FORT MYERS, Fla. – Clutch hitting from junior Caridad Estes (West Palm Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches/Ball State) and sophomore Sam Leski (Clearwater, Fla./Calvary Christian HS) powered the FGCU softball team to a 5-3 series-clinching victory Sunday over Eastern Kentucky at the FGCU Softball Complex.
The Eagles used a four-run fifth inning to complete the comeback and take the series over the Colonels -- the fourth series win of the season for FGCU. The Green & Blue has now captured series victories over Jacksonville, Liberty, Austin Peay, and Eastern Kentucky.
With Sunday's key ASUN victory, FGCU improves to 26-20 overall and 8-7 in the conference, while EKU falls to 21-19 and 5-10 in league action.
"We were threatening all game long, but it was just a matter of getting a big hit," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "We finally got one with Cacha and with Sam coming through. That's what it is -- timely hitting. They (EKU) had done all the timely hitting in the prior innings, so it was time for us to come through.
"The real thing is that we just have to play more consistently. We have too many ebbs and flows right now for my liking, so we have got to clean some stuff up and continue to get a little bit better."
The Eagles fell behind early and faced a 3-0 deficit -- as the Colonels scored once in the second and twice in the fourth. EKU scored all three of its runs Sunday off of extra base hits: an RBI double, an RBI triple, and a solo home run.
Leski put the first dent in the Colonels' armor in the bottom of the fourth, coming in as a pinch-hitter and lifting a ball deep to left field for a sacrifice fly that pulled the Eagles to within two, 3-1.
FGCU erased the deficit in the blink of an eye in the fifth when Estes and Leski belted back-to-back two-run doubles -- Leski's double registering her third RBI of the day.
Senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS State College of Florida) and senior Baylee Haggard (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge HS/Florida SouthWestern State & South Florida State College) each threw a scoreless 1⅔ innings in relief of Eagles junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS). Hulme was credited with her 10th win of the season, and Haggard shut the door to earn her first career save.
FGCU entered the day just 2-15 in games when trailing after four complete innings. Sunday matchups have been good to the Eagles, as FGCU improves to 6-1 in such contests.
Four of the Eagles' seven hits Sunday occurred during the explosive fifth -- as FGCU opened the day with back-to-back infield singles from freshman Emily Chiarella (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) and redshirt sophomore Meagan Ricks (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS). Chiarella would lead all Eagles with two hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored.
FGCU returns to the diamond next weekend, hitting the road for a three-game series at Stetson (23-22, 7-8 ASUN) beginning April 22.
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 is in his 21st season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the ground up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 732-417-3 (.635) record, gone 184-116 (.613) 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 97 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. 15 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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