FGCU Softball vs Upstate Preview

The FGCU softball team (27-7, 2-1 A-SUN) prepares for their next wave in A-SUN Conference play as they travel to Spartanburg to face USC Upstate (22-12, 3-3 A-SUN) for their second wave of conference play.

Last Time Out:
After splitting a series with Marshall, the Eagles  played Stetson to open up their part of conference play winning a series against Stetson winning 2-0 and 9-5 in the first two games before falling 0-3 in the series finale.

The players of highlight for FGCU are juniors Riley Randolph and Racquel Fournet as they were both named A-SUN Pitcher (Randolph) and A-SUN Player (Fournet) of the Week.

In the series against Stetson, Randolph played in all three games throwing 13.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits while striking out 16 batters. In two of Randolph's games, she came in relief. Randolph is currently 12-2 with a 1.12 ERA, which is ranked 24th in the nation, and 84 strikeouts.

Despite not getting any hits in the series finale against Stetson, Fournet went 4-for-6 in the series with two triples, one home run and two RBIs. Fournet is currently batting .371 with four home runs and 25 RBIs.

Save Nation:
Freshman Taylor Bauman continues her strong role as the official closer for the team. Bauman currently had 13 saves for the team. The Jacksonville native not only leads the team and the A-SUN, but is also No. 1 in the nation. Bauman is three saves away from breaking the single season record in saves. The record is currently set by Canisius' Mallory Aldred (15) in 2008.

Scouting Upstate:
The Spartans recently competed against NC State and Duke. The Spartans would fall 1-2 to the Wolfpack before splitting with the Blue Devils winning 3-1 in the first game before losing 5-6 in the second game.

During conference, Upstate lost a series against Kennesaw State (Gm 1: 1-2 L; Gm 2: 1-0 W; 0-1 L) before winning a series against Lipscomb (Gm 1: 4-0 W; Gm 2: 11-12 L; Gm 3: 2-0 W).

Junior Christina Biggerstaff leads the way on the mound. Biggerstaff is currently 10-7 with a 1.70 ERA and 147 strikeouts, which leads the A-SUN Conference. Currently in conference, Biggerstaff is 1-3, but in her last game against Duke, she threw eight innings while giving one run on six hits and walking three and striking out three.

Offensively, junior Ansley Gilstrap, senior Karla Beasley, and freshman Logan Morris lead the way.

Gilstrap is currently batting .306 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Gilstrap also leads the team with 28 stolen bases. Ansley went 0-for-5 two stolen bases in the series against Duke.

Beasley is currently batting .400 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs. Beasley was 2-for-7 against Duke.

Morris is batting .366 with three home runs and a team-leading 23 RBIs. Morris was 2-for-7 against Duke.

Series History:
The Eagles are currently 10-19 overall against the Spartans. Last time both teams met, the Eagles fell to the Spartans five times last season after being swept in the season series and losing in the A-SUN Tournament Championship Game. The last Eagles wins against Upstate was on March 25, 2016 where they took the series 2-1 in Spartanburg (Gm 1: 3-0 W; Gm 2: 10-2 W; Gm 3: 4-5 L)

Current Standings:
As it sits, these are the current standings overall with conference rec:
1. Jacksonville (19-13, 3-0)
2. FGCU (27-7, 2-1)
3. Kennesaw (22-12, 2-1)
4. Upstate (22-12, 3-3)
5. Lipscomb (20-9, 1-2)
6. Stetson (21-12, 1-2)
7. UNF (20-17, 0-3)

The series will begin on March 30-31 with two games on March 30 at 4 P.M. and 6 P.M. before wrapping with a game on March 31 at 1 P.M., and live stats will be available for fans who are unable to attend.

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