FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU softball team earned a doubleheader split Saturday against Austin Peay, dropping game one 6-0 but returning the favor with a 6-0 victory in game two at the FGCU Softball Complex. 

After a tale of two games, the Eagles sit at 23-15 overall and 5-3 in the ASUN Conference. FGCU has eclipsed its 2022 win total by five games, and eyes to start the conference slate with three consecutive ASUN series wins. Austin Peay enters Sunday's series finale 17-12 and an identical 5-3 mark in league play. 

"Proud of how we came back and won game two after playing very poorly in game one," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "Big day (Sunday) with the rubber game of the series."

Austin Peay's Jordan Beneiel, the reigning ASUN Pitcher of the Week and the league-leader in strikeouts, held the Eagles to just three hits in game one. Beneiel also sent eight Eagles back to the bench in strikeout fashion. 

The Governors opened with at least a run in each of the first three innings to take a 4-0 lead through three. FGCU is 5-12 on the season when its opponent scores first, but an astounding 18-3 when the Eagles strike first. 

Austin Peay added two more runs in the sixth via two RBI singles to complete the victory over FGCU. The Governors out-hit the Eagles by 12 in game one, as the FGCU pitching staff surrendered a season-high 15 hits.

Senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) was credited with the loss, surrendering five runs on 10 hits over four innings. Despite an unfavorable stat line, Hulme is now just four strikeouts away from moving into eighth all-time in career strikeouts at FGCU.

Graduate Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) produced one of three game-one hits, a first-inning double, to extend her reached-base streak out to 13 games. Freshman Nikki Gibson (Yorktown, Va./Grafton HS) holds the longest reached-base streak of any Eagle this season at 19.

FGCU's offense found its footing in the second game, thanks to redshirt sophomore Meagan Ricks (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS). Ricks drove in the first two Eagle runs of the day with a third-inning double.

She would then top that by blasting a three-run homer in the fourth, the first of her collegiate career. Five of the six FGCU runs in game two were produced off of Ricks' bat.

Ricks finished 3-for-4 with a career-high five RBIs. Senior Neely Peterson (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State & Santa Fe College) produced the lone non-Ricks run with a RBI sacrifice fly in the third.

In the circle, junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) pitched her fourth complete-game shutout of the season for her seventh win. Bonilla slowed the Governors' advance by allowing only three hits and striking out five with only 92 pitches.

FGCU aims to win its third ASUN series of the season Sunday in game three on Youth Day. All kids 12 and under are free with a paying adult. Sunday's first pitch is scheduled for noon 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 729-412-3 (.637) record, gone 181-112 (.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. 16 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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