DeLAND, Fla. – Like she had 99 times prior in her career, Olivia Black sprinted off a base as the ball left the pitcher's hand.

With two outs and the count 3-1 to K'Mari Williams, she slid headfirst into second base and popped up on the bag, smiling toward the dugout. The moment was perhaps slightly anticlimactic on the road, as Ally Thompson was perched on third, ready to complete a double steal if the Hatters attempted to throw out FGCU's best base stealer in the Division I era. Gaby Bauer cocked her arm back behind the plate, but didn't let go of the ball, and Black had her 100th career stolen base.

"It's a huge milestone," Black said. "It's one that I'm very proud of. I came into FGCU setting a lot of goals for myself, knowing what kind of player I am, that I tend to kind of use speed as a tool more than power per se. So this just means a lot that I was able to hit this milestone." 

"Oli hitting the 100 steals mark is quite the accomplishment," head coach Lindsay Fico said. "I'm so proud of what she continues to do for this program and couldn't ask for better representation on and off the field."

With the steal, Black became the seventh player in Atlantic Sun conference history to steal 100 bases. She added her 101st steal in the fourth to move to sixth on the all-time ASUN stolen base leaderboard, passing Stetson's Jean Bonnici, who stole exactly 100 bases from 1995-98. Entering the ASUN Championship, she sits one behind Stetson's Sabrina Isley and Jacksonville's Kayla Ouellet, who are tied for fourth in the conference's history with 102 steals each. Black is the first ASUN player to accomplish 100 career steals since 2017, when Stetson's Jessie TenBroeck tallied 142.

She joined Ashley Cecil, who swiped a staggering 170 bases from 2003-05 when FGCU was in Division II, as the only Eagles to steal 100 bases. Black added her name as the seventh active player to steal 100 bases, and will potentially be the final athlete to achieve the milestone in 2026, as Baylor's Brooklyn Carter is the next closest with 94.

One inning after Black stole her 101st base, Florida Gulf Coast (20-31, 14-10 ASUN) exploded for a six-run frame to secure a lightning-shortened 6-4 win over Stetson (33-20, 18-6) in the regular season finale. The loss was Stetson's first home conference loss of 2026.

Kiki Daniels kickstarted FGCU's offense when she reached on an error and advanced into scoring position. Presley Smith and Parris Wiggs drew four and five pitch walks, respectively, to load the bases with one out for Danae Falquez, who entered just her ninth game of the freshman season to pinch-hit.

Falquez took a ball, then delivered the second major milestone of the game for FGCU. She sent her first career hit through the right side of the infield, driving in Daniels and Smith to cut the Eagles deficit to 3-2. Falquez and Wiggs each moved up a base on an errant throw home that made its way to the backstop, leaving two runners in scoring position.

"I'm extremely proud of Danae," Fico said. "She works hard and has totally bought in to the culture we are working to build here. It's awesome to see it pay off for her and for her teammates. It was a great moment!" 

"It means a lot (to get my first hit)," Falquez said. "I was put in the position to do a job and all I wanted to do was do it for my team to get the job done, and I did, and it was my first hit. It was great. Everyone was happy. I couldn't ask for anything more."

Nikki Gibson seized the opportunity of having runners in scoring position, launching a double over the head of the left fielder that allowed Wiggs and Falquez to score easily and put FGCU in front 4-3. Gibson made her way to third on the throw and promptly scored on a single from Mackenzie Leiti that gave FGCU a 5-3 lead.

Black pushed Leiti to second with her 50th hit of the season, and Williams laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases for Smith, who brought Leiti home to cap off the six-run inning.

The Eagles allowed three early runs to Stetson to fall into a 3-0 hole, but Grace Taylor dealt a clean third inning and Victoria Ash (4-4) entered with a runner on base to close out a scoreless fourth frame.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ash allowed a solo home run to Logan Forman, but won a momentum-swinging 14-pitch battle to strike out Nadia English looking before inducing a groundout to end the inning.

The call for a lightning delay came moments after FGCU recorded the final out of the frame. The game was called as completed around an hour later as rain continued to fall in DeLand.  

Next, FGCU will begin the ASUN Championship on Tuesday, May 5. The Eagles are projected to be the No. 5 seed in the ASUN Championship and will face projected No. 8 seed Austin Peay at 2:30 p.m. in the first round. The full bracket is expected to be released on Saturday evening or Sunday.

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

Postgame Notes
– Black stole her 100th career base in the second inning and her 101st in the fourth inning
– She became the seventh player in ASUN history to steal 100 career bases
– She became the seventh active player to record 100 career stolen bases
– Black tallied her 50th hit of 2026
– Falquez notched her first career hit with a two-run pinch hit single
– The Eagles scored six runs in the fifth inning
– Smith and Gibson had multi-hit games
– Gibson also had a multi-RBI game
– Ash earned the win pitching against her former school
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