DeLAND, Fla. – The FGCU softball team clinched its fifth ASUN series victory of the season Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Stetson, 4-2 and 4-3, at Patricia Wilson Field.
The Eagles improved to 28-20 overall and 10-7 in ASUN play, and now have won 10-or-more conference games in 12 out of its 15 eligible seasons in the ASUN (excluding 2020). The Hatters fell to 23-25 and 7-10 in league action.
FGCU moved into sole possession of fifth place in the conference standings, just behind 11-5 Austin Peay for one of the sought-after top four seeds in the upcoming ASUN Championship on May 9-13. Only the top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament, and seeds five through eight will compete in a play-in game just to make it into the double-elimination main bracket.
"Huge pair of victories for us in terms of the conference race," said FGCU head softball coach David Deiros. "Angie and Ally provided some quality innings for us in the circle, and it was good to see us show some power up at the plate. Work is still to be done Sunday."
Junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) tossed her seventh complete game of the season to notch her ninth win -- scattering seven hits and fanning five Hatters.
Stetson outhit the Eagles in both games, 7-5 and 9-5, but FGCU's use of the long ball helped the Green & Blue earn victories.
Redshirt sophomore Meagan Ricks (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS) blasted a fourth-inning, opposite-field home run -- her second of the season -- in game one to give FGCU an 2-0 advantage. Senior Neely Peterson (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State & Santa Fe College) capped the three-run spurt with a RBI sacrifice fly.
Stetson responded in the bottom of the frame with two runs via a solo homer and a bases-loaded walk. The Eagles pulled off an unconventional 3-2-4 double play to limit the damage, which would loom large the rest of the contest.
The Eagles pushed its lead back out to two in the fifth, as sophomore Avery Viancos (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) scored on a Stetson wild pitch. FGCU successfully swiped three bags in game one. Improving its record to 16-0 in games when doing so.
Peterson answered the home run call in game two, hitting a two-run shot in the fourth to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. Peterson's long ball tied graduate Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) and sophomore Kayleigh Roper (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) for the team lead with four.
Stetson grabbed a short-lived first lead of the day with a RBI single in the third.
FGCU's speed sparked its much-needed third and fourth runs in the top of the seventh. Freshman Emily Chiarella (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) beat out a two-run infield single, with both Viancos and freshman Olivia Black (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Central HS) scoring in the process.
Senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) almost went the distance for FGCU, pitching 6 1/3 innings before surrendering the pitching duties to senior Baylee Haggard (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge HS/Florida SouthWestern State & South Florida State College) following a two-run Stetson homer that pulled the Hatters to within one, 4-3.
Haggard forced a lineout and a strikeout to earn her second save of the season. Hulme was credited with her team-leading 11th win and moved into eighth all-time in career strikeouts at FGCU, now with 164 career Ks.
FGCU remains a perfect 23-0 when holding the lead heading into the final inning. The Eagles eye its first ASUN series sweep of 2023 campaign in the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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 734-417-3 (.635) record, gone 186-116 (.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, FGCUdefeated 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 98 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.
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---
