JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast (21-33) saw its season end with a 10-2 loss to No. 3 seed North Alabama (36-15) in the ASUN Championship.
The Eagles' offensive production came from
Olivia Black in her final career game. The ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year doubled to left center field to drive in her fellow seniors in
Nikki Gibson and
Sietske Drijvers that tied the game at 2-2.
Sophie Wylie added the other hits for the Eagles with a pair of singles in the fourth and sixth.
The Lions controlled the rest of the game, though. Briley Dover and Baylee Rouse each hit two-run home runs. Dover drove in a game-high four runs, and Natalie Shaw and Laura Leigh Wheeler each had an RBI for North Alabama. Katie Simon threw a complete game for UNA, allowing five hits and the two runs off Black's double.
Dover's home run came in the bottom of the first to give the Lions an early lead. FGCU responded with Black's RBI double, but North Alabama added on with Rouse's home run in the fourth inning. The Lions tacked on another run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly to take a 5-2 lead.
UNA kept the momentum in its dugout and poured on in the sixth, scoring five runs on five hits and a walk to win the game 10-2.
The loss marked the end of the careers of the eight FGCU seniors – Black, Gibson,
Tiffany Meek,
Emily Chiarella,
Maddox Thomas, Drijvers,
Grace Taylor and
Parris Wiggs. Black, Gibson, Meek and Chiarella spent all four years at FGCU.
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Postgame Notes
– Black hit an RBI double in her final career game
– Black finished her career with 102 steals as FGCU's Division I-era program leader and tied for the fourth most stolen bases in ASUN program history
– Wylie had a multi-hit game for FGCU
