FORT MYERS, FL – The FGCU softball team (11-4) walked away with a 3-1 decision over Harvard (1-4) Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Softball Complex to cap off the Spring Break Invitational.

"It was just a nice day for us to finish off the weekend. It was a tough battle all the way through," said head coach David Deiros. We were able to string some things together in that sixth inning. It wasn't really Sarah's best effort but she just battles, fights and keeps on going. Marissa came in and shut the door so it was a good effort all-around by our team today."  

FGCU struck first in the bottom of the first with Johneisha Rowe (Avon Park, FL/Sebring HS) reaching on an error and soon stole second – her ninth of the season. Three batters later, Hope Hernandez (Tampa, FL/Troy/Chamberlain HS) launched a ball to right field for the RBI sac fly.  

Harvard's lone run arrived in top of the second, a solo shot off the bat of Megan Welsh.

The contest remained tied until the bottom of the sixth where the Eagles' offense created hits from Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, FL/South Sumter HS) and Jordyn Gendron (Tampa, FL/Wharton HS) along with a walk from Haley Morrell (Tampa, FL/Academy of Holy Names) to load the bags. This led to Rowe drawing a full-count walk to make it 2-0. Up next, Maddy Johnson (Lake Wales, FL/FSW/Lake Region HS) skied one to left field for the sac fly and FGCU's third run.

Starting pitcher Sarah Lawton (Waterbury, CT/FSW/Holy Cross) tossed four innings as Mesiemore (6-3) garnered the win, yielding just one hit in her three frames of work – retired nine of the 10 batters she faced.

Up Next
FGCU will welcome in-state foe USF (6-7) Wednesday afternoon for a doubleheader. The Bulls are coming off a 3-2 win over No. 12 Tennessee.

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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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 653-341-3 (.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 81 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.