FORT MYERS, Fla. – Facing its third top-25 team of the season already, the FGCU softball team came up short, Wednesday evening, against #14 Missouri, 6-0, at the FGCU Softball Complex. The Eagles fall to 2-3 while the Tigers improve to 4-2.
"It's tough to beat teams when you allow free baserunners," said head coach
David Deiros. "We'll have to regroup and prepare for a big weekend ahead of us."
FGCU pitchers struggled with their control all game as they walked nine batters. Missouri was able to take advantage early in the game as they scored two runs in each of the first two innings to take an early 4-0 lead.
Junior
Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) entered in relief in the third and threw four scoreless innings, wriggling out of a couple jams. She also collected her first hit as an Eagle with an infield single in the fourth.
Missouri added two insurance runs in the seventh to produce the final score.
The Eagles had their best chance to put runs on the board in the third as sophomore
Amaya Gainer (Tallahassee, Fla./Chiles HS) walked to lead off the inning followed by a ground-rule double by senior
McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) to set up second and third with no outs. However, the scoring threat came and went as the next three Eagles all came up empty.
In addition to Batterton and Hulme, junior
Neely Peterson (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State/Santa Fe College) and junior
Jordyn Gendron (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) also picked up hits on the night for the Eagles.
Laurin Krings and Jordan Weber combined for the shutout for the Tigers while striking out seven. Kimberly Wert provided the big blow at the plate for Mizzou with a two-run home run.
The Eagles will be back at the FGCU Softball Complex this weekend as they host the FGCU Invitational. Boston College and Belmont will be the first opponents for the Eagles on Friday night before also facing Austin Peay and Memphis over the weekend.
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.
COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball,
David Deiros is in his 20th season as head coach during the 2022 campaign. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 690-367-3 (.654), going 162-93 (.632) in the ASUN, having 15 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.
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!
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 25, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.
