FORT MYERS, Fla. – Seven FGCU softball players played their last game Sunday at the FGCU Softball Complex, but a 5-2 series finale loss to North Florida could not damper the Eagles' on-field postgame celebration of flipping the graduation tassels.
"Congratulations to our senior class for graduating today," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros.
Despite the loss, FGCU (29-23, 11-10 ASUN) remains perched in fourth place in the ASUN Conference standings. Only the top eight programs qualify for the upcoming ASUN Championship on May 9-13 in DeLand, Fla.
The top four teams receive a bye (top two receive a double-bye) and advance directly into the double-elimination format. Teams seeded fifth through eighth will compete in a win-or-go-home play-in game to be inserted into the main bracket.
FGCU holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over fifth-place Austin Peay (24-20, 11-10 ASUN). The race down the stretch could not get any tighter as the current fourth through ninth place teams are separated by just a single game. Central Arkansas (36-9, 19-2 ASUN) clinched the regular season title Sunday.
All combined seven runs Sunday between the Eagles and the Ospreys were scored in the first two and a half 2 1/2 innings.
UNF opened the game with a pair of runs in the top of the first, but the Eagles matched the Ospreys early offensive output with two of their own in the bottom half. Graduate Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) produced an RBI double, and sophomore Kayleigh Roper's (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) added RBI single to make it 2-2.
UNF's three-run second provided the recipe to upend the Eagles 5-2, but both teams settled in to put up zeros up the rest of the way -- giving FGCU just its second ASUN series loss of the year.
Roper and freshman Emily Chiarella (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner HS) collected four of FGCU's six hits Sunday, each connecting for two. Four of FGCU's six hits occurred in the opening inning.
Senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) earned the Senior Day start, and was credited with the loss. Senior Baylee Haggard (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge HS/Florida SouthWestern State & South Florida State College) and junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
FGCU will close out the regular season next weekend with a critical ASUN series at Kennesaw State on May 5-6.
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 735-420-3 (.635) record, gone 187-119 (.614) 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.
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