FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast softball (9-18, 3-0 ASUN) plays host to Stetson (18-11, 3-0) for its first home ASUN series, beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the FGCU Softball Complex.
The last time out, FGCU fell 9-1 to (RV) South Florida in a midweek matchup.
Sophie Wylie hit her first home run of the season for the Eagles' only run in the loss. Wylie's homer is the seventh in three games for FGCU after hitting five in the first 24 games. It's the first time the Eagles have homered in three consecutive games since May 7-11, 2023.
FGCU has three hitters above .300 on the season in
Olivia Black,
Mackenzie Leiti and
Sietske Drijvers. Black is hitting .363 with two triples and nine stolen bases. Leiti has five homers and 16 RBI; Drijvers has homered twice and has a team-high seven doubles. In the circle,
Victoria Ash has a 4.67 ERA.
Grace Taylor has thrown 68.1 innings and
Julia Bacoulis has 42 strikeouts.
The Hatters enter at 18-11 and 3-0 in ASUN play after sweeping North Florida to begin conference play. Stetson was led at the plate in the series against the Ospreys by Nicole Edmiaston, who played with Drijvers and
K'Mari Williams at Florida Southwestern State. Edmiaston went a blistering 9-for-11 with three homers, three doubles, 11 RBI and seven runs scored. That weekend stat line earned her Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week honors. Meanwhile, Amber Chumley had an excellent series in her own right, going 7-for-11 with two home runs, two doubles, and eight RBI.
On the season, Edmiaston is hitting .511 with six doubles, 13 home runs, 46 RBI and a 1.600 OPS. Her .511 average, 13 homers, 45 hits, .577 OBP, and 46 RBI all lead the conference; she ranks sixth nationally in RBI and tenth nationally in home runs.
In the circle, Ava Braswell boasts a 2.86 ERA with 36 strikeouts over 83.1 innings pitched so far in 2026. Her 83.1 innings are more than double Kennedy Temple's 40.2.
Along with its sweep of UNF, Stetson has wins over Columbia, St. John's and North Dakota State. The Hatters dropped two-game series to USF, Oregon and Michigan State, and also fell to North Carolina, Baylor and NC State.
In the 2025 home-and-home series, Stetson held a 4-2 advantage, winning both the series in DeLand and Fort Myers 2-1. FGCU took the opening game at home 11-3 but fell 3-9 and 1-5, dropping the series. Over the series,
Olivia Black went 5-for-7 with five walks and runs scored;
Tiffany Meek had a 2-for-3 game with a triple and three RBI in the FGCU win.
FGCU is 32-27 all-time against Stetson in a series dominated by the home team; the Eagles are 22-5 at the FGCU Softball Complex while Stetson holds a 20-9 lead in DeLand. The March 21st doubleheader is the earliest in the calendar year the two squads have met since 2013 (March 16-17) and the third earliest series in program history, narrowly eking out the March 22-23 series from 2025.
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
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FGCU GIVE DAY 2026 LAUNCHES MARCH 25 AT NOON
FGCU's annual Give Day – a 24-hour fundraising effort designed to support student-athletes, the 15 Division I sport programs and key priorities across FGCU athletics – launches at Noon on March 25.
Help support Your Hometown Team by making your gift during the 24-hour campaign (or anytime leading up to that 24-hour span) by visiting the FGCU Athletics
2026 Give Day webpage here.
