FORT MYERS, Fla. – Taking two different routes to victory, the FGCU softball team picked up a pair of wins on day one of the FGCU Invitational, Friday evening at the FGCU Softball Complex. In their first game, the Eagles defeated Boston College, 8-0, in five innings before mounting a six-run comeback in the final two innings against Belmont, defeating the Bruins, 7-6.
FGCU improves to 4-3 on the season while Boston College to 4-3 and Belmont drops to 1-1.
"Pretty cool that we found two different ways to win ballgames today," said head coach
David Deiros. "We dominated in game one in every facet, and then we found a way to come back from a really big deficit. Just kudos to
Angelina Bonilla for coming in and keeping us in the ball game until the bats came around, getting a big home run from
Neely Peterson and just big day all the way around from
Hope Hernandez. We'll build on it and see if we can get better tomorrow."
In game one against Boston College, junior
Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) was dominant in the circle, throwing a five-inning shutout while striking out three and allowing just three hits.
A big five-run second inning gave the Eagles the lead. After a couple of runs scored on groundouts, senior
McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) delivered the big blow with a two-run triple.
A two-RBI single by redshirt-senior
Cana Davis (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby HS/Virginia Tech) extended the Eagles lead to 7-0 in the fourth before the Eagles scored an unearned run in the fifth to end the ballgame.
In the nightcap against Belmont, the Eagles fell behind early and eventually trailed 6-1 after the top of the fifth. However, the Eagles started their comeback in the home half as Davis drove in a run with a double before junior
Neely Peterson (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State/Santa Fe College) smacked the first home run of the year for FGCU, a three-run shot down the left-field line.
Still trailing by one entering the sixth, the Eagles completed their comeback with two runs to take the lead as graduate student
Hope Hernandez (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain HS/Troy) knocked in a pair with a two-run single.
In the top of the seventh, sophomore
Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS), who had already thrown 1.2 scoreless innings, secured the victory as she set the Bruins down in order, striking out the last two batter of the game.
The Eagles will be back in action tomorrow for day two of the FGCU Invitational. The Green and Blue will Belmont again at 5 p.m. before battling future ASUN opponent Austin Peay at 7:30 p.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.
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 692-367-3 (.653), 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
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#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.
