ORLANDO, Fla. – The FGCU softball team dropped two games at the UCF Softball Complex, Saturday as the Eagles fell to South Carolina, 16-1, and #24 UCF, 11-2. The Eagles fall to 7-14 on the season while the Gamecocks improve to 12-6 and the Knights to 14-7.
"South Carolina just kicked us in the mouth early," said head coach
David Deiros. "Then we kept it close against UCF until they broke away late, but we've got to do a better job of stringing together hits and scoring some runs. We are struggling at the plate right now, but we've got one more chance tomorrow to improve before ASUN play starts next week."
Against South Carolina, the Gamecocks scored five in the second and three in the third to take a big early lead and then really broke the game open in the fifth as they scored eight runs.
Senior
Kacie Huber (Dade City, Fla./Pasco HS) provided the lone run of the game for Eagles as she hit an RBI triple in the fifth.
Against the Knights, FGCU fell behind early once again as UCF took a 1-0 lead after one inning, but the Eagles tied it up in the third on a single by senior
Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail HS).
After the Knights retook a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third, redshirt-senior
Cana Davis (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby HS/Virginia Tech) got one run back with an RBI single. The Eagles almost tied it up as senior
McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) tried to score on Davis' single, but she was thrown out at the plate.
UCF added to its lead in the fourth with two runs before clinching the victory in the fifth with a six-spot on the scoreboard.
The Eagles will have two more chances tomorrow to pick up wins in Orlando as they will take on South Carolina at 9 a.m. and UCF at 11:30 a.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 695-376-3 (.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
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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 89 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 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. 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.
