FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team will host the No. 3 Florida Gators in a sold-out game Wednesday afternoon at the FGCU Softball Complex. There will be no walk-up ticket sales available.
The Green and Blue
Wednesday's contest will be the first and only mid-week tilt the Eagles host as they are coming off a 1-2 weekend at USF.
Johneisha Rowe (Avon Park, Fla./Sebring HS) is hitting .367 with 26 stolen bases (26-for-27), which ranks seventh in the country. Meanwhile,
McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) is batting .347 with 10 RBI.
Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail HS) leads the Eagles in RBI (22) and walks (15).
In the circle for FGCU,
Sarah Lawton (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross HS/FSW) holds the team low in ERA (1.99) and is 7-4 in 14 appearances.
Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter HS) leads the squad in wins (11) and has tossed the most innings (98.1).
Florida
The Gators took two of three from then-ranked No. 3 Alabama this past weekend as they make their first-ever visit to Fort Myers Wednesday night. The lineup features four Gators batting over .300 led by Hannah Adams at .407. She is one of five players that have posted over 20 RBI (28) as Charla Echols paces the squad with 40, as well as home runs (10).
Five pitchers have seen action this season with Elizabeth Hightower going 15-3 in 25 appearances (111.1 IP) posting a team-low 1.32 ERA. Meanwhile, Natalie Lugo is 10-1 with a 1.52 ERA.
Series Notes
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between both programs (Florida leads it, 5-1). Last season in Gainesville, FGCU fell to then-ranked No. 5 Florida, 3-1. The Eagles were on the board in the top of the first with a solo home run before the Gators scored one in the second frame followed by two in the fifth.
In 2012, FGCU upset the No. 5-ranked Gators, 2-1, in the NCAA Regional matchup. It was FGCU's first-ever appearance and game in the NCAA Tournament in the program's Division I era.
Around the ASUN (Wednesday, Apr. 21)
Virginia @ Liberty (4 pm)
Jacksonville @ Georgia Southern (5 & 7 pm)
Austin Peay @ Lipscomb (5 pm)
Georgia State @ Kennesaw State (6 pm)
ASUN Standings
South Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
FGCU |
10-2 |
21-15 |
| 2. |
Jacksonville |
8-7 |
22-13 |
| 3. |
North Florida |
7-8 |
15-19 |
| 4. |
Stetson |
2-10 |
7-19 |
North Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
Kennesaw State |
10-2 |
20-19 |
| 2. |
Liberty |
10-2 |
29-12 |
| 3. |
North Alabama |
5-7 |
17-14 |
| 4. |
Lipscomb |
3-7 |
14-16 |
| 5. |
Bellarmine |
0-10 |
6-24 |
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 682-360-3 (.655), going 157-92 (.630) 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 85 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 39 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.
