DeLAND, Fla. – The fourth-seeded FGCU softball team's ASUN Tournament run came to an end Friday, as the Eagles lost 3-1 in extra innings to top-seeded and 18th-ranked Central Arkansas.
UCA's Ja Engelkes ended the Eagles' season with a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. FGCU (32-26) reached the 30-win plateau in 2023 and also recorded the most home victories for the first time in five seasons (2018) to earn the No. 4 seed at the tournament.
"Really proud of our entire team for the fight and desire they showed all weekend," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "They did everything we could ask of them, which is a coach's dream. Thank you to our seniors for leading by example and character. We will be back stronger because of this tournament performance."
FGCU staved off elimination Thursday against Jacksonville State -- outlasting the Gamecocks 6-4 to earn a Friday date with Central Arkansas.
Despite being swept by Central Arkansas in the regular season, the upset-minded Eagles proved to the 40-win Bears early that FGCU would be no easy task this time around. The Green & Blue struck first, scoring a run in the top of the first courtesy sophomore Sam Leski's (Clearwater, Fla./Calvary Christian HS) RBI single down the left-field line.
From there, the Eagles' offensive threats seemingly disappeared -- as Jordan Johnson, the ASUN Pitcher of the Year, settled in for the Bears. FGCU would not move a baserunner into scoring position again until the top of the seventh.
In extra innings, FGCU redshirt sophomore Meagan Ricks (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS) appeared to successfully steal second and was originally called safe during the play. But after review, Ricks was deemed out as the second caught stealing of the day.
Sophomore Kayleigh Roper (Venice, Fla./Venice HS/Michigan State) beat out an infield single shortly after, potentially setting up a daunting task for the Bears as FGCU would have had a first-and-third situation with just one away and a red-hot Leski at the plate.
FGCU managed just six hits Friday, and only four against Johnson. Eagles starter Angelina Bonilla (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) went stride-for-stride in the pitcher's duel against Johnson.
Bonilla scattered eight hits, and worked around the Bears putting the leadoff batter aboard four separate times. She struck out five in 132 pitches and 7⅓ innings of work, the longest of her career.
The Eagles spotted UCA its tying run in the bottom of the second as an one-hopper scooted under an Eagle glove toward the outfield wall. From there, FGCU and UCA put up dueling zeros across the board to force the extra-inning affair.
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 738-423-3 (.635) record, gone 189-120 (.614) in the ASUN, had 17 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.
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#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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