FORT MYERS, Fla. - After 37 games or about 71.15% of the regular season schedule, Florida Gulf Coast University softball will travel outside of the Sunshine State for the first time this season. They will face the University of North Alabama in Florence, Ala.
The series will feature a Saturday doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
This series will be the toughest test of the conference season so far for the Eagles. The Lions are 6-3 in conference and boast the second-best ERA of an ASUN team, behind FGCU. UNA leads the conference in shutouts.
Pitching depth could be a major difference in this series. The Green and Blue feature four pitchers in
Angelina Bonilla,
Allison Sparkman,
Ally Hulme, and
Claire Maulding who top the ASUN leaderboards. Bonilla leads the conference in saves and is second in ERA and opponent batting average, Sparkman leads the ASUN in ERA and home runs allowed,
Ally Hulme tops the leaderboard in triples allowed alongside Bonilla and Sparkman, and Maulding leads the ASUN in hits allowed. All four pitchers are top 10 in hits allowed, runs allowed, doubles, and triples.
Juxtaposing FGCU's four top pitchers, UNA only has two qualified pitchers. Alivia Wilken is the clear ace of the staff. Her 0.84 WHIP will be the best of any pitcher entering the series.
On the defensive side of the ball, both teams excel at erasing runners from the base paths. FGCU has 13 double plays while UNA has 12 and both teams top the conference in stolen base allowed percentage with the Eagles topping the conference leaderboard at .643 and the Lions close behind at .667.
Following this series, the Green and Blue travel to Jacksonville for another series against two top ASUN teams when they face the University of North Florida.
