FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast softball lost its season opener 9-1 to Charlotte on Thursday.

Tiffany Meek went 1-for-1 with a single, walk and scored the Eagles' lone run of the day. Mackenzie Leiti hit a double in her first collegiate at-bat for FGCU's only extra-base hit in the contest.

Victoria Ash dealt a 1-2-3 first inning before the 49ers got traffic on the basepaths in the second and scored four, aided by a pair of Eagles errors. Fielding woes stung FGCU in the loss, as there were six total defensive miscues by the Eagles. Charlotte added one run each in the third and fourth before scoring three in the fifth.

The FGCU bats didn't get going until the bottom of the fifth inning. Meek, Sietske Drijvers and Olivia Black hit three straight singles, and Parris Wiggs drove in Meek for the Eagles' score, but the 49ers earned the shortened 9-1 victory.

Next, the Eagles continue the FGCU Kickoff Classic at 3 p.m. against Southern Illinois.

2026 softball season tickets, mini plans and single game tickets are on sale now at https://fgcuathletics.evenue.net/list/SB. 

For more information on FGCU Softball, follow @FGCUSoftball on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.

Postgame Notes 
– Drijvers had her first hit at FGCU
– Leiti had first career hit & extra-base hit 
– Meek has back-to-back games with a hit dating back to the end of the 2025 season
– Wiggs had her first RBI at FGCU
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