GAINESVILLE, FL – The FGCU softball team (13-7) battled the No. 7 Florida Gators on the road (18-4) as a late home run gave UF a 3-1 victory, Wednesday night, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
"I'm proud of the way our team battled tonight against the No. 7 team in the country," said head coach
David Deiros. "I'm not a big believer in moral victories but if we can play like the way we did tonight, I like our chances down the stretch. Besides the late home run, I like what our pitching staff was able to do tonight against their hitters. On our side offensively, we battled their ace the entire seven innings in the circle and did some really good things to throw their plan off. These are the games we want to keep playing in ahead of conference play."
The Eagles jumped on the board first as
Mikenzie Vaughn (Kennesaw, GA/FSW/Harrison HS) launched her third home run of the year over the left-center field wall. FGCU maintained the 1-0 lead until Florida was able to tie it with a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the second.
The 1-1 contest was broken in the bottom of the fifth. Baylee Goddard smacked a two-run home run over the center-field wall which proved to the difference in the ball game as the Gators came out on top, 3-1.
Vaughn finished her night at the dish going 2-for-3 with a home run and a single.
Sarah Lawton (Waterbury, CT/FSW/Holy Cross) suffers the loss giving up the two runs in the bottom of the fifth. She moves to 6-3 overall in the circle.
Starting pitcher
Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, FL/South Sumter HS) tossed three innings of work, scattering four hits.
Up Next
FGCU will play five games in three days in Madeira Beach starting Thursday afternoon against Loyola Chicago at 2 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 655-344-3 (.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 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.
