FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The FGCU softball team is set to leave the Sunshine State for just the second time this season for a three-game conference test at Central Arkansas beginning Friday.

The Eagles will square off against the Bears in a doubleheader showdown Friday beginning at 5 p.m. EDT. FGCU is 11-3 on the year in doubleheader matchups. The series finale is scheduled for noon Saturday. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+

FGCU enters the weekend 24-16 after suffering a 7-2 midweek setback Wednesday against UCF. The Eagles are fourth in the ASUN standings at 6-3 -- having won the first three ASUN series of the year against Jacksonville, Liberty, and Austin Peay.

Central Arkansas is 24-8 and 8-1 in conference play, just one game back of undefeated Jacksonville State for the top spot in the ASUN standings. The Bears have also recorded a top-10 win this season, upsetting No. 6 Arkansas 2-1 on the road March 6. In the common opponent category, UCA swept Jacksonville, while Eagles won just two out of three. Friday will be just the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs as the Eagles lead the series 2-1. Last season, FGCU took two of three in Fort Myers, winning game two 3-2 and a rubber match game three 2-0 for the series victory.

Morgan Nelson's team-leading eight home runs rank second across the conference. However, Tremere Harris and Kylie Griffin are the only two Bears boasting a .300 or better batting average having played at least 75 percent of the contests this season.

Pitcher Kayla Beaver has also been putting up league-leading numbers for the Bears from inside the circle -- No. 2 in wins (13), No. 3 in earned run average (1.63) and No. 3 in total strikeouts (117).

Defensively, the Bears are No. 19 in the country in overall fielding percentage (.977) and No. 34 double plays per game. UCA's top national mark is earned run average, coming in at No. 9 with a 1.68 team ERA.

Although Central Arkansas shines in the circle, the Eagles soar on the basepaths. FGCU ranks eighth in the nation in total stolen bases (96) and 13th in stolen bases per game (2.40). The Eagles were also the first ASUN team to reach the 20-win plateau this season.

Five Eagles have recorded 10 or more steals on the year. Freshman Olivia Black's (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Central HS) 19 steals leads both the Eagles and the conference, and freshman Emily Chiarella (Lutz, Fla./ Steinbrenner HS) is tied for third in the ASUN with 18.

FGCU is a perfect 14-0 on the season in games where the Eagles have recorded three or more stolen bases.

The Green & Blue can also hang its hat on becoming the first ever ASUN team to record back-to-back complete-game shutouts at Liberty courtesy of senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS State College of Florida) and junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS).

Bonilla and Hulme have emerged as the one-two punch for the Eagles' pitching stable. Bonilla has tossed a team-leading four shutouts and has fanned 65 batters. Hulme paces the Eagles in overall wins with nine, and is just two strikeouts away from moving into eighth all-time in program history (162).

Offensively, graduate Tayli Filla's (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF) team-leading 26 RBIs are good enough to tie for third across the conference's best power hitters. Her .342 average, .558 slugging percentage, and 41 hits also lead the team.

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 730-413-3 (.637) record, gone 182-112 (.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. 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---