FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (6-2) split two games Friday night, first taking down Furman (1-4) by a score of 9-1 before falling to Memphis (4-3), 3-2, at the FGCU Softball Complex.
"Tonight was fun. Those are the games we want to be a part of," said head coach
David Deiros. "I know we won the first one pretty easily, but that's not the kind of games we want to play. The kind of games we want to be able to play and compete in, are the ones like the second contest. We were battling back the entire way and had chances to take the lead but couldn't come up with it. I hope our kids build on that because we played well enough to win, it just didn't go our way."
FGCU 9 | Furman 1
Johneisha Rowe (Avon Park, Fla./Sebring) started the frame off with a single to center then stole second.
McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt) made it 1-0 with a double to score in Rowe. In the bottom of the fourth, the Green and Blue broke out with four runs, scoring each one with two outs. Rowe knocked one to center to bring in
Hannah Shemansky (Lakeland, Fla./Santa Fe Catholic) as Batterton then hit one up the middle to bring in
Kacie Huber (Dade, City, Fla./Pasco HS).
Mikenzie Vaughn (Kennesaw, Ga./FSW) capped off the scoring with another base hit up the middle, plating home Batterton and Rowe.
Rowe collected her second RBI of the game scoring
Jordyn Gendron (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) who doubled to center to start the bottom of the fourth. The final crooked number of the contest came in the bottom of the sixth.
Nicole Hayslip (Royal Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach HS) singled to left with one out as
Ashley Hayes (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) walked to put runners on first and second.
Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast) then lined a hard hit to the shortstop that got into left field, scoring Hayslip. Two batters later,
Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail) doubled down the left field line to plate pinch-runner Batterton and Bauman, ending the game via the run-rule.
Starting pitcher
Sarah Lawton (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross/FSW) moved to 3-0 after tossing five innings, allowing just two hits while striking out a season-high eight batters.
Memphis 3 | FGCU 2
The Tigers jumped on the board first in the third inning scoring three runs on four hits. FGCU though, responded back in its own half.
Sammi Poehlman (Ormond Beach, Fla./Daytona State) advanced to second after a fielder's choice on a foul fly ball to right. Up next,
Haley Morrell (Tampa, Fla./Academy of Holy Names) reached on a throwing error as Poehlman raced from second to home.
FGCU scratched its second run in the bottom of the sixth. Vaughn singled and Davenport's walk put both runners on. Poehlman then laid down a bunt reaching first safely but a bad throw allowed Vaughn to score from second. The Eagles made it interesting in the final inning as Rowe singled, stole second and was moved over to third on a sac bunt from Batterton. One batter later, the shortstop would throw Rowe out at home after scooping up a ground ball.
Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter) is tagged with the loss moving her to 3-2. At the dish, Rowe and Poehlman each produced two hits.
Up Next
FGCU returns back to the diamond tomorrow taking on Memphis at 4:45 p.m. followed by UIC at 7 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 648-339-3 (.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.
