FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team will hit the road for the first time this season for a doubleheader showdown at South Florida on Wednesday and Florida State's Unconquered Invitational on Thursday through Saturday.
The Eagles enter Wednesday's action at USF with a 7-4 record, winning three out of their last four and capturing the FGCU Invitational championship. The Green & Blue concluded its tournament Sunday in spectacular style with a 10-6, walk-off grand slam victory over Florida Atlantic. Earlier in the day, FGCU downed Power Five and ACC opponent Boston College 9-3.
FGCU and head coach David Deiros are 5-13 all-time against his alma mater, and the Bulls have won the last three meetings. USF (2-7) has dropped its last five games, two coming against ranked opponents. Wednesday's doubleheader is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start and will be aired on ESPN+.
At the Unconquered Invitational, the Eagles will battle No. 6 Florida State (9-3) on Thursday at 6 p.m. On Friday, FGCU will then face Troy (6-3) at 10 a.m. and No. 6 Florida State again at 4:45 p.m. On Saturday, the Eagles will play Troy once more at 10 a.m. and finish with Lamar (2-9) at 12:15 p.m.
FGCU is 0-8 all-time against the Seminoles, and the upset-minded Eagles are in search of their 11th top-25 win in program history. Last season, the Green & Blue upset both No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Florida. Both FGCU-FSU matchups will be aired on ACCNX.
Offensively, graduate Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) is the ASUN Conference home run leader with three, while teammate sophomore Kayleigh Roper (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) is tied for second with two. Both the 2/3-hole punch are tied for second in RBIs with 10 apiece.
Filla has also recorded at least one hit in all 11 games thus far, eyeing to extend her hit streak to 12 and beyond. Freshman Nikki Gibson (Yorktown, Va./Grafton HS) has reached base in all 11 games as well.
With eight or more starts to the season, four Eagles boast a .300 or better average up at the plate. On the base paths, sophomore Avery Viancos (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) is tied for fourth in the ASUN with five stolen bases.
In the circle, the FGCU pitching staff holds a combined 3.36 ERA and a .256 opponent batting average. Junior Angelina Bonilla leads all Eagles in strikeouts with 19, while senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) has tossed a team-leading 30.0 innings of work in three wins.
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 713-401-3 (.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, FGCUdefeated 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 FGCUCampus 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 conference 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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