CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Florida Gulf Coast softball (9-17, 3-0 ASUN) held off a late Queens rally to win 10-8 and secure the series sweep over the Royals (6-16, 0-3) on Sunday afternoon.

The Eagles mashed three home runs for the second game in a row in the win. Sietske Drijvers, Mackenzie Leiti and Kiki Daniels all went yard; the six homers throughout the series from the trio surpassed the five home runs FGCU had on the season entering the weekend. 

FGCU recorded nine hits on Sunday and 41 on the weekend for the most hits as a team in a three-game series since at least 2015. Sietske Drijvers and Olivia Black each had two hits on Sunday.

"This is exactly the way we hoped to start conference play," head coach Lindsay Fico said. "I am most proud of our resilience throughout the weekend from top to bottom. There is still plenty for us to work on, but we hope to carry this momentum into a tough midweek against USF before more ASUN play"

The Eagles opened the scoring in the series finale with a three-run third inning. Leiti reached on an error that allowed Ally Thompson to score. Daniels walked and Tiffany Meek singled to load the bases, and Black drove in Leiti and Daniels to give FGCU a 3-0 lead. The Royals immediately responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame on a two-run double from Olivia Thornton and RBI single from Lindsay Henson.

The bats were hot all weekend for FGCU, and that continued in the fourth inning. Nikki Gibson singled, Thompson walked and Drijvers crushed her second home run of the season to center field to put FGCU back in front 6-3. Leiti made it back-to-back blasts with a shot of her own to left that extended the lead to 7-3. 

Henson added an RBI double in the fifth to cut the lead to 7-4, but Daniels answered with her third homer of the weekend in the top of the sixth. The two-run long ball pushed the Eagles' lead to 9-4. Queens would not go quietly, though, drawing a pair of walks before Sage Farmer hit an RBI triple to draw back within 9-6. Farmer scored on a double from Lauren Byrd to make it a 9-7 game heading into the final frame. 

FGCU got an insurance run when Drijvers rocketed the ball past the glove of the diving third baseman for her second extra-base hit of the day, scoring Thompson. Queens added one in the bottom half of the seventh off a bases-loaded walk, but Grace Taylor (4-5) got a strikeout to end the game and secure the sweep.

Next, FGCU returns home to host USF (23-8) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18.

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
– FGCU improved to 5-2 in the all-time series with Queens
– FGCU collected 41 hits over the weekend, its most in a three-game series since at least 2015
– The 30 runs scored on the weekend is also FGCU's best mark in a three-game series since at least 2015
– Drijvers had two extra-base hits in the win
– Drijvers recorded a season-high four RBI
– FGCU had back-to-back three-homer games after not having a three home run game since April 30, 2022
– The Eagles entered the series with five home runs on the season. They hit six in a two-game span against Queens
– Drijvers and Black each had multi-hit games
– Drijvers, Black and Kiki Daniels each had multi-RBI games
– Leiti, Daniels and Thompson each had multi-run games
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