FORT MYERS, Fla. – The RV FGCU softball team (27-6) positioned itself right atop the ASUN board Saturday afternoon via a 2-0 shutout in game one, then followed it up with a comeback performance trailing 5-0 and ultimately coming out on top 9-5 to sweep Stetson (20-12). In the process, head coach David Deiros collected his 600th career win.

"Just a great day for Riley Randolph for her to come in and pitch almost 12 innings of shutout ball, she did a fantastic job," said Deiros. "Racquel had an unbelievable day at the plate just swinging and I'm really proud of the kids and the way they were able to deal from coming back in that deficit in game two. Being down 5-0 looks like an unbelievable hole to get out of but our kids scrapped and they made some immediate impacts. Once we got the lead it was time to go ahead and lock the door so we'll be ready to come out tomorrow and see if we can take all three."

The founding father of FGCU softball, Deiros now moves his record to 600-303-3 (.665) in his 16th season as the Eagles head coach with 129 wins coming within the ASUN since becoming part of the conference in 2008.   

FGCU led 1-0 after its bottom half in the first and never surrendered the lead thanks in part to a dominant performance in the circle by Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) to take game one 2-0. In the game two, the Eagles were put up against a wall after a 5-0 first inning by the Hatters but a six-run second frame by FGCU ultimately put them on top en route to the 9-5 triumph.  

GAME ONE: FGCU 2, STETSON 0
FGCU struck in the bottom of the first with two outs as the Eagles had runners on first and second. Just as it looked like the frame would come to an end, Ashley Swiderski (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) hit a grounder over to second that was mishandled allowing the first run to come across.

From there on, Randolph excelled in the circle, retiring the Hatters' side in order over the next three innings, conceding just one hit. In the top of the fifth, the junior worked around a leadoff triple from Lizzie Shubert, fanning one batter and inducing to pop flies to escape the jam.

FGCU added its insurance in the sixth as this time it was Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) who led the inning off with a stand-up triple. One batter later, Brooke Clemens (West Rotunda, Fla./Lemon Bay HS/Florida) would bring her in on a deep sacrifice fly to center for the 2-0 lead. Looking to close the door, FGCU yielded just one hit in the seventh as Randolph's 85th pitch of the game sealed the shutout victory, in the process tossing her fourth complete game of the year.

GAME TWO: FGCU 9, STETSON 5
Right from the start, FGCU dug itself in a hole facing a 5-0 deficit after the Hatters produced five runs on four hits including two errors to take a 5-0 margin. The Green and Blue began to chip away in its bottom half scoring two runs. With runners on the corners, Clemens' RBI double brought in one run as Swiderski followed it up with a base hit up the middle to make it a 5-2 contest.

In the bottom of the second, the Green and Blue's offense exploded for six runs on five hits while capitalizing on two fielding errors from Stetson. After newcomer Haley Morrell (Tampa, Fla./Academy of Holy Names) doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch, a single from Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) pushed her across which set up Fournet to drill her fourth homer of the year to straightaway center. 

A single and two errors allowed FGCU to load the bases in which LuLu Newmark (Pembroke Pines, Fla./American Heritage HS/Bowling Green) proceeded to clear the bags on a 0-1 count scalding a triple to right field.

After FGCU pushed one more runner across in the fourth, Randolph (12-2) kept the Hatters at bay surrendering no hits in her 4.1 innings of relief work, fanning five batters in the process.

In the offensive outburst, 13 hits are the most the Eagles have produced this season in one game and nine runs is the second-highest totaled. Clemens and Huff each went 3-for-4 at the plate while Fournet and Newmark registered two and three RBIs, respectively.

UP NEXT  
FGCU and Stetson close out the three-game series tomorrow with first pitch set at 1 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 is in his 16th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 600-304-3 (.665) overall mark, 12 seasons with a winning record, and eight campaigns with 35 wins. 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.