FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team split day two action of the FGCU Invitational on Saturday.
The Eagles began the day season high in runs scored for a 7-2 victory over Lipscomb. In game two, FGCU fell to Middle Tennessee 5-1 for the second day in a row.
In the split, FGCU now enters the final day of the invitational on Sunday at 5-4 overall.
"It was like the movie Groundhog Day today," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros said. "It was almost a mirror image of yesterday as we played solid in the first game where we dominated in all facets, and then spotted Middle Tennessee State five runs. We tried to get ourselves out of the mess, and it was exactly what happened on Friday. The good news is that we fought the entire way together. We still have a long way to go in order to be a championship ball club. I like that we are trying to get there, and that's the most important thing."
FGCU came out firing early against the Bisons as the Eagles scored in the first and added four in the second inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Eagles' second-inning offensive explosion was highlighted by graduate student Tayli Filla's (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) bases-clearing double that extended her hit streak out the eight games.
FGCU pushed two runs across in the fifth courtesy of a RBI-single by junior Caridad Estes (West Palm Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches/Ball State) and a sac fly by sophomore Avery Viancos (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS).
The Bisons battled back with a run in the sixth and the seventh, but junior Claire Maulding (Casey, Ill./Casey Westfield HS/Lake Land College) and senior Baylee Haggard (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge HS/Florida SouthWestern State & South Florida State College) combined to seal the victory.
Maulding tossed a season-high six innings in the win, improving to 3-0. She surrendered only one run on five hits allowed and stuck out two. Haggard worked the final inning of relief.
Offensively, seven different Eagles tallied hits against the Bisons as Filla led the charge with two. Filla leads all Eagles this season with 11 hits, averaging .367 up at the plate.
However, FGCU's bats would go silent in the following game against the Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee held FGCU to a season low of just three hits.
The Blue Raiders jumped ahead early and reminiscent of Friday's contest, leading 3-0 after the top half of the first. FGCU's first hit of the game did not occur until the fifth inning as freshman Nikki Gibson (Yorktown, Va./Grafton HS) sent one back up the middle to break up the Blue Raider no-hitter.
Sophomore Meagan Rick's (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS) sac fly in the sixth finally broke the ice. FGCU also had a bases-loaded situation in the same inning with one out and could not drive in any more baserunners to draw closer.
Senior Ally Hulme (1-2) (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS State College of Florida) was credited with the loss in the circle for the Eagles in her fifth piching appearance of the season.
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.
FGCU Invitational Schedule/Results:
Day 1 (Friday, Feb. 17)
10 AM Lipscomb vs FAU (Lipscomb W, 4-2)
12:15 PM FAU @ FGCU (FGCU W, 5-0)
2:30 PM Lipscomb vs Boston College (Boston College W, 13-2 (5 inn.)
5 PM MTSU @ FGCU (MTSU W, 6-3)
7:30 PM Boston College vs MTSU (Boston College W, 4-3)
Day 2 (Saturday, Feb. 18)
10 AM Lipscomb @ FGCU (FGCU W, 7-2)
12:15 PM MTSU @ FGCU (MTSU, W 5-1)
2:30 PM FAU vs Lipscomb (FAU W, 4-2)
5 PM MTSU vs Boston College (MTSU W, 8-2)
7:30 PM Boston College vs FAU (FAU W, 6-4)
Day 3 (Sunday, Feb. 19)
9 AM (7-2) MTSU vs (1-5) Lipscomb
11:15 AM (6-3) Boston College @ (5-4) FGCU
1:30 PM (5-4) FAU @ FGCU
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 711-401-3 (.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.
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