FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team collected the Saturday sweep of Long Island and UNCG at the FGCU Kickoff Classic.
The Eagles secured the two wins in come-from-behind fashion to improve to 2-2 on the young season. FGCU bounced back by notching a gritty 5-3 victory over LIU and a thrilling one-run win, 4-3, over UNCG. UNCG entered Saturday's slate 2-0, while LIU had begun the season 1-2.
"Two exciting games for our team today," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "In both cases, we were ahead, fell behind, and then came back to win late. It's just a testament to how much better our players are taking care of the process. We get to finish up the tournament tomorrow and hope to build on two good wins from today."
FGCU trailed 3-0 through four complete against LIU before sophomore Avery Viancos (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) finally broke up the no-hitter. A sac fly, a bases-loaded wild pitch, and a 2-run, RBI double later, the Eagles found themselves leading 4-3.
Freshman Nikki Gibson (Yorktown, Va./Grafton HS) put the Eagles on the board courtesy of the sac fly. Graduate student Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF), who reached by a single, scored on the wild pitch as senior Abbey Thomas (Fort Myers, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) produced the double to plate two FGCU baserunners giving the Green & Blue the lead.
FGCU would not relinquish its new found momentum. Redshirt sophomore Meagan Ricks (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS) drove a pitch back up the middle to bring in an sixth-inning insurance run for the Eagles. Through six complete, FGCU led 5-3.
LIU made the final frame interesting with a leadoff single. With a runner on third and the tying Sharks run on second, senior pitcher Baylee Haggard (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge HS/Florida SouthWestern State & South Florida State College) forced a groundout to seal the first victory of the season.
Haggard started the game and was relieved of her pitching duties in the fifth. Coach Deiros reentered Haggard into the circle with two on and no outs in the seventh. She was not phased and effectively recorded the final three outs for the win, her first for FGCU.
In the second game of the day, FGCU struck first against the Spartans. However, UNCG used a three-spot in the top half of the third to take a 3-1 advantage.
Facing another deficit, the Eagles quickly answered with a Gibson sac fly to draw to within one, 3-2. FGCU would continue to trail UNCG 3-2 through six and half innings. A 2-run, RBI double from freshman Madison Carr (Ferndale, Fla./Windermere Preparatory School) emerged as the winning recipe to lift the Eagles to the eventual Saturday sweep.
Junior Claire Maulding (Casey, Ill./Casey Westfield HS/Lake Land College) was credited with her first career win with Green & Blue against UNCG, tossing a hitless and scoreless final two frames or work. Offensively, seven different Eagles recorded a hit against the Spartans, tying a season high.
FGCU concludes the FGCU Kickoff Classic with a Sunday with one final matchup against LIU. The first pitch against the Sharks is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the FGCU Softball Complex.
FGCU Kickoff Classic Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 10
LIU vs UNCG (UNCG W, 6-2)
UNCG vs Binghamton (UNCG W, 8-0 in 5 inn.)
SIU vs LIU (SIU W, 3-0)
Binghamton @ FGCU (Binghamton W, 7-5)
SIU @ FGCU (SIU W, 6-3)
Saturday, Feb. 11
LIU vs Binghamton (LIU W, 4-0)
LIU vs FGCU (FGCU W, 5-3)
Binghamton vs (SIU, W 4-1)
UNCG vs FGCU (FGCU W, 4-3)
SIU vs UNCG (SIU W, 9-6)
Sunday, Feb. 12
10 a.m. UNCG vs Binghamton
12:30 p.m. LIU vs FGCU
For up-to-the-minute information on the FGCU softball program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_Softball, Instagram at fgcusoftball, Facebook, and stay tuned at FGCUAthletics.com.
COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros enters his 21st season as head coach in 2023. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the ground up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 708-399-3 (.638) record, gone 176-109 (.618) in the ASUN, had 16 seasons with a winning record and nine campaigns of 35+ wins. Deiros has also led the Eagles to three ASUN regular season championships (2008, 2012, and 2016) and one ASUN Tournament title (2012). In 2012, FGCU defeated No. 5 Florida in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Last season (2022), FGCU took down both No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Florida once again. 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 (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 confererence regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. 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 four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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.
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---
