FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast (16-28, 10-8) will play its final nonconference game of 2026 at USF (33-15, 15-6 American) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22.

The last time out, the Eagles lost the series against Jacksonville after finding themselves on the wrong side of a Sunday pitcher's duel. Julia Bacoulis salvaged the series for FGCU, throwing a gem on Saturday night with a career-high nine strikeouts en route to a 2-1 win.

Bacoulis' 75 strikeouts leads the team on the season and ranks sixth in the ASUN. She has a 4.62 ERA through 94.0 innings and a 3.28 ERA across 47.0 innings in ASUN play. Grace Taylor has a team-best 4.40 ERA, which has dropped to 2.98 in ASUN action. At the plate, Parris Wiggs is hitting .327 with a .400 OBP. Olivia Black is hitting .323 with 14 stolen bases, and is one stolen base away from the FGCU Division I career record. Sietske Drijvers is hitting .293 and has caught 13 runners stealing, which ranks ninth nationally and leads the ASUN.

USF enters at 33-15. Since the Eagles and Bulls last met, USF dropped a pair of road series at Tulsa and ECU, along with a midweek loss at Florida, but won a home series against UTSA and swept FAU in Tampa. 

The Bulls are led by Toryn Fulton, who's hitting .328 with six homers and 27 RBIs. Alex Wilkes has a team-high .589 SLG thanks to eight home runs and 14 doubles. Anne Long paces USF in the circle with a 1.55 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 121.2 innings.

As a team, South Florida's 2.74 ERA is the best mark in the American and ranks 18th nationally; their seven shutouts check in at 35th in the country. The defense backing up the pitching staff is just as good, if not better, as the Bulls have turned 29 double plays (third in the NCAA) and have a .980 fielding percentage (eighth in the NCAA). Offensively, no team has laid down more sacrifice bunts than the Bulls' 53 in 2026, and their 20 sacrifice flies aren't far behind at second in the American and 24th nationally.

The Bulls won the first matchup 9-1 in Fort Myers on March 18. Sophie Wylie homered for FGCU in the loss. 

2026 softball single game tickets are on sale 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.