LYNCHBURG, Va. - With 1-0 and 5-0 victories Saturday, the FGCU softball team completed a feat that no other ASUN Conference member has ever been able to do vs. Liberty: defeat the Flames with back-to-back shutout performances.
FGCU (22-13, 4-1 ASUN) also snapped Liberty's 13 consecutive ASUN-series winning streak, as the ASUN preseason favorite Flames fell to 17-12 overall and 3–2 in league play. The last time an ASUN team recorded a series win over the Flames was April 2-3, 2021 via Kennesaw State. Prior to today, Liberty was 39-1 in the last 40 ASUN games.
The Eagles pitching staff provided the winning formula Saturday, as both senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) and junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) tossed complete-game shutouts -- the third of their careers and second consecutive for Bonilla.
"Great job by our team today," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "Great job by our pitching staff and our defense made some great plays in game one to keep them off the board. We came up with a big run in the seventh -- nice job by Neely. Then, we put the pedal to the metal in game two. So, just a super job, and we are going to see if we can continue that momentum (Sunday)."
Bonilla (6-3) has dealt 29 straight scoreless innings over her last six appearances. Bonilla scattered five Flames hits Saturday and struck out four in 109 pitches to clinch in the series.
In game one, Hulme also surrendered only five hits and stranded eight Flames on the base paths. The Eagles defense backed Hulme's cause from the start, as sophomore Avery Viancos (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) threw out a would-be Liberty run from left field in the first inning -- a play that loomed critical until the final out.
Hulme (8-5) entered Saturday needing just five strikeouts to surpass Sarah Lawton and move into FGCU's all-time-top 10 list for career strikeouts. Hulme is now tied for ninth alongside Kelci Breaux with 154 career strikeouts.
In a scoreless, seventh-inning, game-one tie, senior Neely Peterson (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State & Santa Fe College) drove in the winning run with a RBI double that two-hopped the right center wall -- scoring redshirt sophomore Meagan Ricks (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS). FGCU recorded only three hits in game one but emerged victorious.
The Eagles did not wait until the final inning in game two to further stun the Flames, opening with a three-run first inning courtesy of an inning-preserving error by Liberty.
FGCU then added a run in the fourth and in the fifth en route to the victory and back-to-back shutouts. The ASUN Player of the Week Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) capped FGCU's five-run scoring effort with an RBI single that plated freshman Emily Chiarella (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS).
Filla produced two of the Eagles five hits in game two, while Peterson belted her second double of the day.
The Eagles entered the weekend ranked fourth in the nation in total stolen bases, but failed to record a steal in game two. FGCU was previously 0-7 this season in games without a stolen base - flipping the script on Saturday to 1-7.
FGCU is now also 7-2 in games decided by one run, and has notched eight shutout victories on the year courtesy of the Green & Blue pitching staff.
The Eagles eye the series sweep of the Flames Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The series finale will not be streamed on ESPN+.
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 728-410-3 (.637) record, gone 180-110 (.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 in 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 3.67 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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