FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU softball team opened up the 2022 season, Thursday, splitting a pair of games on day one of the FGCU Kickoff Classic. The Eagles took down LIU, 13-5, to open the day before falling to #15 Clemson, 11-0.
“We had a really good first day,” said head coach David Deiros. “It could have been better with a better result against Clemson in game two, but I thought our team played together the entire time. I thought we battled back after Long Island took a big lead in the first inning. Ally [Hulme] settled down and our offense really came to life and did a great job. I hope that’s a harbinger of things to come.”
Overall on the day, redshirt-senior Cana Davis (Harrisonburg, Va./Turner Ashby HS/Virginia Tech) went 5-for-5 in her first games as an Eagle, including a 3-for-3 performance with two RBI against LIU. Senior McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) also had a solid day at the plate with four hits, an RBI, and two runs scored in the two games.
In game one against LIU, the Green and Blue fell behind early as the Sharks put up four runs in the top of the first. Junior Abbey Thomas (Fort Myers, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) got one run back for FGCU as she plated Batterton with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the first.
Junior pitcher Ally Hulme (Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HS/State College of Florida) settled down after the rocky first inning with three straight scoreless frames to keep the Eagle deficit at just three runs. Senior Emily Estroff (Coconut Creek, Fla./Coral Springs Charter HS/Villanova) also made her debut in the circle this season with a scoreless inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, FGCU scored six runs on five hits and a Shark error to take the lead. Junior Riley Oakes (Oviedo, Fla./Bishop Moore Catholic HS/Radford) got the scoring started as she hit a screaming liner into right-center to drive in sophomore Amaya Gainer (Tallahassee, Fla./Chiles HS) all the way from first. After a single by Batterton drove in another run, the Eagles loaded the bases for Thomas, who drove in the tying run with a fielder’s choice.
The scoring did not stop as junior Jordyn Gendron (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) gave the Eagles the lead with a two-run single through the right side. Thomas provided the sixth run of the inning as she scored on a wild pitch, giving the Eagles a three-run lead after four innings.
LIU got a run back in the top of the fifth, but the Eagles responded with another big inning in the bottom half. With two runners on, Davis hit a double off the wall to drive in two before senior Reedy Davenport (St. Johns Fla./Bartram Trail HS) drove in two more with a double of her own.
After junior Neely Peterson (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State/Santa Fe College) made it a 12-5 game with a run-scoring single to left, Davenport scored on an error, securing the victory for the Eagles with the eight-run mercy rule in effect.
Against Clemson, the Eagles faced a tough task going up against All-American Valerie Cagle in the circle.
The Tigers put up a run in each of the first three innings before breaking the game open with three runs in the fourth and five in the fifth.
The Eagles had their best scoring opportunity in the first inning as they had two runners on with one out, but Cagle got through it unscathed.
FGCU will return tomorrow night when they face #10 Texas in the fifth game of day two of the Kickoff Classic. First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m., but may be pushed back due to prior games running long.
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the-minute information on the FGCU softball program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_Softball and Instagram at fgcusoftball and stay tuned at FGCUAthletics.com.
COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros is in his 20th season as head coach during the 2022 campaign. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 689-364-3 (.654), going 162-93 (.632) in the ASUN, having 15 seasons with a winning record, and nine campaigns with 35 wins. 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 FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/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 www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women’s basketball (No. 25, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.