CLEARWATER, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (13-11) swept day two of the USF Tournament, first taking down Quinnipiac (4-13), 7-4, and finished off the evening downing No. 21 Minnesota (18-8), 4-1, at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
"Today we played two great games and I'm very proud of our kids," head coach
David Deiros said, "Morgan [White] had a stellar outing in game one against Quinnipiac coming in relief as we rallied from behind. Against Minnesota, Riley [Randolph] had another huge performance in the circle and Farley [Callaghan] came up with a monster triple to clear the bases for us. We played great against another top-25 team and getting the win is not only good for our program but it gives us confidence going into ASUN play next week."
FGCU 7 | QUINNIPIAC 4
The Bobcats took the early advantage over the Eagles striking with two runs in the top of the first. FGCU though quickly answered as
Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, FL./Bartram Trail HS) laced an RBI single.
Kate Kelly (Cape Coral, FL./Seminole State College) began the frame with a base hit, stole second and moved to third on the throwing error. Davenport then hit one up the middle for the run.
QU pushed across two more runners in the third as the Eagles were scoreless until the sixth frame. Looking at one out, Davenport and
Mikenzie Vaughn (Kennesaw, GA./Florida Southwestern) were on with a single and a walk, respectively. Pinch-hitter
Sammi Poehlman (Ormond Beach, FL./Daytona State) stepped in and drilled a triple to center to clear the bags.
McKenna Batterton (Norco, CA./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) kept the inning alive with two away, getting plunked by a pitch. Kelly then brought Poehlman in with a single up the middle and swiped second to put runners in scoring position.
Haley Morrell (Tampa, FL./Academy of Holy Names) brought both runners finding a hole up the middle as the scoring was capped off with a double down the left-field line from
Racquel Fournet (Windermere, FL./Windermere Preparatory School).
It was more than enough insurance for pitcher
Morgan White (Ocala, FL./Forest HS) who entered in the second inning. White (1-1) earns her first victory of the season going 4.2 innings of relief, allowing just one hit in 53 pitches.
Poehlman and Morrell finished with two RBI apiece.
FGCU 4 | #21 MINNESOTA 1
It was a scoreless battle through three innings with the 21st-ranked team in the nation, but the Eagles exploded with a four-run fourth. Morrell drew a leadoff walk as Fournet singled through the right side. Davenport moved both runners over on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt.
Brooke Clemens (West Rotunda, FL./Florida) walked to load the bags to set up Vaughn for the RBI single to left. Two batters later with two away,
Farley Callaghan (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL./Ponte Vedra HS) cleared the bags with a triple to right to cap off the scoring.
Starting pitcher
Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, FL./Northeast HS) was in a zone, yielding just three hits with the only run being a home run to left-center in the bottom of the sixth. The Gophers did not go away without a fight as they loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Taylor Chell – who hit the home run one inning prior – stepped into the box but would strike out swinging to end the game. In the process, FGCU snapped the Gophers' five-game win streak.
It becomes Randolph's (10-5) 12th complete outing of the season as she fanned four batters while walking just two.
Fournet finished her night at the plate going 3-for-4 while Callaghan went 1-for-2 with three RBI.
FGCU has now taken down two ranked opponents within the last four days as the Eagles defeated No. 15 Indiana, 3-1, Tuesday night at the FGCU Softball Complex.
Up Next
FGCU takes on North Dakota State at 11:15 Sunday morning in its only contest of the day.
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 624-325-3 (.657) 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.
