TAMPA, FL – The FGCU softball team (7-6) fell in a close 1-0 battle to USF (9-7) Wednesday night at the USF Softball Stadium.
"Riley threw a gem," head coach
David Deiros said. "Unfortunately for us, so did Corrick. We had loads of chances to score the tying and lead run, but we just couldn't execute. We'll try to be better on the west coast."
The home side scored the only run of the night in its half of the first frame off a sacrifice fly. FGCU collected its first pair of hits in the third and fourth innings. Senior
Kate Kelly (Cape Coral, FL./Seminole State College) singled to left with two out as senior
Racquel Fournet (Windermere, FL./Windermere Preparatory School) led the fourth with a double to left.
FGCU attempted one more comeback in the final inning, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate twice. Kelly collected her second hit of the night knocking one up the middle as junior
Sammi Poehlman (Ormond Beach, FL./Daytona State) – who was intentionally walked twice during the course of the contest – found her way on via a fielding error. But USF's starting pitcher Georgina Corrick ended the Eagles' threat with a strikeout in the 1-0 final.
In total, the Eagles stranded eight runners on the bases.
Besides conceding only her second earned run of the season in the first, senior starting pitcher
Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, FL./Northeast HS) tossed six innings of three-hit softball. The St. Petersburg native finished with 11 strikeouts, giving her six-straight contests with at least nine strikeouts while only walking one Bull. She now moves to a 5-3 record in the losing effort.
Up Next
FGCU will travel to San Diego, CA., to participate in the San Diego Classic from Mar. 1-3 followed by a contest against San Diego State on Mar. 5.
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 619-320-3 (.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.
