BOCA RATON, FL – The FGCU softball team (5-4) will hit the road for the first time this season as the squad travels to FAU for the Strike Out Cancer Tournament.
FGCU begins play Saturday morning taking on UConn at 11:30 am followed by FAU at 2 pm. The Eagles end the weekend Sunday squaring off against UConn once more at 10:30 am.
Live stats for each contest can be found
here.
A video stream of the weekend can be viewed
here ($)
Last Time Out
The Eagles split a pair of games on the final day of the FGCU Invitational, falling to Lamar 4-1, before bouncing back with a 5-0 win over Memphis. One of the highlights over the weekend was FGCU hosting No. 2 world ranked Team Japan. In that game, the Green and Blue came back down from 2-0 deficit, before taking a 7-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth which included a three-run home run from freshman
Kyleigh Taylor (DeLand, FL./DeLand HS) en route to the 7-5 final.
Sammi Poehlman (Ormond Beach, FL./Daytona State) leads the Eagles in hitting with a .333 BA, tallying two RBI while
Farley Callaghan (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL./Ponte Vedra HS) is hitting .313 with three RBI.
In the circle for the Green and Blue, the pitching staff collectively hold a 0.78 ERA.
Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, FL./Northeast HS) is 3-2 boasting a 0.21 ERA and is holding opposing batters to a .197 BA. She's struck out 39 batters in 33 innings of work.
Scouting the Huskies
UConn is 3-5 this season after competing in the Upstate Classic last weekend. The squad has been hitting .208 over the last five games. Carli Cutler leads the way for the Huskies batting .348 with five RBI. Meanwhile, Briana Marcelino is hitting .308 with four RBI.
In the circle, Marybeth Olson is 1-1 with a 1.24 ERA in 17 innings of work pairing that with 17 strikeouts. The pitching staff as a whole holds a 4.06 ERA.
The Eagles are 5-0 all-time against UConn, as they took both meetings last year 8-3 and 2-1 at home.
Scouting the Owls
FAU is 3-7 overall (play Stetson Friday afternoon) as six of its opponents they've faced this year have been ranked, five of which they squared off against last weekend at the St. Pete/Clearwater Invitational. Offensively, Danielle Bieberie is hitting .400 with three runs scored while Mia Olson holds a .241 BA with a team-best four RBI.
In four appearances this season, Kelsey Morrison is 1-1 with a 1.24 ERA and is holding batters to a .210 BA. FAU has utilized six pitchers so far as they hold a collective ERA of 2.68.
FGCU trails the all-time series 4-6 as the Eagles split last year on the road with the Owls.
Up Next
FGCU will travel to Tampa, FL., for a doubleheader against USF next Wednesday, Feb. 27.
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 17th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 617-318-3 (.665) overall mark, 13 seasons with a winning record, and nine 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.
