FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (30-13, 4-4 ASUN) walked off on a wild pitch in game one after a three-run sixth inning to take it 4-3, but would get shutout in game two 7-0, as the Eagles split with (receiving votes) Kennesaw State (30-14, 9-2 ASUN) Saturday afternoon.

Tomorrow's rubber match – originally scheduled at 1 p.m. – has been moved up to 12 p.m. due to impending inclement weather in the afternoon forecast.

"Happy to come out of here today with a split," said head coach David Deiros. "I don't think we played well in any particular facet all day long but we were able to fight through and get the walk-off win in game one and salvage the split. Hopefully, we'll take a look at the tape and figure out what we need to do better and come out and play a better game to see if we can take the series."

FGCU found itself in a 3-0 heading to the bottom of the sixth before plating three runs to knot the affair. In the next inning, the Eagles were sparked by two singles eventually putting runners on the corners as a wild pitch would bring in Kate Kelly (Cape Coral, Fla./North Ft. Myers/Seminole State). In game two, the Owls got the best of the Eagles, highlighted by three homers in the 7-0 loss.

GAME ONE: FGCU 4, KSU 3
The Owls scratched the scoreboard first in the top of the third frame using a pair of walks along with two hits to gain a 2-0 advantage. The Eagle bats' up until the sixth inning, remained stifled collecting just one base hit after seeing KSU then take a 3-0 lead in their top half of the sixth.

Now in its bottom half, FGCU put the first two runners on board on two fielding errors from the visitors. Shortly after, senior Ashley Swiderski (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS)  peppered a double to right-center bringing in one run. Two batters later with runners in scoring position, Brooke Clemens (West Rotunda, Fla./Lemon Bay HS/Florida) laced an RBI single into center to load the bases. Still, with one out, Bri Bennett (Jacksonville, Fla./Mandarin HS/Lake Sumter) skied a ball foul into third base territory as it was caught by Andrea Summey into the FGCU dugout allowing Swiderski to score.

Tied 3-3, Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter HS) retired the side in the seventh as the Eagles would capitalize in the bottom half. Back-to-back singles got FGCU in business and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position. Two batters later, Kelly took off from 60 feet as she saw the ball skip right to the backstop en route to the walk-off 4-3 victory.

Mesiemore picks up the win moving her record to 10-3 after five innings of relief. On offense, the Eagles capped off the game with six hits, as three Eagles recorded an RBI apiece.

GAME TWO: FGCU 0, KSU 7
KSU wasted no time in game two, scoring in its first inning as Maddie Roth blasted a solo shot to center. In the second frame, two more runs were pushed across by the visitors, this time it was Kira Czyrklis connecting on a two-run shot to give the Owls a 3-0 margin.

After plating three in the fourth, Roth capped off the scoring with her second solo homer of the afternoon, bumping the visitors up to seven.

Offensively for the Eagles, it was a struggle at the dish, manufacturing four hits – three over the final three frames – in the shutout loss. Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) suffered her fifth loss of the season, scattering five hits while surrendering a season-high six runs.

UP NEXT
FGCU will square off in the rubber match tomorrow at 12 p.m. Scheduled originally for a 1 p.m. start, due to impending inclement weather in the area, it has now been moved up one hour.

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 603-311-3 (.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.