KENNESAW, Ga. - The FGCU softball team dropped its regular season finale Sunday, falling 9-4 against Kennesaw State at Bailey Field.
Entering the day, all eight ASUN Championship seeds were officially set -- as Jacksonville locked up the final spot late Saturday night with a 11-5 victory over North Florida. FGCU's Saturday doubleheader sweep of Kennesaw State solidified its place in the double-elimination main bracket as the No. 4 overall seed.
The Eagles (31-24, 13-11 ASUN) will play the winner of the second play-in game between fifth-seeded North Alabama and eighth-seeded Jacksonville at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in DeLand, Fla. The ASUN regular season champion, No. 25 Central Arkansas, awaits the winner of the No. 4 FGCU vs. No.5 UNA/No. 8 JU game Thursday.
FGCU has not faced North Alabama this season, but took two out of three vs. Jacksonville in Fort Myers.
"Looking forward to our first tournament game Wednesday," said FGCU head coach David Deiros. "Thank you to Kennesaw State's staff for recognizing our senior class as part of their ceremony."
FGCU altered its lineup a touch Sunday, providing quality reps for the depth of its lineup. The Eagles baffled the Owls early, taking a 4-0 lead through 3 1/2 innings.
Sophomore Sam Leski (Clearwater, Fla./Calvary Christian HS) put another dent into the Owls' outfield wall during her first at-bat, but the play wouldn't stop there. The ball ricocheted back into center field, with Leski turning on the jets around second and Deiros waving her home for an inside-the-park home run. Leski's first homer of the season sparked FGCU to a 2-0 lead after one.
In the third, FGCU took advantage of an Owls passed ball and junior Caridad Estes' (West Palm Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches/Ball State) sacrifice fly to plate another two Eagle runs for a 4-0 lead. Estes also produced a triple in the series finale.
The Green & Blue's four-run advantage would be short-lived, as KSU rallied in the bottom of the inning for five runs -- highlighted by a three-run home run -- to take a 5-4 lead.
In all, Kennesaw State scored nine unanswered runs to upend the Eagles on Senior Day, one day after being eliminated from postseason contention. The Owls tacked on three runs in the fifth and added another in the sixth courtesy of a solo shot for the final margin.
Offensively, freshman Tiffany Meek (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./William T. Dwyer HS) produced two of five Eagle hits Sunday. Senior Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) absorbed the loss in the circle, and the Eagles rolled out four different pitchers in relief opportunities.
FGCU aims to run the table next week in DeLand for the second ASUN Tournament Championship in program history.
COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros is in his 21st season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the ground up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 737-421-3 (.635) record, gone 189-120 (.614) in the ASUN, had 16 seasons with a winning record and nine campaigns of 35+ wins. Deiros has also led the Eagles to three ASUN regular season championships (2008, 2012, and 2016) and one ASUN Tournament title (2012). In 2012, FGCUdefeated No. 5 Florida in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Last season (2022), FGCU took down both No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Florida once again. Deiros is a former head coach at the 1998 Florida State Runner-Up Lely High School in Naples and is the founding head coach of the 1999 District Champion/2001 Regional Runner-Up Gulf Coast High School in Naples.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCUCampus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 98 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 48 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.67 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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