FGCU-Liberty Notes | 2023 FGCU Softball Stats
2023 FGCU Softball Schedule | ASUN Scoreboard | ASUN Standings
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- After playing its first 33 games of the season in the state of Florida, the FGCU softball team finally leaves the friendly confines of the Sunshine State to face ASUN Conference foe Liberty on Saturday and Sunday.
FGCU opens the three-game road series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. The Eagles will close the series with the Flames at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Both Saturday contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Green & Blue enters the weekend 20-13 overall and 2-1 in the ASUN after posting a 5-1 record last weekend -- sweeping Chattanooga and winning the ASUN opening series against Jacksonville. FGCU became the first ASUN team this season to record 20 or more wins.
Liberty is 17-10 on the year and 3-0 in league play. The Flames posted a 5-1 victory Wednesday over Atlantic Coast Conference opponent North Carolina. Liberty has faced seven top 25 teams this season, dropping all seven matchups -- including a 1-0 defeat against top-ranked Oklahoma in eight innings.
The Flames lead the all-time series against the Eagles 6-2 dating back to 2014, and swept the Green & Blue in 2022 -- outscoring FGCU 14-3.
Liberty was picked to repeat as ASUN champions in the Preseason Coaches Poll. The Flames are statistically ranked in the top 50 in the nation on both sides of the ball -- in double plays per game, in earned-run average, and in home runs per game.
Caroline Hudson leads the ASUN in home runs with eight, and is fourth in RBIs with 23. In the circle, Liberty's ace Karlie Keeney paces the league in total wins with 11, as the Flames have utilized only three pitchers this season. In fact, Keeney was named the ASUN Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
FGCU is No. 4 in the country in total steals with 84, and 11th in stolen bases per game. Grambling State holds the nation's top mark in steals with 110.
Three Eagles rank among top five in the ASUN in steals. Freshman Emily Chiarella (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) leads the conference with 17, freshman Olivia Black (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Central HS) is second with 16, and sophomore Avery Viancos (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) is tied for fourth at 14. Nationally, Chiarella is 22nd, while Black is 28th in the stolen base category.
Both FGCU power hitters graduate Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) and sophomore Kayleigh Roper (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) are top five in the league in RBIs, third (24) and fifth (21) respectively.
Filla was named the ASUN Player of the Week on Monday after her performance during the four-day, six game span against Chattanooga and Jacksonville -- tallying three multi-hit efforts and finishing with 10 hits. Filla went a perfect 3-for-3 in the series finale against Jacksonville. In her 10 hits, she belted two doubles, one triple, produced three RBIs, and also snagged two stolen bases.
Filla struck out only once in her 17 plate appearances. She continues to lead all Eagles in hits (34), batting average (.340), and in slugging percentage (.570) this season. Her 34 hits rank second in the ASUN and 56th nationally.
In the circle for FGCU, senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) leads the Green & Blue in wins with seven -- and four different Eagles have earned at least four victories. Hulme is just five strikeouts away from surpassing Sarah Lawton from moving into FGCU's all-time top 10 in career strikeouts.
However, FGCU Softball Eagle of the Week and junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) paces the pitching staff with 54 strikeouts. In her last three outings and 15 innings of work, Bonilla tossed two complete-game shutouts, recorded one save, struck out nine, allowed five hits, and surrendered zero runs.
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 726-410-3 (.637) record, gone 178-110 (.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 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. 19 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.
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---
