TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (5-7) started off the morning blanking FAMU (0-3), 8-0 behind Marissa Mesiemore's no-hitter before falling to No. 15 Florida State (10-3), 4-1, Saturday afternoon at JoAnne Graf Field.

Mesiemore's (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter HS) no-hitter becomes the fifth in program history and the second in the Division-I era.

No-Hitters
Feb. 12, 2005 vs Palm Beach Atlantic
Feb. 25, 2006 vs Mercyhurst
Feb. 28, 2006 vs Mercyhurst
Feb. 20, 2009 vs Fairfield
Feb. 27, 2021 vs FAMU

"It was nice to see us come back with a strong day of softball after a disappointing one yesterday," said head coach David Deiros. "Congrats to Marissa on her performance today in the circle as we're looking forward to a strong finish to this tournament tomorrow."

Game 1 | FGCU 8, FAMU 0 (5 innings)
Right from the start, the Eagles pushed across three runs in the bottom of the first. Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail HS) laced a one-out double to left as Abbey Thomas (Fort Myers, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) brought her home two batters later with a two-out knock up the middle. Hope Hernandez (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain HS/Troy) then smacked a double to left to put runners on the corners.

Up next, Farley Callaghan (Ponte Vedra, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) lined a slow shot to second base which was dropped, allowing Thomas to touch home plate from third. Following a scoreless second, FGCU tacked on three more in the third inning for the 6-0 lead. Hernandez led off the frame with an infield single and moved to third after a grounder and a passed ball with one away. McKenna Batterton's (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) single to left field brought home Hernandez.

Facing two outs, Hannah Shemansky (Lakeland, Fla./Santa Fe Catholic) singled to center and swiped second to extend the inning. Up next, Tallahassee's own Amaya Gainer (Tallahassee, Fla./Chiles HS) dropped an opposite-field base hit to right field for the RBI. Gainer proceeded to steal second and came around to score after a throwing miscue from FAMU on a bunt single from Johneisha Rowe (Avon Park, Fla./Sebring HS).  

FGCU's final two runs arrived in the bottom of the fourth. Thomas lined a one-out double to left-center as Ahnie Jumper (Clewiston, Fla./Plantation American Heritage) pinch-ran for the sophomore – grounder from Hernandez moved Jumper to third. Jumper soon came home on an RBI double to left from Callaghan. Maddy Johnson (Lake Wales, Fla./Lake Region HS/FSW) was brought in as runner for her, quickly stole third, and trotted home as the throw sailed past third base.

Throughout this, Mesiemore controlled the Rattlers' order tossing just 68 pitches while striking out four with no walks in the no-hit process. She moves to 3-4 in the circle.

At the dish a trio of Eagles went 2-for-3 – Davenport, Thomas, and Hernandez – they each hit one double.

Game 2 | #15 FSU 4, FGCU 1
The Seminoles took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a sac fly to center field. In the bottom of the fifth, the home side used another sac fly for a 2-0 lead before a two-out, two-run double gave the Seminoles a 4-0 advantage.

FGCU pushed a run across in its final attempt in the seventh. Johnson was on board after getting plunked and moved to second on a grounder. Up next, Rowe laid down a bunt single as a throwing error from the third baseman allowed Johnson to touch home plate.

FGCU out-hit the 15th-ranked Seminoles, 4-3. Hernandez capped off the game going 3-for-3 with a double. Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast HS) tossed six frames, scattering just three hits with five walks and four runs.

Up Next
FGCU returns back to JoAnne Graf Field Sunday morning taking on Southeastern Louisiana (6-5) at 9 a.m., followed by FAMU at 11:30 a.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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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 666-352-3 (.652), 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.