SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – After a total of 18-in state contests, the FGCU softball team (14-4) will start the beginning of its 2,632-mile journey to Los Angeles, Calif., with a doubleheader versus UC Santa Barbara Wednesday afternoon beginning at 4 p.m.*

*All times denote Eastern Standard Time.

After its doubleheader against the Gauchos Wednesday afternoon, FGCU will head down to Los Angeles as the Eagles are among five teams that will be participating in the Loyola Marymount Tournament.

The Eagles will kick off their first of five tournament games Thursday at 4:30 p.m. against the hosts Lions, followed by a 7 p.m. nightcap with Providence. On Friday, FGCU will see the Friars for the second time at 11 a.m. and will end the day taking on Southern Utah for a 1:30 p.m. first pitch. Saturday, the Green and Blue will play its final game of the tournament in a 4 p.m. contest set with Harvard.  

The complete tournament central page can be found by clicking here.

After starting the season 13-0, FGCU is coming off a stretch in which it went 1-4 in the highly-competitive FSU Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. During that stretch, the Eagles dropped three contests to nationally ranked opponents including #6 Oregon twice and then #13 FSU but came out on top their last day claiming a 3-2 win over Hofstra.

Pitching continues to be a huge factor for the Eagles as their rotation boasts the 19th best ERA in the nation at 1.40 through 18 games. Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter HS)   leads the staff with a 6-1 overall record while holding a 1.55 ERA. Meanwhile, Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast HS) notched her eighth save of the year this past weekend, as she leads the nation in that category in just 14 appearances.

At the dish, the Eagles are batting .247 led by Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) with a .352 BA, tallying 19 hits including three doubles and one homer with 10 RBI. Right ahead of Fournet is Brooke Clemens (West Rotunda, Fla./Lemon Bay HS/Florida) with a team-high 11 RBI.

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UCSB is 8-12 overall, after most recently participating in the Citrus Classic II held in Kissimmee, Fla., in which they went 1-4. UCSB brings back seven starters from last season's campaign, but are led at the plate by freshman Sammy Fabian who leads six players batting .300 or better with a .455 BA, collecting 20 hits with three coming as doubles along with one triple.

Five pitchers have seen action in the circle this season for the Gauchos as the team holds a 4.33 ERA. Lena Mayer leads the staff with a 3-3 record in 15 appearances while holding a 3.47 ERA through 38.1 innings.

Head coach Brie Galicinao is in her 11th season.

This will mark the first two meetings between the Eagles and Gauchos.

SCOUTING THE LIONS  
LMU carries an overall record of 7-10-1, as the Lions tied 0-0 with Pittsburgh back on Feb. 11. The Lions are currently on a five-game losing streak with its most recent loss coming to Fresno State in the Judi Garmin Classic this past weekend. Senior Irma Sanchez leads the squad at the plate batting .340, totaling six RBI which is a four-way tie for first on the team.

LMU features five pitchers who have a combined 3.69 team ERA. Hannah Bandimere is 5-3 in the circle with a 1.99 ERA in 56.1 innings worked and has fanned 37 opposing batters.

Sami Strinz-Ward is in her third year overall at LMU but it's her second year as the head coach.

This will mark the first meeting between both ball clubs.

SCOUTING THE FRIARS
Providence is currently 3-9 overall with two games left to be played tonight in the Louisville Slugger Tournament. At the plate in 31 at-bats, Vanessa Portillo is at the top of the BA list hitting .323 and is in a two-way tie for first with five RBI.

In the circle, the team ERA is at 3.68 as Megan McCune is 1-1 in four appearances with a 2.52 ERA.

Kerri Jacklets enters her 13th season with the Friars.

FGCU leads the all-time series 3-1.

SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS
Southern Utah enters the tournament with a 2-16 overall record. The roster features four seniors while nine true freshmen join the 2018 campaign. SU's offense has three players batting .300 or more, led by Sarah Murphy at .533, despite having only six games under her belt.

The starting pitching rotation is made up of five pitchers as Kalei Watkins leads the team in innings worked at 28.1 with a 1-2 record.

Head coach Tom Gray enters his fourth season with Southern Utah.

This will be the first meeting between both squads.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
Only playing nine games thus far, Harvard is currently 3-6 overall entering the tourney, dropping two of its most recent games to Kansas and UNC. The team is batting .237 as three players have an exact BA of .333. Morgan Melito has tallied four doubles for the Crimson in 24 at-bats.

In the circle, the staff holds a combined 4.43 ERA with Kathleen Duncan seeing the most work in 38.2 frames, posting a 3-4 record and 2.53 ERA.

Jenny Allard enters her 24th season at the helm.

FGCU won the only meeting between both squads back in 2014 in a 1-0 final.

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU faced a 1-0 deficit after one inning before Brittany McGuire (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) launched her first homer of the year in the second inning to knot the affair 1-1, as a pair of RBI doubles in the same frame would give the Eagles a 3-1 margin. Leading up to the triumph, each member of the Eagles' pitching staff saw action in the circle to help preserve the one-run game.

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 587-302-3 (.660) 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.