FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (23-17, 12-3 ASUN) took down Jacksonville (23-16, 9-9 ASUN), 5-4, to claim the Sunday series on Senior Day.

"It was a big day for our seniors as we came through today to take the series over JU," said head coach David Deiros. "A big congratulations to Maddy, Ahnie, Hope, Haley, Sarah, Marissa, Farley, and Taylor. I'm glad we were able to honor them today for everything they have given to this program."

JU scored one run in the first and third innings to jump ahead 2-0 before FGCU tied the game on a two-run double from Maddy Johnson (Lake Wales, Fla./Lake Region HS/FSW) in the bottom of the fourth. Haley Morrell (Tampa, Fla./Academy of Holy Names) led off the bottom half with a double to right as Hannah Shemansky (Lakeland, Fla./Santa Fe Catholic) came in as the pinch runner. Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast HS) laid down a sac bunt to move Shemansky to third. Pinch hitter Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail HS) then singled to the pitcher and stole second.

Farley Callaghan (Ponte Vedra, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) was then hit on the elbow to load the bases. Moments later, Johnson ripped the first pitch she saw to left for the two-run double.

After coming in relief for starter Sarah Lawton (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross HS/FSW) in the fourth with two outs, Marissa Mesiemore helped her own cause and gave FGCU the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run blast to center – her second homer of the season.

JU was able to tie the contest in the top of the sixth but the 4-4 tie was broken up in the next half. Johnson started the frame with a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sac bunt from Ahnie Jumper (Clewiston, Fla./Plantation American Heritage). Two batters later, McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) skied a pop fly that landed between second and the pitcher as Johnson continued to round third for the score.

Mesiemore proceeded to shut the door in the final frame collecting a swinging strikeout and producing two pop flies en route to the 5-4 win. She moves to 13-6, tossing 3.1 innings of relief, scattering four hits, one walk while fanning two. Lawton pitched the first 3.2 frames as she yielded five hits, two earned runs, one walk with one strikeout.

At the plate, FGCU manufactured seven hits with Morrell going 2-for-3 (2B, 1B). Johnson and Mesiemore each finished with two RBI. 

Up Next
FGCU will close out the regular season with a three-game series at Stetson April 30-May 1.

Around the ASUN
Liberty def. Bellarmine, 8-0 & 10-0
North Florida def. Stetson, 2-1
Georgia Tech def. Kennesaw State, 3-2

ASUN Standings

South Division

Place	Team	ASUN	Overall
1.	FGCU	12-3	23-17
2.	Jacksonville	9-9	23-16
3.	North Florida	9-9	17-20
4.	Stetson	3-12	8-21

North Division

Place	Team	ASUN	Overall
1.	Liberty	12-2	32-12
2.	Kennesaw State	10-2	22-20
3.	North Alabama	5-7	17-14
4.	Lipscomb	5-7	16-16
5.	Bellarmine	0-14	6-28

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 684-362-3 (.653), going 159-93 (.631) 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.