FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (8-2) walked away with two wins Saturday night, first taking down Memphis (5-4), 5-1, followed by an 8-0 run-rule victory over UIC (2-2). In the process, the program recorded its 650th win overall.

"The two wins tonight were not easy and we knew that coming into the day," said head coach David Deiros. "Both games were very close, competitive and I'm glad we were able to bounce back against Memphis, after dropping one to them last night. We have one more game left Sunday afternoon against #24 Arkansas so we're excited to get back out there against another very good team. Lastly, it's such an amazing feat to get to 650 wins, so a huge thank you to everyone – Eagles past and present – that have been a part of this journey since the program's inception in 2003."

FGCU 5 | Memphis 1
Scoreless through four and a half frames, Hope Hernandez (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain/Troy) put the Eagles on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Abbey Thomas (Fort Myers, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) hit a one-out single as Hannah Shemansky (Lakeland, Fla./Santa Fe Catholic) would pinch-run. Up next, Hernandez drove the first pitch she saw to left center for the double, scoring Shemansky. Two batters later, pinch-hitter Jordyn Gendron (Tampa, Fla/Wharton HS) plated home Hernandez with a single up the middle.

One batter later, Johneisha Rowe (Avon Park, Fla./Sebring) reached on an infield single but a fielding error at first allowed Gendron to score from third to make it 3-0 FGCU. The Green and Blue pushed its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Poehlman singled to start the frame, stole second and moved to third on a grounder. Hernandez produced her second RBI chopping one to the shortstop to score Poehlman. Haley Morrell (Tampa, Fla./Academy of Holy Names) laid down a sac bunt to move Hernandez to second, as Kacie Huber (Dade, City, Fla./Pasco HS) knocked one to right field for the 5-0 advantage.

Memphis scored in the final inning but it was more than enough insurance on the board for Sarah Lawton (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross/FSW) as the junior tossed her second complete game of the season, moving to 4-0. She fanned a season-high nine batters while conceding just three hits in the process.

FGCU 8 | UIC 0
In the bottom of the third, Maddy Johnson (Lake Wales, Fla./FSW) hit a leadoff single to get things going as Huber then reached on a fielding error. After both Eagles advanced one base on a pass ball, Johnson was plated home on a grounder from McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS).

FGCU added another run in the bottom of the fifth courtesy of an RBI single from Johnson scoring Sammi Poehlman (Ormond Beach, Fla./Daytona State), who singled and stole second earlier.

The Eagles ended the contest via run-rule posting six runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by six hits including one UIC error. Morrell was hit with the bases loaded for a run as three-straight singles from Rowe, Batterton and Vaughn made it 6-0.  Facing one out still, Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail) snuck a base hit through the right-side scoring Rowe first, then the throwing error to second base, allowed Batterton to win it for the Eagles, 8-0.

In the circle, Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter) pitched six innings and struck out a season-high 10 batters, moving to 4-2 overall this season. At the dish, Johnson finished her night going 3-for-3 while Rowe plated two runners.  

Up Next
FGCU returns back to the diamond Sunday afternoon taking on #24 Arkansas (6-1) at 12:30 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.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

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 650-339-3 (.657), 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.