FGCU Baseball vs Miami Preview

The FGCU baseball will somewhat have another hurdle in their season in the Miami Hurricanes. After a three-game sweep over Jackson State, FGCU (22-3) looks to extend their winning streak to nine games.

Still leading the pavement on the offensive side is redshirt senior Nick Rivera. Rivera is only four games away from breaking the all-time program record in career games played and is three RBIs away from breaking the program record in RBIs. Rivera still leads the team in home runs (5).

Head coach Dave Tollett will send Mario Leon (2-1, 3.33 ERA) to pitch against Miami. Leon's last start was against USF. He earned the win after throwing six innings, giving up one run on eight hits with eight strikeouts.

Miami (11-13, 4-5 ACC) already started conference and recently faced conference rival UNC. The Hurricanes lost two of the games to UNC.

The Hurricanes will send freshman Greg Veliz (2-1, 2.70) to face Leon. Veliz's last start was against FAU in non-conference play. Veliz threw 5.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits, walking two and striking out seven.

Offensively, Romy Gonzalez leads the team with five home runs and 19 RBIs.

Overall, Miami leads FGCU 16-2 in the series between the two teams. Last time FGCU beat Miami in the series was in 2015 where they won 8-1 when Miami was No. 13 in the nation.

The game starts at 6:30 pm and it is a blueout, so marketing is encouraging fans that attend the game to wear blue at the game.

FGCU vs. JU Softball Opening Conference Series

The FGCU softball team (20-14, 2-1 A-Sun Conference) opened conference with a 2-1 series win at home against Jacksonville University Dolphins (21-14, 1-2 A-Sun Conference).

The Eagles had a 6-2 win in the first game and a 3-2 loss in the second game on Saturday before a 4-2 win to conclude the series on Sunday.

Sophomore Riley was set to pitch for FGCU while JU used Taylor Thorpe to matchup.

The Eagles and Dolphins went scoreless in the first two innings until JU scored on a RBI single by sophomore infielder Danielle Baker, but things turned around for FGCU.

Senior infielder Jeanie Verderese started with a one out single to center field. After junior Kelsey Huff lined out, junior Natalie Lopez dropped a bunt single that also moved Verderese to second. The big bat came into play. Sophomore Racquel Fournet provided a big spark with a first pitch three run home run to center field to put the Eagles ahead 3-1 before junior LuLu Newmark lined out to end the inning.

After a scoreless fourth inning, JU cut the lead to 3-2 after Baker hit a RBI double in the fifth.

Going scoreless in the bottom of the fifth and the top of the sixth, FGCU brought back more in the run category. Fournet led off the inning and hit another first pitch home run to start the run category. Two batters later, junior Bri Innamorato hit a single to second base. The next batter, junior Brittany McGuire hit a single to center. Sophomore Morgan Sutherland came in to pinch hit for redshirt sophomore Ashley Swiderski and hit a first pitch double to left center to drive in Innamorato and McGuire for two more insurance runs before Verderese fouled out to end the inning.

Randolph (11-3, 2.40 ERA) pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits, walked three and struck out seven batters.

On nine hits, Fournet led the charge offensively. Fournet went 2-3 with the two home runs and four RBIs.

Huff, Lopez, Innamorato, Newmark, McGuire, Verderese and Sutherland all had one hit each.

In the second game, senior Taylor Wade took the mound for the team against junior Madison Ragan.

After a scoreless first, the Dolphins struck first on a Ragan RBI single.

Two innings later, Swiderski started with a one out triple and scored on a Innamorato sacrifice fly. With two outs, McGuire hit a solo home run to left center, but the Dolphins would jump ahead with two RBI singles by freshman Bethany Kursch and junior Jordan Daniels to win the game 3-2.

Wade (7-7, 3.08 ERA), despite getting the loss, threw a complete game, but gave up all three runs, with two of them earned, on six hits, walked and struck out two batters.

McGuire went 1-3 with the home run.

Huff and Swiderski had two hits each.

FGCU had four stolen bases in the game (Huff, Fournet, Innamorato and Verderese).

The final game happened on Sunday and the winner would win the series between the two teams.

Randolph took the mound once again for FGCU while JU went with Ragan.

In the top of the first inning, Randolph struck out two of the her three batters faced.

FGCU struck first in the run category. After Huff and Lopez were out, Fournet reached on base on a fielding error. With the bases loaded after back-to-back singles from Innamorato and Swiderski, McGuire drove the first run in. It looked like the Dolphins got the third out, but a costly error from Daniels after attempting to get the out at third, brought Fournet in to score.

Randolph struck out one batter, but JU tied the game in the second after a sacrifice Fly from freshman Makenzie Buss.

FGCU would then regain the lead in the third. Lopez started with a leadoff single and a stolen base before she scored a run on a Innamorato RBI double.

Randolph would strike out two batters at the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, senior Bree Tourtillott would get hit by a pitch to start the inning. Junior Emily Demurias pinch ran for Tourtillott, but was out after leaving the first base early. Sutherland would walk, but was then out after a fielder's choice from Verderese. Huff would then line a triple to right field, bringing in Verderese. Lopez then drove in Huff on an RBI single to the shortstop.

Two scoreless innings later, Randolph went to finish up the game in the top of the seventh. She struck out the first batter, After giving up a single and a fielding error occurring, JU would get another run on the board after a RBI single from senior Ciara Jones, but it was not enough as Randolph got the last batter to ground out to her ending the game 4-2 for FGCU.

Huff, Lopez and Innamorato had two hits and an RBI each.

Randolph would get the win once again after throwing another complete game. Randolph gave up two unearned runs on five hits while walking one and striking out eight batters. At the end of the series, FGCU is 2-1 in conference and is in a three way with USC Upstate and Kennesaw State.

FGCU continues conference play with a road trip to Jacksonville to face UNF before coming back home to face USC Upstate where they will have a blue out for the Saturday games and on the Sunday game, it will be senior day, where FGCU recognizes four seniors on the team: Jeanie Verderese, Amber Plaza, Bree Tourtillott and Taylor Wade. They would also recognize Upstate's seniors as well during the game: Ryan Rector, Abbie Millete, Holly McKinnon and Lexi Shubert.

FGCU Softball vs Jacksonville Preview

Conference is officially going underway during the spring season. Already off the bat or in this case the "racket," both the FGCU men's and women's tennis teams started off against Stetson University. The women played first and won 6-1 while the men won 5-2.

For FGCU softball, conference starts Saturday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Eagles (18-13) start the opening of conference by playing Jacksonville University (JU).

The Eagles had just wrapped up a series in the Battle at the Beach Invitational winning four out of the six games they played in.

The players for FGCU that were key factors during the invitational were sophomore Riley Randolph, junior Bri Innamorato, freshman Morgan White, sophomore Racquel Fournet, and junior Kelsey Huff.

Randolph, a lefthanded pitcher, was 2-0 in the invitational throwing 14 innings, giving up four runs on 10 hits, walking three batters and striking out 17.

Innamorato hit .250 overall with four hits and four RBIs in the series.

White, the only freshman and right-handed pitcher rotated with pitching and batting. Batting wise, White went 1-6 with two RBIs, but pitching wise, she pitched six shutout innings against Cleveland State. While she gave up four hits and three walks, White had a game-leading 10 strikeouts in the end.

Fournet had four doubles in the series and is currently tied with FSU's Alex Powers in the nation with the most doubles (16). She still leads the team in RBIs (28).

Huff hit .350 with three stolen bases in the series.

JU enters into conference with a 20-12 overall record. They competed against two top 25 team: 6-0 loss to Florida (now No. 2) and 10-0, 7-0 losses to Alabama (now No. 9).

Scouting wise, the JU players to keep a sharp eye on are junior catcher/infielder Heather Roberts, junior pitcher Madison Ragan and senior pitcher Taylor Thorpe.

Roberts, their power bat, currently leads the team in home runs (6) and RBIs (32).

Ragan (4-3, 2.89 ERA) not only pitches well, but bats well too. She is hitting .319 with 29 hits, four home runs and 25 RBIs.

Thorpe (7-3-1, 2.03 ERA) is the ace of the team and leads the team in strikeouts (25).


FGCU is 19-4 all time against JU and the last meet they played, FGCU swept JU 8-1, 8-0, 7-2 in Jacksonville to clinch the season crown and become the No.1 seed in the A-Sun Tournament.

The series between FGCU and JU starts the doubleheader Saturday and 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and will be aired on A-Sun TV. It is also a Blue out, so marketing is asking people  to wear blue during the games. The series will conclude with one game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Afterwards, FGCU will go on the road to UNF before coming back for another home series against USC Upstate.

FGCU Baseball vs. USF preview

The FGCU baseball team set themselves up for a matchup with USF. The Eagles (18-3) had just recently finished up a three game series last weekend with a sweep over Rutgers University (Gm 1 5-2; Gm 2 13-4; Gm 3 8-3).

According to the NCAA via Baseball America, FGCU is ranked 12th in the nation, which was the best start in the program's history. But how did they go from being not ranked to now being ranked 12th in the nation? Put it this way: Not many unranked teams are able to beat top five baseball teams in the nation and are able to brag about it.

FGCU first beat then No. 2 and now No. 13 Florida twice. They first beat UF at "home," and when I mean "home," I mean at Jetblue Park because Swanson Stadium is too small to hold 2,000 plus people. FGCU beat UF 7-3. Hoping for a rematch, the Gators played the Eagles at their home and had a chance to beat, but a diving catch by redshirt junior outfielder Gage Morey saved FGCU and the Eagles won 3-2, thus sweeping the Gators.

FGCU were continued with a 10-game winning streak that started since February 25th when they played Bethune-Cookman before falling to unranked Ohio State on March 12th. FGCU then played the No. 1 team in the nation: Florida State. It looked like FSU would beat FGCU, but the Eagles would win 5-2.

FGCU is lead by head coach Dave Tollett, who is entering his 15th season. During the last game of the series against UNC-Wilmington, Tollett earned his 500th win as head coach for FGCU

Players on FGCU to keep a sharp lookout for are redshirt junior Mario Leon, junior Julio Gonzalez, redshirt senior Nick Rivera and senior Sterling Koerner.

Leon, a right handed pitcher, will be getting the start against USF. Leon is 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA. His most recent start was against FSU. In a no decision, he threw four innings, giving up two runs on four hits and threw four walks and five strikeouts.

Gonzalez, a transfer from Seminole State College in Oklahoma, is currently batting .365 with two home runs and eight RBIs. Gonzalez also hit the first cycle in FGCU history.

Rivera holds the career record for doubles and is in the top ten in the following categories: career games played (208), career games started (203), hits (237), runs scored (143), RBI (177), home runs (31) and career total bases (400). Rivera is only four RBIs away from breaking the career RBI record held jointly by Zach Maxfield and Tim Roberson. His best game most recently was against Rutgers when he went 4-for-5 with drove in a program high nine RBIs (two home runs, a single and a triple)

Korener has been mainly used as a closer and has six saves for the team.

Scouting #21 USF:

USF (19-1) is No. 21 team in the nation and most recently faced UNF and won by a score of 7-3. The Bulls had sweeps over Harvard, Miami (OH), Toledo and Valparaiso as well. The Bulls are on a 18-game winning streak, which is the third longest winning streak in the nation.

Taking the mound for USF is redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Peter Strzelecki. Strzelecki (1-0, 1.15) in 15.2 innings gave up 12 hits, six runs, 9 walks and struck out 18 batters.

Batting wise, sophomore David Villar is the lead power bat for the team with four home runs and 28 RBIs.

To go off topic a bit, personally, I have a fix with the game: "Why?" people would ask. The answer is I know someone on the team I went to school with at my junior college, and sometimes when I go to any of the athletic events, I get a little weary, not because of the game, but because any fan would heckle my friends too harshly. Of course, this was not my first rodeo with the situation. One example would be last year when someone I knew from my junior college and they played volleyball for FAU, I got really weary and didn't know what to do, so I asked a coach who she played for and she understood and it was a tough call because I have two alma maters, but she told me to stick with my school, and that is exactly what I did from that point on.


The game starts 6:30 p.m. and it is a blue out, so marketing is encouraging fans to wear blue during the game.

Wrap Up of the Battle at the Beach Invitational

The FGCU softball team had a busy week as they played and hosted the Battle at the Beach Invitational. They had a total of six games during the week and prior to the BATB Invitational, FGCU had a series against FSU, the No.1 team in the nation and lost both games 7-0 and 13-1 before battling Canisius College and beating them 2-1 in nine innings

The following teams were invited to participate in the invitational: Iowa State, Canisius College, IUPUI, Drexel and Cleveland State.

I took a look at a few of the games that we were not playing in to scouted our competition that we expect to face.

First two games, I was unable to go because I was in Orlando for the men's basketball tournament, but from what I was told that we split the first two games. FGCU beat Iowa State 7-3, but lost to IUPUI 2-1 on Thursday. sophomore left-handed pitcher Riley Randolph got the win against Canisius while senior right-handed pitcher, while Taylor Wade got the loss against IUPUI.

On Friday, FGCU did not play in the invitational as they were preparing for Saturday. When Saturday came, FGCU continued their part with an 8-0 win over Canisius College again.

In the first inning, senior catcher Brianna Tourtillott started the game with an RBI single that drove in junior outfielder Natalie Lopez. Then junior third baseman Brittany McGuire had a fielder's choice that drove in sophomore first baseman Racquel Fournet. One batter later, junior LuLu Newmark drove in Tourtillott before a lineout by junior second baseman Emily Demurias.

In the second inning, junior outfielder Kelsey Huff had an bunt single that drove in Lopez despite it being a throwing error.

Three scoreless innings later, going into the bottom of the fifth, FGCU was back on the scoring side. After a lineout from Huff, Tourtillott began with a standing double. Tourtillott was then pulled out to put a pinch runner for her, and little did I know that a surprise guest had joined the team. Pinch running for Tourtilott was Evita Leter.

Leter came from the FGCU swimming and diving to join the team. The senior from Paramaribo, Suriname is mainly known for swimming in the 2016 Rio Olympics representing her native country. What I was told was that the NCAA cleared her and was eligible to play. When I heard that she was on the softball team, I was thinking at first "Is this real? Is there a hidden camera or digital recorder that's playing tricks on me?" Honestly, I was not fully convinced that this was real and before the game started, I saw her in uniform No. 23, so my eyes did not deceive me after all.

Also, this was the first time that she ever played softball, and she told that she just started on Friday and did not know anything about softball.

Some of her swimming and diving teammates including sophomores Linda Shaw, Georgie Gardener and Doris Eichorn were in attendance to watch their teammate in the game.

Leter advanced to third on a groundout from senior second baseman Jeanie Verderese and would then score after Newmark reached on a throwing error before junior shortstop Brianne Innamorato grounded out to end the inning.

In the sixth inning, Fournet would finish the game and hit a game-winning two run double that ended in 8-0 via the mercy rule.

Randolph got the win after throw a complete game shutout while giving up four hits and striking out eight batters.

FGCU would later face ISU, but fell 5-2 and split the series once again.

During the Saturday games, I saw Jessica and Jaimie Harney, two fellow softball players and twins from the same junior college that me and junior Erica Ward were enrolled in. They came to visit Ward, who is out for the rest of the season.

On Sunday morning, FGCU was scheduled to play Drexel University of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and Cleveland State of the Horizon League.

The Eagles started off against Drexel. The first three innings were scoreless, but going into the fourth inning, Fournet started by reaching first on a fielding error. After a walk by Newmark, Tourtilott, who played right field in the game, moved the runners into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. After McGuire popped out, Innamorato drove in the first two runs of the game on a double before senior catcher Amber Plaza popped out.

After a scoreless fitfth inning, the Dragons would drive in three runs after FGCU committed two errors that cost them the lead.

With the bottom of the sixth starting, Fournet flew out to start the inning. Newmark then hit a triple to right field. Head coach David Deiros was not happy about it and took Newmark out and put Demurias to pinch run. Honestly, in her defense, I think Newmark misread what Deiros told her. She was suppose to stay at second, but it looked like Deiros was telling her to run to third, so there may have been some miscommunication. With Demurias on third, Tourtilott was at the plate and on a 1-1 pitch, she hit a game-winning two run home run that put FGCU up 4-3.

In the top of the seventh, Drexel started things off with a triple, but then it looked a little controversial. The next batter grounded out to Verderese and Verderese threw to Plaza, who then threw it to Demurias for a double play.

From a view, it looked like the runner was safe and it should have been tied 4-4, but I found before the second game that the runner did not reach home plate and Plaza did get her in time. Drexel would pop up and ended the game.

Both teams had only four hits in the game. Newmark, Innamorato, Verderese and Tourtillott had the only four hits.

Wade got the win throwing a complete game giving three unearned runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

The final game of the invitational was between FGCU and Cleveland State. Cleveland State was 2-24 before starting the game.

Instead of Randolph pitching the game, it was freshman right-hander Morgan White that took the mound. White was struggling the past few games, but this time, it was much better than I could imagine.

The first batter White faced hit a single to start. After pop out and another single, I'm thinking "Please let her have this game in her hand" and luckily, my wish came true.

White struck out two batters in the first inning. In the second, she struck one batter. In the third, despite giving up a single and a throwing error being set, White got out of the inning and struck out one batter. White would strike out three of the four batters she faced in the fourth.

After three scoreless inning, FGCU would start the offense. Huff led things off with a triple. After Fournet walked and stole second, Newmark would strikeout and Tourtillott would load the bases with a walk before McGuire drove in Huff for the first run on a sacrifice fly. White would then step up to the plate and hit a pop fly to the infield. It looked like the inning was about to end, but the Cleveland State's shortstop dropped the ball and Fournet would score the second run before Verderese struck out to end the inning.

With White back on the mound, Cleveland State took another crack at her in the fifth. White struck out the first batter and gave up a single before having the next two batters fly out. White had eight strikeouts in the game before going into the sixth inning. The first batter White faced struck out looking. After a fly out with second batter, White walked two straight batters and threw an illegal pitch that advanced the first runner that walked to second, but after that, she struck out her final batter.

During the bottom of the sixth, there was some confusion. After McGuire popped out and White struck out, Innamorato hit a single to center and advanced to third on a throwing error by the second baseman, but something did not look right to the umpires and they gathered together with both Deiros and the head coach of CSU about the situation with Innamorato's advancement.

After a 30 minute delay of looking through the rule book, Innamorato was ok to stay at third. I was very confused with the problem and I could not figure it out. Redshirt sophomore Ashley Swiderski would fly out to end the sixth.

In the seventh, junior right-hander Gabbee Draney came in to get the save and struck out all three batters to end the inning.

FGCU would once again have only four hits. Huff had two and Innamorato and Verderese would have one each.

White earned her second win and threw six innings and gave up all four hits and three walks, but it was the 10 strikeouts that set the bar for the lone freshman. Draney would be credited with her second save of the season.

At the end of the invitational, FGCU ended up 4-2, Canisius (11-13) was 2-2, IUPUI (10-17) and Iowa State (15-16) went 4-1, Drexel (4-7) went 1-4 and Cleveland State went 0-5 in the Battle at the Beach Invitational.

FGCU (18-13) will be starting conference play in the A-Sun on Saturday with two games at home against Jacksonville before wrapping up with one more in the afternoon and heading to UNF for the first conference road trip.

FGCU vs. FSU Softball Preview

As spring break came to a close, softball does not stop to rest, not even during March Madness as noted that the men's basketball team is set to face FSU in the first round of the 2017 NCAA national tournament. FGCU is the No. 14 seed while FSU is the No. 3 seed.

Aside from basketball, FGCU is also scheduled to face FSU in softball. FGCU (13-9) had just recently played a series of three games against Holy Cross and Ball State. They won all three games beating Holy Cross twice (12-9 on Tuesday and 3-0 on Wednesday) and Ball State (3-1).

Leading the offense from those three games was junior Erica Ward and sophomore Racquel Fournet. Ward had five RBIs, but was unable to play the rest of the series due to a knee injury. Fournet had seven RBIs in the series including four in the first game against Holy Cross.

On the mound, sophomore Riley Randolph led the charging in pitching. In the three games, Randolph had two wins and a save with a total of 12 strikeouts in the series.

Scouting FSU:
FSU is, by far, going to be the biggest challenge for FGCU. The Seminoles are the Number one team in the nation (subject to change) and are currently 22-1-1 with their most recent series wins against Virginia Tech. Last season, the Seminoles was 55-10 with a 21-2 record in conference and made it to the college world series before falling to Auburn in their final game.

Offensively, players to keep a look out for are junior outfielder Morgan Klaevemann, redshirt senior first baseman Alex Powers and junior infielder Jessica Warren.

Klaevemann, a "slapper" is mainly know for her speed. She is tied with the most hits (32) and leads in stolen bases (18). Looking at highlights on how she leads off for a stolen base and slapping ability, the best thing to do is be cautious when she's bunting or slapping for a hit. Klaevemann was All-ACC First Team, NFCA Southeast All-Region Third Team and Cosida Academic All-District 4 First Team

Powers currently leads the team in batting average (.478) with three home runs and 19 RBIs. Powers is the reigning ACC Player of the Year, and was members of the All-ACC First Team, WCWS All-Tournament Team and ACC All-Tournament Team last season. Klaevemann was members of the NFCA Southeast All-Region Third Team, All-ACC First Team, and Cosida Academic All-District 4 First Team last season.

Warren is seemingly the power bat behind FSU. She currently leads the team in home runs (6) and RBIs (24). Warren was a NFCA Third Team All-American and members of the NFCA Southeast All-Region Second Team, All-ACC First Team, and the ACC Tournament MVP. Power is key from Warren.

On the pitching side, the duo of redshirt senior Jessica Burroughs and redshirt sophomore Meghan King will be something to keep watchful eyes on the mound.

Burroughs has an 11-1 record with 0.80 ERA and two saves while striking out 103 batters and giving up 10 runs, 28 hits and 14 walks in 69.2 innings. Burroughs is the defending ACC Pitcher of the Year and a member of the WCWS All-Tournament Team, All-ACC First Team, NFCA Southeast All-Region Second Team and an NFCA Third Team All-American.

King is currently 10-0 with one save and an 0.88 ERA and in 63.1 innings, she gave up 54 hits, 11 runs and 15 walks while striking out 45 batters. King was a member of the All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Tournament Team.

Klaevemann, Powers, Warren, Burroughs and King are also FSU Softball Tribe Members.

As far as each season, this is the first time that both FGCU and FSU are facing each other in softball, but as for facing a top 25 team, it's not FGCU's first rodeo. The first time that FGCU faced a top 25 team, since they made the jump from NCAA division two to NCAA division one in 2008, was against Depaul University, who at the time, was the No. 13 team in the nation and split the series. The last time FGCU beat a top 25 team was this season. They faced then No. 21 Fresno State in the Triple Crown Sports Puerto Vallarta Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and won by a score of 4-3 and it was the fifth time in history that FGCU beat a top 25 team in the nation.

So for softball fans, it would seem like FSU would be the victor in the series, but the saying "Anything can happen," can still come into play. FGCU and FSU start their series on Tuesday at 6 pm and then play Wednesday at 4:45 PM, and during the Tuesday game, it is a blue out for fans to wear blue and on the Wednesday game, it is "Throwback Days" where FGCU will wear throwback uniforms from previous seasons.

After that series with FSU, FGCU will play in the Battle at the Beach against Canisius on Wednesday at 7 PM, IUPUI and Iowa State at 4:45 PM and 7 PM on Thursday, Canisius again at 12:15 PM and Iowa State again at 5 PM on Saturday and finish up the series with a 10 AM game against Drexel and a 12:15 PM game against Cleveland State.

An Emotional Message From the FGCU Athletes

I messaged some of the athletes in a group message and told them a story about my struggles and successes with my autism. When I told them about how I was trying out for the Men's Basketball team at FGCU. At the end, I told them if I make it, great and if I didn't, at least I gave it my 100% best to try and make it and I thanked them for being a great support and true friends.

The first person to respond was men's basketball player Christian Terrell as he said "Love you man! Go for it!"

I thought it was gonna end there because I know probably a lot of them would leave the conversation, but then the responses kept piling up.

Softball player Brittany McGuire said "Your awesome! Best fan award goes to you Patrick!" and I thought that was pretty clever.

One of the funny parts in the conversation was Josh Ko and Christian "arguing" about responding to my message and not each others text message. I thought it was funny.

Softball player Carissa Licata's response was "We appreciate everything you've done for us Patrick!! Thank you for the support throughout the season." What Carissa was talking about was my support for the FGCU Softball team's great season and how I always keep the games moving strong and the team motivated with my cheer.

Men's tennis player Andres Alfonzo gave a good response too saying,"My man!! Thanks for inspiring me and others. Thank you for your motivation and your passion in sports, it really makes a difference for us. God bless you buddy."

There were 2 responses that got me a little teary-eyed: Albert Ruiz, one of the men's soccer players said "You are such an inspiration for me, and I'm pretty sure, for everyone who's in this group. Never give up and keep working towards your goals my friend."

The other one was from women's soccer player, Kaitlin Parker gave a great example of someone she knew has autism "The best of luck to you. I grew up with one of an amazing friend who had autism as well and I just want you to know that there is no difference between you and me! You are an amazing individual and I am grateful that I was able to meet you through my sport!"

Having someone that can relate to knowing that they have a friend who has autism really touched me in a good way and to hear the many responses from my message to them really brings a lot of emotions to those athletes. Of course, not all the athletes responded to the message, which is not that big of a deal, but the ones that did respond were really touched by my story and now have lived to hear my story of my struggles and successes with autism.

Big Wins for FGCU Softball

The FGCU softball team had a doubleheader with Holy Cross and Ball State.

Going into the doubleheader with a 10-9 record, the Eagles were struggling going back and forth between wins and losses. They lost 5-1 to UCF on Wednesday before going back on a two game winning streak beating Providence College 10-7 and 3-0 in the UCF Spring Fling Tournament before returning to a two game losing streak after a 5-3 loss to UCF and a 5-2 loss to Providence.

It looked like the streak was about to continue, but in this case, it did not happen.

Before FGCU played Holy Cross, I took the liberty of getting a sneak peak at Ball State as they played FIU earlier, although during the game, I got hit on the head twice by foul balls. I know they say "Stay alert for foul balls," but it came out of nowhere. Lucky for me, it didn't hurt too bad.

FIU beat Ball State 6-2 in an earlier afternoon game.

Before the game started, the announcer announced the reserves and starting lineups for both teams and then I sang the national anthem for the game.

None of the softball players honestly knew that I was doing it and were shocked really when they heard. Probably some of the softball beforehand were thinking "Is he gonna be like the usual guy that does the anthem for us?"

As I started, I could sense different feelings in body language in some of the FGCU softballs players and from the Holy Cross and Ball State players too.

When I finished the anthem, I got a big ovation from everyone and even junior Brittany McGuire shook my hand in shock and awe and said "Good job."

When I took my seat, people were already saying things like "Great job" and "Great singing."

Even some of the opposing teams' fans were amazed.

Senior right hander, Taylor Wade, was set to face the Crusaders. Wade was 4-4 prior to the game.

Her opposing pitcher was junior Katy Watson. Watson entered the game 0-2 prior to playing FGCU.

At the top of the first inning, the Crusaders scored the first run on an RBI double, but then in the bottom of the first, the Eagles took over. After walks to junior outfielder Natalie Lopez and sophomore first baseman Racquel Fournet, junior outfielder Erica Ward hit a three run home run to center. This was her first home run playing for FGCU.

By the second inning, the Crusaders started a five run inning to take a 6-3 lead, but then the Eagles bounced back with a five run inning of their own.

Junior outfielder Kelsey Huff started with a bunt single and then stole second before Lopez hit a single and stole second base herself. Fournet started the five run inning with an RBI single to dive in Huff. Then Ward drove in Lopez and Fournet on a triple before being thrown out at home. After a single, stolen base and advanced run from senior catcher Brianna Tourtillott, redshirt sophomore infielder Ashley Swiderski walked before junior infielder Brianne Innamorato drove in Tourtillott and Swiderski on a double to take a 8-6 lead.

In the third inning, the Crusaders tied the game 8-8 after a throwing error and a sac fly in which Ward made a spectacular diving catch for it, even though she did not get the runner out at home.

The Eagles would once again bounce back with a two run double by Fournet to make it 10-8.

Two scoreless innings later led to the bottom of the fifth. Senior infielder Jeanie Verderese started with a single to third and a stolen base before Huff made a sacrifice bunt to move Verderese and a Fournet RBI single increased the lead to 12-8.

The Crusaders scored a run in the top of the sixth, but a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth by junior designated player LuLu Newmark sealed the run support.

Sophomore left hander Riley Randolph came into the game and finished the seventh inning for the save. FGCU would win 12-8 for the final score.

In the end of the first game, it was Ward and Fournet who took the reigns for providing most of the runs. Ward went 3-4 with five RBIs including the three run homer and two run triple. Fournet was 3-3 with two singles, a double and four RBIs.

Innamorato went 1-3 with the two run double.

Huff and Swiderski had two hits and two runs each.

Walk count, the Crusaders walked seven batters (Swiderski (2), Verderese (2), Tourillott, Fournet and Lopez) while FGCU gave up one.

Pitching wise, Wade earned the win after pitching six innings while giving up nine runs (seven earned) on 13 hits with one walk and four strikeouts while Randolph earned a save after throwing one scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out two batters.

Before the second game started, head coach Dave Deiros saw me, gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me about the anthem. He said to me "Patrick, I've heard the anthem several times at FGCU for softball, and that is by far the best one I have heard this whole time. Great job."

At first I was thinking "Was he just saying that to be nice or was he serious?" It was hard for me to tell really with Deiros. But he sounded serious about it.

Game two went underway, but this time they played Ball State.

Randolph (6-2) was set to face junior Carolyn Wilmes (2-7).

In the first inning, FGCU had the bases loaded, bringing up Ward, but a knee injury took her out of the game for her at bat and sophomore Morgan Sutherland finished the at bat for Ward and was sent to the outfield to finish the game for Ward in right field. Sutherland did strike out, but Ward would get the strikeout instead of Sutherland. I never understood why really, but I just went with it. With the bases still loaded, Newmark popped a fly ball, but the Wilmes and the third baseman missed the ball and that brought in Huff for the first run.

The Cardinals would tie the game in the fourth inning after and RBI single by freshman Haley Dominique before Randolph struck out the final batter to end the top half of the inning.

The next half innings went scoreless until the bottom of the fifth.

After Huff grounded out for the first out, Lopez was up to bat and was hit by a pitch. Originally, the home plate umpire called it a foul because it looked like it hit the bat. After a discussion about the call, it was overturned and Lopez went to first. After a Fournet ground out that advanced Lopez to second, Sutherland drove a go ahead RBI single to center to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Innamorato started the inning with a lead-off double. After a ground out by Verderese that advanced Innamorato to third, Tourtillott added the insurance run by driving Innamorato with a sacrifice fly to left field before Huff grounded out to end the inning.

Despite giving up a double and a walk in the top of the seventh, Randolph got the final out on a ground ball to third and FGCU would win the game 3-1.

Sutherland went 2-2 with a double and the go ahead RBI single. She was the only player for FGCU with more than one hit.

Randolph got the win throwing a complete game, giving up one earned run on four hits while walking five batters and striking out four.

The Eagles are now 12-9 after those two wins while Holy Cross dropped to 2-5 while Ball State dropped to 7-14.

After the game, Tourtillott wanted a picture with me after the game with my "W" flag. Of course, I couldn't say "no" to something like that? It's impossible for me to say "no" to the athletes. So we got a photo with my flag.

In case some of the readers and non-sport fans do not know what the blue W means on the white flag, the W stands for "win," and for non-baseball fans that don't get the reference, the W is flown at Chicago Cubs baseball games when the cubs win their games, hence the saying heard by play-by-play analyst, Len Kasper, is "Cubs win. Cubs win. Cubs win," and the "Go Cubs Go" song is played afterwards.

Later on after the second game was completed, assistant coach Erika Bennett came to me and said "Nice job on the anthem," and I asked her "Did any of the softball players know I was doing the anthem?" She said "No one expected that you were doing it, not even the coaching staff knew. I was impressed."

I was astonished that I did something to make the 60 plus people in the stands cheer and get a strong ovation for what I did.

Nevertheless, FGCU won 12-8 against Holy Cross and 3-1 against Ball State, but the series with HC is not yet over for FGCU has to play one more game at 5 tomorrow night. Those two wins against HC and Ball State were crucial games, even if they were non-conference.

Also a brief update on Erica Ward: she did hurt her knee during the first inning of the game against Ball State, but she'll be OK from what I heard from her teammates.

Me with Bri Tourtillott after the game with the "W" flag

Randolph on the mound against Ball State

Wade on the mound in the game against Holy Cross

Me doing the national anthem before the game

Tourtillott stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error

Fournet hits a two run double

Randolph finishing the top of the seventh inning for the save

Dunk City: Back to The Dance... Again

This was the game that determined who would punch their ticket to the national tournament. No. 1 seeded FGCU and No. 3 seeded UNF were set to play each other in the A-SUN Conference Men's Basketball Championship Finals. The championship game started at 3 P.M and was held at the Alico Arena. The biggest part of the game was it was aired on ESPN and not on ESPN3.

Prior to the championship match, FGCU beat No. 8 Stetson 87-57 in the quarterfinals and beat No. 5 Kennesaw State 74-62 in the semifinals at home while UNF beat No. 6 Jacksonville 77-74 in the quarterfinals at home and No.2 Lipscomb 91-85 at Lipscomb.

The two players from both teams to keep eyes out for are senior and A-SUN Player of the Year, Dallas Moore, and redshirt junior A-SUN Newcomer of the Year, Brandon Goodwin. Moore is now a two-time A-SUN Player of the Year after winning this season and last season and currently leads the team in points per game (23.9), assists (135), assists per game (4) and steals (39). He was also on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team. Goodwin, a transfer from the University of Central Florida (UCF), was unable to play last season per the NCAA transfer rules. Goodwin currently leads the team in points per game (18.2) assist (132), assists per game (4), three pointers made (53) and free throws made (134).

Here is the scenario beforehand: If FGCU wins, then they would go to the national tournament and UNF would possibly go to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) or CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) or none at all. If UNF wins, then they would go to the national tournament and the Eagles would automatically go to the NIT due to the best season record, so you could say it's a win-lose-possible win situation meaning if either team wins or loses the game, they will or possible will go to a smaller tournament.

UNF came into the final tournament game 15-18 with a 8-6 record in conference while FGCU came in 25-7 overall with a 12-2 record in conference.

Before the game started, the announcer announced both teams' bench players, and of course UNF received a lot of negative heat. Then both starting lineups were announced one player from each team at a time. By tipoff, UNF got the ball first. UNF started off hot with 8-4 lead before FGCU reduced the lead to two before the first media timeout.

After the timeout, we took the lead after four straight points from redshirt senior Demetris Morant. After a putback layup by redshirt junior Kevin Mickle, UNF tied the game before redshirt senior Aaron Bodager hit a three point to give them the lead.

Around the 10 minute mark, Bodager caused a technical foul and Goodwin was sent to the free throw line to shoot one free throw, which went in. Nearing the end of the first half, redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson reduced UNF's lead to four points after a three point shot before Moore brought the lead back to six after a buzzer-beating layup. At the end of the first half UNF was ahead of FGCU 39-33.

During the game, a lot of UNF students and fans traveled to see the game, although they sat in the far right upper stands from the FGCU Dirty Bird section. UNF also brought their cheerleaders and Ozzie the Osprey, the UNF mascot. FGCU fans were booing them too, not as much as the players, but they were still booing them. I got a good laugh out of it, but on the other hand, I felt a little bad for them. Sigma Chi, one of FGCU's fraternities, was also in attendance to support sophomore Maxx Bleecher for he is a member of the fraternity as well as members of student government organizations.

After the 15 minute intermission, the game was back in session. Goodwin started the scoring drive with a layup and a free throw after A-SUN Freshman of the Year Wajid Aminu fouled him. After the made free throw, redshirt junior Romelo Banks scored two free throws to keep UNF ahead.

Goodwin was sent to the line yet again after Bodager fouled him and made two more free throws.  After freshman Garrett Sams made two free throws, Johnson made another three pointer to cut UNF's lead to one before redshirt senior Marc-Eddy Norelia made a dunk to bring the Eagles to a one point lead.

Moore would bring the lead back to UNF, but then fouled Goodwin and sent him yet again to the free throw line. Goodwin made both free throws to bring back the lead for the Eagles. Goodwin would then get a fast break layup to bring the lead to three for FGCU before Bodager tied the game with a three point shot, but Johnson would bring the three point lead back for FGCU with a three pointer of his own. Moore tried to cut the lead to one, but redshirt junior Antravious Simmons blocked him just before another media timeout came into play.

After that, Norelia hit a another dunk to bring the lead to five, and a third media timeout came in after sophomore Rayjon Tucker hit a dunk that literally broke the shot clock and it had to be fixed during another media timeout.

UNF tried to bounce back after a tip-in and free throw shots by Aminu, but it wasn't enough to get them the lead and after a three pointer from Goodwin and two straight three pointers from junior Christian Terrell, FGCU emptied the bench and finished the game, 77-61, and the Dirty Birds stormed the court in a victorious manner.

All five starters finished in double digit points. Goodwin had a team-leading 19 points and seven assists, Norelia had 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, Morant had 14 points, eight rebounds and one block, Johnson had 10 points and three assists and Terrell  had 10 points with six of them from the 3-point line.

Mickle was named A-SUN Defensive Player of the Game after finishing with four points, three rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes.

Despite the loss, Moore finished with 19 points for UNF and Aminu finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.

During the ceremony, Morant, Norelia and Goodwin represented the FGCU on the A-SUN All-Tournament Team. Goodwin was named the MVP of the tournament.

Moore and Bodager of UNF were also on the A-SUN All-Tournament team.

After the game, the basketball team did a traditional net cutting like every conference basketball team does and I even got pics of the team cutting the net and with my W flag. Even the cheerleaders wanted a pic with the flag. Of course, how could I resist?

The question in the reader's and audience's minds is this: Who will FGCU play in the national tournament?

The answer is simple: We don't know, but from what I do know is that four teams have punched their ticket to the NCAA basketball tournament: 1. Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), Winthrop of the of the Big South Conference, FGCU of the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-SUN) and Wichita State of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

There are still 28 spots for automatic bids for the remaining conferences and the at-large bids for teams that seem like a good fit for the tournament. In addition, there is still the selection show that randomly selects who faces who in the tournament, so we could play Duke, the defending champions Villanova or it could be a team that no one would ever think about like Monmouth or La Salle. Whoever FGCU plays in the tournament will determine how big of a challenge they will have coming to them.

Side note: When Rayjon Tucker got the dunk that broke the shot clock, it was found out that it was an ESPN Top Ten Play of the Game nominee and became number seven out of 10.

Rendjis Feikners

Rayjon Tucker

Kevin Mickle

Demetris Morant

Antravious Simmons

Maxx Bleecher

Dolan Mahoney

Head coach Joe Dooley

With Brandon Goodwin

With Kevin Mickle

With Rayjon Tucker

With Rendjis Feikners

With Joshua Ko

With Zach Johnson

With Antravious Simmons

With Christian Terrell

With Maxx Bleecher

With Dolan Mahoney and Ricky Doyle

With Marc-Eddy Norelia

With assistant cheerleading coach and former cheerleader Caleb Houston

With junior Brittany Borman

With sophomore Caragan Phillips

With junior Danielle Devito

From left to right: sophomore Talya Carness, freshman Lindsey Kenney, junior Bailey Spenlau, senior Makenzie Hanle, junior Brittany Borman and freshman Jordan Paris

left: Junior Jessica Gorman right: sophomore Hayley Krizanovic

With sophomore Braden Harsey

With Demetris Morant

FGCU Softball Spring Break Preview

After a series with UCF and Providence in the UCF Spring Fling Tournament, the FGCU softball team prepares themself for three non-conference home games against Ball State and Holy Cross.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles (10-9) were struggling after losing three straight home games against Wisconsin, FIU and UCF, but they bounced back winning of their three games against Providence University and losing a rematch game against UCF.

Batting wise, junior outfielder Kelsey Huff currently leads the team in hits (26), triples (3), and stolen bases (5).

Sophomore first baseman Racquel Fournet leads the team in RBIs (16) and walks (12).

Pitching wise, sophomore left-hander Riley Randolph is pitching a 5-2 record with a 2.94 ERA and 41 strikeouts.

The Eagles will play Holy Cross and Ball State in the first two games back home on Tuesday at 5:45 pm and 8 pm and then play Holy Cross a second time on Wednesday at 5 pm.

Scouting Holy Cross:
Holy Cross comes into the season with a 2-3 record after playing in the "Runnin' Bulldog Tournament" against Hampton, Gardner-Webb and Seton Hall.

The Crusaders are led by head coach Jen Lapicki. This is Lapicki's first season as head coach for the Crusaders after spending  three years previously as an assistant coach for the Princeton softball team.

Two batters to look out for with Holy Cross are Taylor Moss and Emily Krisanda.

Moss, the junior first basemen leads the team with a .500 batting average and in RBIs (6). Last year, Moss was named to the Academic All-Patriot League and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

Krisanda, a senior infielder, leads the team in hits (8) and is second behind Moss in batting average (.444)

Pitching wise, sophomore right-hander Alexandra Held is the ace of the pitchers Held throws a 2-0 record with a 3.44 ERA and nine strikeouts.

Scouting Ball State:
The Cardinals (6-12) were on a three-game winning streak before it was snapped by USF.

The players to expect, batting wise, are senior outfielder Rachel Houck and freshman catcher Janae Hogg.

Houck leads the team with seven home runs and in two of the 19 games she played, Houck hit two home runs in games against Drake and Towson.

Hogg, a recruit from Cathedral High School, has a team-leading .436 batting average with three home runs and 12 RBIs with two of them hit in the same game against Towson.

The week after spring break, FGCU will have their toughest challenge as they play No.1 Florida State in a doubleheader before playing Canisius, IUPUI, Drexel, Iowa State and Cleveland State in the Battle of the Beach Invitational. Afterwards, the Eagles will play Jacksonville for the start of conference play.

Men's Basketball: FGCU vs. Stetson: Round Three Preview and Ending Results

The FGCU men's basketball team is preparing themselves for the A-SUN Conference Tournament Quarterfinals against Stetson. Both teams have faced each other twice in the season because all conferences in basketball have to face each other once at home and once away.

FGCU (23-7, 12-2 A-SUN) is in first place in the A-SUN Conference despite having only two losses at home in the A-SUN (USC Upstate: 62-60) and Lipscomb: 65-60). Stetson (11-20, 3-11 A-SUN) has lost both games to FGCU in the season. The first time FGCU faced Stetson at their home in which, FGCU won 89-88.

Five players for FGCU were in double figures in points: redshirt junior Brandon Goodwin (20), sophomore Rayjon Tucker (19), junior Christian Terrell (16), redshirt senior Demetris Morant (16) and redshirt junior Antravious Simmons (13).

Stetson went for a second chance to beat FGCU on our home turf on senior night, and although the Hatters started with a 17-5 run in the first half, FGCU managed to fight them off with an 80-70 win, thus also claiming the A-Sun season crown and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Three players for FGCU were in double figures in points: redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson (24), Goodwin (18) and Tucker (12).

They will face each other for the third time. Of course, the old saying heard for certain matchups is "Third time is the charm", but this time Stetson will play us as the No. 8 seed in the tournament.

Some of the players that the Eagles have to work on to stop defensively are Divine Myles, Derick Newton and Luke Doyle.

Myles, a junior guard, is scoring 16.6 points per game. Facing the Eagles, he scored 21 points with five rebounds and seven assists in the first game and 11 points, three rebounds and eight assists in the second game. He is a slasher and that is something to keep an eye on.

Newton, a sophomore forward who received A-SUN Second Team All-Conference honors, leads the team in points per game (17.8) and face FGCU, he scored 18 points in the first game and 16 in the second. Newton also leads the team in rebounds per game (5.8).

Doyle, a junior guard scoring 10.6 points per game, scored 18 in the first game and 5 in the second game.

The last time both teams met (FGCU #4 seed, Stetson #7 seed) in the tournament was in the championship game last season, where FGCU was victorious winning the game 80-78 in overtime, thanks to Johnson with a game-saving block to secure them a spot in the national tournament.

Regardless of the conference tournament, Stetson was ineligible to go to the national tournament due to the violation of the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR), so even if the Hatters would have won the championship tournament game, it would mean nothing, and the season champions, the University of North Florida (UNF), who was the No.1 seed in the tournament at the time, would secure the spot to the national tournament.

On our end, the players Stetson would expect to face including Goodwin, Morant and Marc-Eddy Norelia.

Goodwin, a who transferred from University of Central Florida (UCF) last year, and had to sit out the whole 2015-16 season due to the NCAA transfer rules, leads the team in points per game (17.9).

Goodwin was recently named A-SUN Newcomer of the Year and gained First Team All-Conference honors. He leads a strong charge in the eight of the 14 conference games. He scored at least 20 points in the game, so Stetson would have to keep an eye on him.

Morant is mainly used as a defensive role, hence winning the A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year, leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game. Morant's strengths are mainly dunks, rebounding and blocking. Morant, who is averaging 10.5 points per game, is also featured in the competition called the "Dark Horse Dunker"

After missing 10 straight games due to a hand injury and personal reasons, redshirt senior Norelia started making a comeback mainly as a role player, but slowly made his way back as a starter. Norelia is currently scoring 8.6 points per game.

The game started with introductions to both benches, and of course a lot of the fans turned their backs to the Stetson bench and the starters too.

The game went underway and the first basket was made by Norelia. The Hatters took a one point lead, but after a three point shot by Terrell, the Eagles took over the first half 48-30.

It was no difference in the second half, for the Eagles were on cruise control and put in the bench players redshirt junior Joshua Ko, sophomores Dolan Mahoney and Maxx Bleecher and freshman Rendjis Feikners and Christian Carlyle went on to win 87-57 and advance to the semifinals of the A-Sun tournament.

Goodwin finished with 13 points with five rebounds and eight assists.

Norelia finished with a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson led the team with 19 points.

Morant finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Sophomores Rayjon Tucker and Reggie Reid, redshirt juniors Antravious Simmons and Kevin Mickle and freshman Raysean Scott Jr. also contributed off the bench earlier in the game.

At the end of the game, the announcer gave updates of the other playoff games in the tournament: No. 5 Kennesaw State beat No.4 USC Upstate 80-70, No. 3 UNF beat No. 6 Jacksonville University 77-74 and No. 2 Lipscomb beat No. 7 NJIT 97-66.

So in the end, the FGCU Eagles will play the Kennesaw State Owls and the Lipscomb Bison will play the UNF Ospreys in the semifinals.

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