number of Eagles have made their mark in a very short period of time. A career .366 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.

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

Randolph's 1.81 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	.366
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.	Chelsea Zgrabik	2012-14	.333

 
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	1.81
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 BISONS
No team in the ASUN has a higher RPI than Lipscomb, who enters the final week of the regular season at #39 with wins over Pittsburgh and USC Upstate. Now 34-16 overall, the Bisons could potentially earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Caitlin Plocheck is the most dangerous hitter in the lineup with 15 doubles, nine home runs, and 30 RBIs to go along her with team-leading .361 average. The Bisons present a threat throughout the order as eight of the nine batters have driven in more than 10 runs.

Mandy Jordan leads the ASUN with 22 wins and sits second in the conference with a 1.32 ERA in 2017. McCarley Thomas has also had a solid year, posting an 11-8 record and a 2.64 ERA.

FGCU led the overall series 6-3 before Lipscomb turned the tables and won 11 of the next 13 contests. Last season, the Eagles took the first game in Nashville but dropped the next two.

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 (568-295-3). 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.