NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After falling 6-4 in the opening game of its weekend series, the FGCU softball team earned a split on Saturday with a big offensive outburst in a 16-5 win over Lipscomb at Draper Diamond. The two teams will play the rubber match on Sunday at 1 PM. The Eagles improved to 11-20 overall and 4-4 in ASUN action, while the Bisons fell to 12-18 overall and 2-3 in league play.
 
"We weren't able to generate enough offense in the first game of the day, but clearly we were able to refocus for the second game. Emily was fantastic in the second game at the plate and we were able to take advantage of what was given to us," said head coach David Deiros. "It's important that we are ready to go for tomorrow's rubber match in a key series for us."
 
With the win in the second game, Deiros earned career win No. 699 and will look to capture No. 700 on Sunday.
 
Overall, Emily Estroff was 6-of-7 on the day at the plate with four RBI and two runs scored. Ally Hulme earned the win in the circle for the second game improving to 7-8 on the year after pitching two innings. She posted a strikeout in game two after fanning five in the first.
 
After three scoreless innings in game one, Estroff singled to bring home Cana Davis before scoring herself later in the inning giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
 
Lipscomb answered with six runs in the fifth including a pair of doubles from Presley Leebrick and Maci Cunconan which brought home two runs each.
 
The Eagles looked to rally in the top of the seventh as a double by McKenna Batterton scored Neely Peterson and Tayli Filla making it 6-4. A Davis single through the left side put Batterton in scoring position, but a foul out ended the game.
 
Game two was highlighted by a career-best 4-for-4 effort at the plate by Estroff, while Abbey Thomas had a career-high five RBI. The Eagles posted a season-high 17 hits and eight walks which produced a season-best 16 runs. The 16 runs were the most since scoring 21 against South Dakota (3/5/21) last season where the Eagles had 18 hits.
 
FGCU jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one and made it 7-0 after the second. Lipscomb got three runs back in the bottom of the second, but a six-run third inning pushed the Eagles' lead to 13-3.
 
The Bisons got two runs back in the bottom of the third. The Eagles closed out the game with three more runs in the fifth as Estroff, Filla, and Davenport each scored. Hulme recorded a strikeout in the bottom of the fifth after giving up a single. Leebrick advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Hulme forced a fly out and a ground out to end the game.
 
Following tomorrow's rubber match, the Eagles will return home to host Jacksonville State in a three game series with a Saturday doubleheader (2/4:30 PM) followed by the finale on Sunday (1 PM).
 
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 699-384-3 (.653), going 164-96 (.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 90 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 44 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. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) 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 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) 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.