FGCU Softball vs UNF Series Preview

The FGCU softball team (35-15, 9-6 A-SUN) are set to wrap up their final conference series at home as they face UNF (24-27, 4-11 A-SUN).

Last Time Out:
The Eagles wrapped up by winning their last conference road trip against Lipscomb. The Eagles would split the first two games winning 1-0 for the first game before losing the second game 1-9 in six innings via the mercy rule. The Eagles would claim the series after winning the rubber match game by a score of 2-1 in nine innings.

A-SUN Standings:
The conference standings are as noted:
1. Kennesaw State (36-15, 14-3 A-SUN)*+
2. Upstate (31-17, 10-6 A-SUN)*
3. FGCU (35-15, 9-6 A-SUN)*
4. Lipscomb (31-15, 9-8 A-SUN)*
5. Jacksonville (24-26, 5-9 A-SUN)
6. UNF (24-27, 4-11 A-SUN)
7. Stetson (25-21, 3-11 A-SUN)
*Clinched a spot in the A-SUN tournament
+ A-SUN Regular Season Championship
Jacksonville, Stetson and UNF are currently battling for the final two spots in the conference tournament

#1 Seed Dwindled:
The Eagles chance of earning the No. 1 seed and regular season championship dwindle away after falling in game two of the series against Lipscomb, however, the Eagles can get the No. 2 seed for a first round bye in the tournament if they sweep UNF. With the possible sweep against UNF, the Eagles can move ahead of Upstate.

Key Player(s):
On the mound, junior Riley Randolph and sophomore Morgan White have been on point.

Randolph (15-6), who was named A-SUN Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season, is currently throwing a 1.76 ERA with 123 strikeouts. Against Lipscomb, the St. Petersburg native threw 15 innings and struck out 13 batters including the rubber match game where she threw eight innings.

White (8-2) is currently throwing a team-leading 1.57 ERA with 67 strikeouts. White threw two innings in game two and earned her first save in game three.

At the plate, senior Ashley Swiderski and junior Racquel Fournet have been keys on the offense.

Swiderski is currently batting .255 with six home runs and 25 RBIs. Swiderski went 2-for-8 against Lipscomb.

Fournet currently leads the team with a .393 batting with 57 hits, five home runs and 30 RBIs. In the series against Lipscomb, Fournet went 6-for-8 with three doubles.

Mrs. Doubles:
Speaking of doubles, Fournet currently has 13 doubles this season, but overall in her career, the Windemere native is third overall with 45 career doubles including the three from the series against Lipscomb. Fournet is five doubles away from passing Courtney Platt and Cheyenne Jenks (49 each) from being the all-time leader in career doubles.

Scouting UNF:
The Ospreys recently competed in a series against Stetson. The Ospreys would win the series after splitting the first two games losing 0-1 in game one and winning 6-5 in game two before winning the rubber match game by a score of 4-0.

On the mound, despite her record, redshirt junior Sydney Matzko leads the way for the Osprey. Matzko is currently 12-17 with a 2.15 ERA and 136 strikeouts. the North Carolina transfer played in all three games against Stetson. Matzko threw two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout in game one, 3.1 innings with four in game two and a one-hit shutout with four strikeouts.

At the plate, junior Navia Penrod leads the team with a .432 batting average. In the series against Stetson, Penrod was 3-9 with a double.

Junior Tiffany Lower leads the team with three home runs and is second on the team with 21 RBIs. Lower was 4-10 against Stetson with an RBI.

Series History:
The Eagles are currently 17-13 overall against the Ospreys. Last time both teams met, the Ospreys won the series winning 2-0 and 6-4 before the Eagles won 5-2 to avoid the sweep

Senior Recognition:
For the Eagles, eight seniors will be recognized for the final game of the season for their senior day: Natalie Lopez, Emily Demurius, Kelsey Huff, Ashley Swiderski, Brittany McGuire, Erica Ward, Brianne Innamorato and Lulu Newmark.

The Ospreys' seniors will also be recognized: Ashley Niesman, Alex Arciola, Becca Enter, Casey Estes and Amanda Blanchard.

The first two games will be at 5 and 7 P.M on Friday and Saturday at 2 P.M. The Friday games will be dubbed as Youth Night and Star Wars Night while Saturday will also be dubbed as a green out along with Free Comic Book Day for Senior Day.