DELAND, Fla. – FGCU softball dropped game three of the weekend series at Stetson 6-1 on Sunday.
The Eagles have now fallen to 13-25 overall and 6-9 in the ASUN. The Hatters jumped up to 19-22 overall and 8-4 in league play following the weekend sweep of the Eagles. On Saturday, Stetson, won game one 5-0 and game two 2-1.
"Tough weekend all around," head coach David Deiros said. "Offensively, we have to get the bats going throughout the order. Defensively, Reedy [Davenport) and Riley [Oakes] made some highlight reel catches today behind our pitchers who tossed well. Looking forward to getting back to practice this week to clean up a few things before our home series finale against Liberty."
FGCU struck first on Sunday to lead for the first time all series. Tayli Filla connected on an RBI-triple down the right-field line to give the Eagles an 1-0 advantage in the second. Stetson promptly answered in the third to tie the game at one apiece.
Just two pitches made the difference. A three-run homer and two-run shot by Stetson in the fifth lifted the Hatters to victory.
The Green and Blue mustered four hits Sunday to Stetson's 10. For the series, the Hatters outhit the Eagles 23-13, keeping one of the conference's top hitters, Cana Davis, in check.
Filla recorded half of FGCU's hits Sunday with a 2-for-3 effort as Hope Hernandez produced a double and McKenna Batterton barrelled a single.
In the circle for the Eagles, Ally Hulme was credited with her second loss of the weekend. Hulme pitched 4.0 innings, surrendering three runs on five hits and struck out three. For the season, Hulme has recorded a team-high of 85 strikeouts.
Riley Oakes and Madi Wicker each tossed an inning in relief of Hulme.
In the circle for the Hatters, Lauren Hobbs recorded her second complete game of the series against the Eagles.
FGCU will return to the diamond next Friday and Saturday, April 15-16, to host Liberty for its home series finale.
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 701-389-3 (.641), going 166-101 (.622) 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.
