CONWAY, Ark. -- FGCU softball suffered a doubleheader sweep Friday against Central Arkansas 10-1 and 3-2 at Farris Field.

The Bears run-ruled the Eagles in six innings during game one, and followed with a game-two, walk-off victory to clinch the series - forcing FGCU to drop its first conference series of the season. With the pair of defeats, FGCU now falls to 24-18 and 6-5 in the ASUN. Central Arkansas moved into a tie for first place in the ASUN at 10-1, 26-8 overall.

"Just a rough day that started bad and ended worse," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "We will bounce back tomorrow."

A rough day, indeed, as the Bears smacked three home runs in the opening game of the day. Eight of UCA's 10 runs in game-one were generated by the long ball.

Central Arkansas launched a three-run homer in the first and in the second to take a commanding 6-0 lead. The first two home runs were surrendered by Eagles ace senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS State College of Florida) who earned the loss - her seventh of the season.

Morgan Nelson's ninth round tripper of the season ranks second across the ASUN.

Facing an 8-0 deficit in the fifth, freshman Emily Chiarella (Lutz, Fla./ Steinbrenner HS) and sophomore Avery Viancos (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona HS) teamed up to fight back and to extend the game. Chiarella produced a leadoff triple, and Viancos' RBI groundout made it 8-1.

Central Arkansas finally called game in the bottom of the sixth with its third home run of the day, a two-run blast to run-rule the Eagles.

The Eagles were only able to muster four game-one hits - two courtesy of Chiarella - against one of the top pitchers, Jordan Johnson, and pitching staffs in the conference and the nation. Jordan Johnson and Kayla Beaver both hold a sub 2.00 ERA as the Bears rank No. 9 nationally in team earned run average entering the weekend.

FGCU would have to face Beaver in game two, and the Eagles held their own. 

But once again, UCA struck first in the opening frame but with a traditional RBI single. FGCU is now 6-15 on the year when its opponent scores first.

The Eagles obtained their first lead of the game and of the series in the third when sophomore Kayleigh Roper (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) lined a backside, two-run RBI. FGCU's one-run lead did not last long as UCA answered with a RBI triple in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 2-2.

As the Bears eyed to grab back the lead in a bases-loaded situation shortly following the triple, junior Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) forced a crucial strikeout to keep the game knotted. Bonilla earned the game-two start and tossed all six innings, scattering seven hits and fanning five. 

The Eagles' ASUN-series luck ran out in the bottom of the seventh as UCA's Madi Young connected for an RBI single to end the night for Green & Blue on the wrong side of a walk-off win.

The series finale is scheduled for Saturday at noon (EDT) and will air on ESPN+.

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 730-415-3 (.637) record, gone 182-114 (.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---