FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU softball team picked up two wins during its ASUN Opener vs. Jacksonville on Saturday.
FGCU posted a 3-2 win in game one, and followed with a 1-0 shutout victory in game two to improve to 20-12 on the season. The Eagles have now won a season-best seven straight games, and FGCU is the first ASUN Conference team to record 20 or more wins this season.
In the winning streak, the Green & Blue has won four one-score battles, including two in walk-off fashion. No walk-off was needed Saturday as junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) has arisen as a dominant force from inside the circle.
Bonilla (5-3) entered game one in relief to record the save and then turned around to throw a two-hit, complete game shutout in game two. In her last three outings and in the last two days, Bonilla has pitched 15 innings, tossed two complete game shutouts, struck out nine, allowed only five hits, and has surrendered zero runs.
"Just a spectacular performance by Angie to come in and get the save and then go the distance again for the win in game two," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "She has a good chance of being named the conference's pitcher of the week with that performance. Work is still to be done tomorrow as we look to finish out the series strong."
Jacksonville outhit the Eagles in game one, 7-6, but FGCU was able to push across just one more run. The Eagles opened the day with two runs in the second courtesy of sophomore Kayleigh Roper's (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) RBI double and sophomore Avery Viancos' (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) RBI single - taking an early 2-0 lead.
The Dolphins responded with their first run of the contest in the top of the fourth. FGCU answered right back with a run on the bottom of the frame with another Viancos RBI to recapture its two-run lead at 3-1.
Jacksonville pushed across what would be its last run of the day in the sixth as Dolphins would soon beach themselves facing Bonilla the rest of the afternoon.
Senior Ally Hulme (7-5) was credited with the game-one win, pitching six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits. Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) now leads all Eagles in wins with seven and is just nine strikeouts away from surpassing Sarah Lawton from moving into FGCU's all-time top 10 list for career strikeouts.
FGCU's lone and game-winning run in the second game jumped off of senior Neely Peterson's (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State & Santa Fe College) bat, her second home run of the season. Peterson homered toward the deepest part of the ballpark, dead center, to break up the scoreless tie in the fourth.
The Eagles eye the sweep of Jacksonville on Sunday as the series finale is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the FGCU Softball Complex.
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 726-409-3 (.637) record, gone 178-109 (.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
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#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 96 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport -- including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 20 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 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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