LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Liberty returned the shutout favor to FGCU on Sunday, blanking the Eagles 3-0 in the series finale at the Liberty Softball Stadium.

Despite winning the series, the Eagles fall to 22-14 overall and 4-2 in the ASUN Conference, while the Flames now sit at 18-12 and an identical 4-2 in league play. On Saturday, FGCU's two shutout performances over Liberty clinched the series for the Green & Blue -- the second of the season after the Eagles took two out of three in the ASUN opener vs. Jacksonville.

FGCU accomplished a feat Saturday that no other ASUN team has been able to do against Liberty since the Flames joined the conference in 2019, recording back-to-back shutouts against Liberty. Prior to Saturday, Liberty was 39-1 in its last 40 ASUN games.

The Eagles also snapped Liberty's 13 consecutive ASUN-series win streak. Liberty has yet to be swept at home or on the road in any three-game conference series. 

"Really successful weekend for our team," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "We turn our sights to Austin Peay starting Tuesday."

After tossing her team-leading third complete-game shutout of the season in Saturday's secodn game, junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) earned the starting nod on Sunday once again.

Before surrendering a crucial three-run second, Bonilla had held opponents scoreless for 30 2/3 straight innings of work over her last seven appearances.

Senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) pitched in relief of Bonilla, and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. With those two strikeouts, Hulme has  surpassed Kelci Breaux for ninth all-time in career strikeouts at FGCU with 156. Hulme dealt a 1-0 shutout in the first game of the series.

Senior Baylee Haggard (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge HS/Florida SouthWestern State & South Florida State College) threw the final two innings Sunday to help keep the Eagles within striking distance. Bonilla, Hulme, and Haggard combined to allow only three Liberty hits and just one earned run.

In total, Hulme recorded 9 1/3 scoreless innings against the ASUN preseason favorites throughout the course of the weekend.

Sophomore Kayleigh Roper (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) recorded FGCU's lone hit on the day, finishing 1-for-3.

The Eagles had their chances to put some pressure on the Flames amid the pitching duel against ASUN Pitcher of the Week Karlie Keeney, but would line into double plays in the second and the sixth.

FGCU returns home on April 1-2 to host Austin Peay at the FGCU Softball Complex. The Eagles open the three-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m., and close the series on Sunday at noon.

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 728-411-3 (.637) record, gone 180-111 (.619) 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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