KENNESAW, Ga. – The top-seeded FGCU softball team (28-18) dropped an 8-1 game to the North's No. 2 seed Kennesaw State (25-23) Thursday evening at Bailey Park.

FGCU will now face Jacksonville (No. 2 South seed) at 12:30 pm in an elimination game Friday afternoon. The winner will go on to face the loser of #25 Liberty (No. 1 North seed)/Kennesaw State at 5:30 pm.

"There's not much to say; it wasn't our best performance tonight," said head coach David Deiros. "The process of putting this game behind us starts right away so we can continue to survive and advance in this  tournament."

FGCU jumped on the board in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead thanks to an opposite-field base hit to right off the bat of starting pitcher Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter HS). The Bushnell native drove in Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail HS) who doubled with two outs previously. Following a scoreless second frame from both teams, KSU took the lead for good with a five-third. An RBI single from Christen Florence tied the game before Taylor Cates launched a grand slam to left for the 5-1 margin.

From there, KSU would go on to score one run apiece in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings for the eventual 8-1 final.

In the losing effort, Mesiemore (16-7) became the seventh Eagle in program history to eclipse 400 innings in the circle – entered the game at 399.0. She tossed 4.1 frames scattering nine hits on seven runs. Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast HS) worked the final 2.2 innings, yielding one run on four hits.

At the plate, FGCU produced six hits as Mesiemore went 1-for-3 (RBI) while Davenport finished 1-for-3 (2B, BB).

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 689-363-3 (.655), going 162-93 (.632) 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.