FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (5-1) handed Furman (1-3) an 8-1 defeat Thursday night to kick off the FGCU Invitational Tournament this weekend.
"Really nice workman victory for our team tonight. [Rowe] got our offense going right away in the bottom of the first and we took advantage of a mistake by them and broke the game open the next inning," said head
David Deiros. "Our pitching staff did a tremendous job all-around and held them to just to just three hits all night."
*Updated Tournament Schedule for Friday and Saturday*
| Friday 2/14 |
1st Base Dugout |
3rd Base Dugout |
| 10:00 AM |
UIC |
Furman--HOME |
| 12:15 PM |
UIC--HOME |
Memphis |
| 2:45 PM |
Furman |
FGCU-HOME |
| 5:00 PM |
Memphis |
FGCU-HOME |
| Saturday 2/15 |
1st Base Dugout |
3rd Base Dugout |
| 10:00 AM |
Arkansas |
Furman--HOME |
| 12:15 PM |
Memphis--HOME |
Furman |
| 2:30 PM |
UIC |
Arkansas--HOME |
| 4:45 PM |
Memphis |
FGCU-HOME |
| 7:00 PM |
UIC |
FGCU-HOME |
Senior
Mikenzie Vaughn (Kennesaw, Ga./FSW) went 3-for-3 with three RBI highlighted by a solo home run in the fourth. Meanwhile,
Johneisha Rowe (Avon Park, Fla./Sebring) scored two runs while
McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt) and
Ahnie Jumper (Clewiston, Fla./Plantation American Heritage) each plated home two Eagles.
Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter) walked away with her third win of the year (3-1), tossing four innings of work while fanning seven batters and conceded one earned run.
Sarah Lawton (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross/FSW) and
Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast) yielded just one hit in their combined three innings of relief. Lawton Fanned four batters in her two frames.
Rowe smacked a leadoff triple to right center to ignite the offense in the bottom of the first. Two batters later, Vaughn brought her home with a hit down the right field line. In the bottom of the second, FGCU broke the scoring with four runs on three hits including one error.
Sammi Poehlman (Ormond Beach, Fla./SeaBreeze/Daytona State) laced a one-out double to center as
Abbey Thomas (Fort Myers, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) then walked. With two away, Rowe reached on a throwing error allowing Poehlman to come home. Batterton ballooned the lead to 4-1 smacking a two-run single up the middle, going to second on the throw. Vaughn would bring home Batterton next with another knock to center.
In the fourth, Vaughn launched her second home run of the season over the left field wall to make it 6-1. FGCU tacked on its final two runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth, a two-run single off the bat of Jumper with two outs.
Haley Morrell (Tampa, Fla./Academy of Holy Names) reached on an error to start the frame as pinch-hitter
Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail) walked. Poehlman moved them over on a sac bunt, leading to the single by Jumper.
Up Next
FGCU will face Furman Friday afternoon at 2:45 p.m. followed by Memphis at 5 p.m.
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.
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COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros is in his 18th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 647-338-3 (.656), going 147-90 (.620) in the ASUN, having 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.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 80 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
