FORT MYERS, Fla. – A four-running fifth inning doomed the FGCU Softball team (1-4) as the NIU Huskies (1-1) pulled away late with a 4-1 victory, Friday night at the FGCU Softball Complex.
"Marissa [Mesiemore] deserved better than that, especially in the fifth inning," said head coach
David Deiros. "We need to do better in all facets to come out on top tomorrow."
Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter HS) helped her own cause and kicked off the scoring for FGCU in the bottom of the fourth. The senior pitcher singled to short and soon advanced to second on a wild pitch before heading to third as an errant throw by the catcher sailed into the outfield. Just one batter later, senior
Maddy Johnson (Lake Wales, Fla./FSW) brought home Mesiemore on a sac fly to center field.
The lead was short-lived as the visitors posted four runs on two hits and two errors for the 4-1 lead. FGCU registered a pair of hits in the bottom of the seventh, eventually putting runners in scoring position before back-to-back grounders to third ended the night.
In her six innings of work, each run by Mesiemore was unearned as she scattered five hits. At the dish, the Eagles posted seven hits, leaving eight on the pads.
Up Next
FGCU is back tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon facing NIU at 1:15 p.m. and UConn (2-0) at 6:30 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 19th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 662-349-3 (.653), going 147-90 (.620) in the ASUN, having 14 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 83 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 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 (No. 24, 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each 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.5:15 p.m. The Eagles will then face FIU (3-0) after at 7:30 p.m.
