JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU softball team will begin a critical road stretch looking to gain ground in the ASUN standings beginning with a three-game series this weekend versus Jacksonville.
 
The Eagles will commence play with the first doubleheader game starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, as the finale will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m.

At the moment, the Eagles sit in fifth place among the league standings, one spot behind the Dolphins.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
A two-time ASUN Player of the Week this season, Racquel Fournet (Windermere, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) leads FGCU hitting .365 (6th in the ASUN) and has driven in a team-leading 29 runs (7th in the ASUN) to go along with five homers. In her 46 hits totaled, eight have been good for doubles and four have gone for triples (1st in the ASUN). Senior left fielder Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS) is the second Eagle in the lineup with a .300-plus average as she is hitting .312 this season and is second in team hits behind Fournet with 44. Huff has swiped 18 bags this year which is a team-best and ranks sixth in the ASUN.

Leading the rotation staff with 12 wins, Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) boasts an ERA of 2.06. In her 116 innings worked, the junior ace has eclipsed the century mark with 104 strikeouts – giving her 100 now for three-straight seasons – and has held the opposition to a .217 batting average. Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast HS) tied the NCAA Single-Season saves record with her 15th of the season in just 31 appearances – currently leads the nation by more than seven – against FAU just over a week ago. The freshman holds a 1.86 ERA as the Eagles rotation staff leads the ASUN in ERA at 2.10 (29th in the country).

A LOOK AT THE BOOK
A career .347 batter so far into her senior campaign, Huff holds the highest career batting average amongst players that played their entire career at the Division I level. Overall, the senior sits eighth all-time in program history. Two spots behind Huff, Fournet's .338 average is good for 10th in the history of the program.

In addition, Fournet has now moved into second place with 40 doubles (eight this season), the second most in Division I history.

In the circle, Randolph's 1.83 ERA puts her fifth in FGCU history as she holds the lowest ERA in the program's 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 Carpenter	2012-15	.359
6.	Lauran Ziegler	2009-10	.356
7.	Courtney Platt	2008-11	.355
8.	Kelsey Huff	2015-18	.347
9.	Jessica Gary	2007-10	.342
10.	Racquel Fournet	2016-18	.338

Doubles
 

	Name	Years	2Bs
1.	Courtney Platt	2008-11	49
2.	Cheyenne Jenks	2006-09	49
3.	Racquel Fournet	2016-18	40
4.	Jessica Rouse	2004-07	38
5.	Kelsey Carpenter	2012-15	32
6.	Jessica Carter	2007-09	29
7.	Louie Ross	2012-16	28
8.	Desiree Miller	2012-16	28
9.	Kirsten Bembnowski	2011-14	27
10.	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	2016-18	1.83
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

RPI WATCH
In this week's RPI poll, FGCU stayed idle #48 in the nation. Kennesaw State (42), jumped ahead of the Eagles as Lipscomb (50) and USC Upstate (79) round out the ASUN squads in the top-80 RPI. As of now, the ASUN is rated the eighth-best conference in the country. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, the ASUN boasted the 5th highest conference RPI, at one point being ranked as high as 4th in the nation.

To view the complete RPI rankings, click here.  For a detailed list of the conference RPI rankings, click here.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Jacksonville holds a 23-21 overall record going 4-4 in the ASUN, most recently coming off a 4-1 loss to Georgia Southern Wednesday afternoon. Senior Madison Ragan leads the Dolphins batting .351 to go along with five homers. Another senior in Heather Roberts has driven in a team-best 23 RBI while leading JU with six homers.

In the circle, five pitchers have seen action this year as Alyssa Bilodeau is tied for second in the conference with 14 wins and has paired that with a sub-two ERA. As a whole, the Dolphin's staff ERA comes in at 2.45 (2nd in the ASUN).

FGCU leads the all-time series 21-5 against JU, taking the last five of six. Seven of the 21 wins have come in Jacksonville, including the last four played there.

LAST TIME OUT
The Green and Blue kept it a tight contest before Kennesaw State (receiving votes) used a pair of three-run frames to pull away, as the Eagles fell this past Sunday 6-0. After a three-run shot in the fourth inning by Kira Czyrklis gave KSU a 3-0 lead, the Owls tacked on three more in the fifth using a pair of singles to cap off the scoring.

UP NEXT
After their Jacksonville trip, the Eagles will stay on the road and face Lipscomb next weekend for (29-11, 8-4, ASUN). The Bisons currently sit in second place in the league standings.

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 603-312-3 (.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.