The FGCU men's basketball team (13-17, 8-7 A-SUN) is set to close out the regular season with a 7 p.m. contest March 1 against Jacksonville (12-18, 5-10 A-SUN). The Friday tilt will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and will be held inside Historic Swisher Gymnasium.
The Eagles are fighting for a top-4 spot in the upcoming A-SUN Championship tournament, which would ensure a home game in the first round of the event on March 4. The Dolphins are locked into the No. 7 seed.
FGCU owns the longest home win streak in the conference (seven), but conversely the Green and Blue have dropped each of its last four road tilts.
Last Time Out:
FGCU remained hot at home in a 78-56 victory over Kennesaw State Saturday night in Alico Arena. The Eagles continued to own the longest home win streak in the A-SUN Conference, and they stretched that mark to seven in a row. They were also celebrating Senior Night, and the four seniors and three graduating senior managers were all honored prior to tip.
True freshman Zach Scott had a game-high 16 points, senior Dinero Mercurius scored 14, and junior Christian Carlyle and sophomore Troy Baxter Jr. both chipped in 12. In total, 10 different Eagles got their name in the scoring book.
FGCU shot 47.6 percent (30-for-63) from the field, 34.3 percent (12-for-35) from behind the 3-point line and 66.7 percent (6-for-9) at the free-throw line. Kennesaw State shot 29.2 percent (19-for-65) overall, 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from distance and 68.4 percent (13-for-19) at the charity stripe.
Where they Stand:
The 2019 A-SUN Conference Men's Basketball Championship will be conducted March 4-10. The top eight teams qualify for postseason play, and each round will be hosted by the higher seed. FGCU is currently 8-7 in league action and tied for fourth with NJIT. The Eagles are a half-game behind North Florida (9-7).
If the season were to end today, FGCU would earn the No. 5 seed and would travel to No. 4 NJIT in the quarterfinals of the tournament on March 4. Lipscomb would be the No. 1 seed and would play host to No. 8 Stetson. No. 2 Liberty would welcome No. 7 Jacksonville, and No. 3 UNF would host No. 6 North Alabama. Kennesaw State is currently on the outside looking in for a playoff berth.
If the Eagles defeat Jacksonville, they will have an 87.5 percent chance of finishing inside the top 4 and landing a home game in the first round of the conference tournament. If the Eagles fall at Jacksonville, they will have a 50 percent chance of finishing inside the top 4 and hosting a game. If FGCU does not host a first-round game, the team will be the No. 5 seed and will travel to NJIT.
If the Eagles finish in the top 4, tickets go on sale at 10:30 p.m. Friday night. The ticket office will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. both Saturday and Monday, and fans can go online at FGCUtickets.com anytime.
FGCU has won the conference tournament three times in the last six years, and the team also hosted the championship game last season.
Scouting Jacksonville:
The Dolphins enter the last day of the regular season with a 12-18 ledger and a 5-10 mark in the A-SUN. The Dolphins rattled off six wins in a seven-game stretch earlier this season, but since that mark they have dropped 13 of their last 18. They own league triumphs over Kennesaw State (twice), North Florida and Stetson (twice).
Sophomore JD Notae leads JU in both scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). Senior Jace Hogan (12.5 ppg) and freshman Tyreese Davis (10.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg) also average double digits. Junior David Bell (7.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg) is second in rebounding.
Series History:
This will be the 25th all-time meeting between FGCU and JU. The Eagles hold a narrow 13-11 advantage, which includes victories in the last five meetings. FGCU is also 13-4 against the Dolphins since 2011 and won earlier this season in Fort Myers (73-60). Jacksonville claimed the first seven matchups from 2008-10.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on ESPN+
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
JU: @JacksonvilleMBB
ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month or $39.99 per-year fee afterwards based on the viewers subscription choice.
ESPN+: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3e91f4ea-fcd6-45da-965f-d119961c24e3/florida-gulf-coast-vs-jacksonville
About Me
FGCU S&D: UF Last Chance Meet Preview
Senior Christina Kaas Elmgreen along with sophomore Petra Halmai will be representing the Green and Blue at this weekend's Last Chance Meet at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium on the campus of Florida.
This meet gives swimmers one last opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Prelims begin at 10 a.m. each day. Finals will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Elmgreen will be competing in the 100 fly Friday and the 200 fly Saturday. The senior achieved a 100 fly NCAA 'B' standard time at the Georgia Tech Invite with a swim of 53.60. In that same meet, she collected another 'B' cut in the 200 fly with a mark of 1:58.01. The Denmark native will be attempting to make an NCAA Championships appearance for a third-straight year.
Halmai is coming off two individual titles at the 2019 CCSA Championships. She placed first overall in the 100 breast with a time of 1:00.62 and broke the school and conference record in the 200 breast with a swim of 2:11.21. The Hungary native will be looking for her first NCAA Championships appearance.
Event Standard A Standard B
100 Fly 51.03 53.76
200 Fly 1:53.48 1:59.23
100 Breast 50.99 53.94
200 Breast 2:06.94 2:13.97
This meet gives swimmers one last opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Prelims begin at 10 a.m. each day. Finals will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Elmgreen will be competing in the 100 fly Friday and the 200 fly Saturday. The senior achieved a 100 fly NCAA 'B' standard time at the Georgia Tech Invite with a swim of 53.60. In that same meet, she collected another 'B' cut in the 200 fly with a mark of 1:58.01. The Denmark native will be attempting to make an NCAA Championships appearance for a third-straight year.
Halmai is coming off two individual titles at the 2019 CCSA Championships. She placed first overall in the 100 breast with a time of 1:00.62 and broke the school and conference record in the 200 breast with a swim of 2:11.21. The Hungary native will be looking for her first NCAA Championships appearance.
Event Standard A Standard B
100 Fly 51.03 53.76
200 Fly 1:53.48 1:59.23
100 Breast 50.99 53.94
200 Breast 2:06.94 2:13.97
FGCU Softball: San Diego Classic Preview
The FGCU softball team (7-6) return to land of sun, surf, and Sea World as they travel to San Diego to compete in the three-day San Diego Classic, hosted by San Diego (5-9) and San Diego State (8-7) on Friday, March 1 to Sunday, March 3. The Eagles wrap up their west coast trip with a game against San Diego State on Tuesday, March 5 at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST. The classic will be located at the USD Softball Complex (San Diego) and SDSU Softball Stadium (San Diego State) and will feature Brigham Young (6-7), Long Beach State (6-8), San Jose State (9-5) and RV Boise State (10-2).
Other teams in the tournament include Weber State (3-7), UC-Davis (11-3) and the University of Illinois-Chicago (2-8), but FGCU will not be playing either of those teams.
Last Time Out:
The Eagle are coming off of a 1-0 loss to USF on the road, which put them at 4-9 against the Bulls. The game was originally a doubleheader, but then was changed to one game due to Mother Nature hitting the Tampa Bay area.
At the plate, junior Sammi Poehlman leads the team with a .333 batting average (9-for-27) and three stolen bases. Poehlman was 0-for-2 with two walks against USF.
Freshman Reedy Davenport leads the team with a home run and six RBIs. Davenport was 0-for-2 against USF.
On the mound, senior Riley Randolph (5-3) continues to show her dominance. The reigning A-SUN Pitcher of the Week is holding a 0.26 ERA (9th in the nation) and 72 strikeouts (t-5th in the nation). Despite losing to USF, Randolph struck out 11 batters. This was her fifth game where she had 10 or more strikeouts.
Mrs. Doubles:
A milestone has been in sight for senior Racquel Fournet. Fournet is on track to become the all-time leader in career. Batting .325 with three doubles and four RBIs, Fournet is in a three way tie with Cheyenne Jenks (49, 2006-09) and Courtney Platt (49, 2008-11) as the all-time leader in career doubles and only needs one to claim the milestone.
Softball Fun Fact:
The Eagles are 9-4 when competing in the state of California. Last season, the Eagles played in the Loyola Marymount Tournament where they went 4-0 defeating host LMU (5-0), Providence (3-2, 2-1) and Southern Utah (10-1 via mercy rule).
Scouting San Diego:
The Toreros are coming off of completing a sweep over Southern Utah (12-1 (5), 4-2, 7-2) at home.
Junior Sara Silveyra leads the team with a .412 batting average and seven RBIs. Silveyra was 4-for-7 against Southern Utah with three RBIs.
Fellow junior Lindsay Claire is batting .405 with a home run and a team leading eight RBIs. Claire was 5-for-8 with an RBI against Southern Utah.
On the mound, freshman Madison Earnshaw and junior Delany Heller combine for the Toteros' five wins with a combine 61 strikeouts.
Earnshaw earned a win over Southern Utah where she threw 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits while walking three and striking out seven.
Heller earned two of the Toteros' three wins against Southern Utah finishing with a combined 10 innings, giving up one run on eight hits while walking three and striking out 13.
Scouting San Diego State:
The Aztecs are coming off of a 2-1 loss to Loyola Marymount.
Sophomore Kelsey Munoz leads the team with two home runs and 10 RBIs while batting .326. Munoz was 1-for-3 against Loyola Marymount.
Meanwhile, junior Marissa Moreno is 5-3 with a 3.81 ERA and 48 strikeouts. Moreno threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Scouting Brigham Young:
I'm just gonna state this: Brigham Young should not be in the West Coast Conference (WCC). Honestly, I feel like they should be in the Pac-12 because their sports are good enough to be a Power 5 school, but that's my opinion.
The Cougars recently competed in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California. They defeated Missouri (7-3) and California-Santa Barbara (3-2) but fell to Nebraska (5-4), Northwestern (1-0) and #4 Oklahoma (5-0).
Junior Rylee Jensen is batting .429 while leading the team with four home runs and 12 RBIs. Jensen was 6-for-20 (.300) with a home run and two RBIs.
Fellow junior Emilee Erickson and senior Ashley Godfrey have three home runs each while batting over .300 (Erickson: .355, Godfrey: .308). Erickson was 2-for-9 with an RBI while Godfrey was 4-for-9 with a home run and two RBIs.
Sophomore Autumn Moffat is 3-3 with a 2.73 ERA and 29 strikeouts. Moffat threw three scoreless innings against UCSB with two strikeouts.
Scouting Long Beach State:
The 49ers also last competed in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California where they fell to Arizona (12-3), Northwestern (2-1) and California (12-9) while defeating North Carolina (8-4) in their lone tournament win.
Offensively, junior Sydney McCollum holds a .350 BA with five RBI and one home run while senior Nicole Fry is hitting .320 with nine RBI and four home runs. McCollum, a transfer from CCCAA Cypress College, was 7-for-13 (.538) with an RBI while Fry was 4-for-14 with three home runs (two vs UNC) and seven RBIs.
In the circle, junior Devyn Magnett (1-1) has a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 IP, striking out eight while fellow junior Ashley Coleman (3-4) has appeared in 30 IP with a 4.90 ERA with 21 strikeouts. Magnett threw three scoreless innings in her last game against UNC while Coleman, a transfer from California Baptist, suffered her fourth loss to California, throwing 1.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits.
Scouting San Jose:
The Spartans recently competed in their hosted Silicon Valley Classic I where they defeated Ball State (5-0), Northern Colorado (3-1), Montana (4-2) and California State-Bakersfield (6-0).
Junior Makayla Englestad leads the team in hits with 15 in 41 at-bats and has a .366 BA, and six RBI. Englestad was 3-for-14 (.231) in the Silicon Valley Classic I with four RBIs.
Freshman Arianna Miranda has a .324 batting average with a home run and a team-high 10 RBI. Miranda was 5-for-14 (.385) with the home run and seven RBIs.
In the circle, freshman Jenessa Ullegue (3-1) has a 1.48 ERA in 33 IP, has pitched a pair shut-outs, and is tied for a team-high 23 strikeouts this season with sophomore Caroline Bowman, who is 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA. In Ullegue's last start against CSU-Bakersfield, she threw a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts for the win, while in Bowman's last game, she threw 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Montana. In Bowman's last start, she threw a complete game in the win against Northern Colorado with six strikeouts.
Scouting Boise State:
The Broncos, who received 12 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 poll, are coming off of a sweep in the GCU Purple Classic, hosted by Grand Canyon University where they defeated Yale (2-1, 5-3), Michigan State (9-1 (5)) and host Grand Canyon (8-0 (6)). Their last loss this season was to #9 Texas.
Senior Morgan Lamb leads the team in hitting with a .471 average. Lamb wwas 5-for-6 (.833) in the GCU Purple Classic with a home run.
Meanwhile, Kora Wade has a .390 BA and leads the team in both hits (16) and runs (12), while Alison Seng owns a team-leading 13 RBI. Wade was 8-for-14 (.571) with a home run while Heng went 5-for-11 (.455) with five RBIs.
In the circle, Kelsey Broadus (5-0) has a 1.35 ERA in 35.2 IP collecting a team-high 23 strikeouts. Gianna Mancha (4-1) owns a 2.66 ERA in 26.1 IP with 16 strikeouts.
In Broadus' last start, the reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Year threw six scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
For Mancha's last start against Yale, she threw a five hit complete game with three strikeouts.
Series Histories:
While this will be the first time the Eagles play San Diego, San Diego State, Long Beach State, San Jose State and Boise State.
It will be the second time they play Brigham Young. The first time was on March 14, 2009 where the Eagles won 5-4.
Tournament Breakdown:
On Friday, the Eagles will begin with BYU at the SDSU Softball Stadium (5 pm EST/2 pm PST) before traveling to the USD Softball Complex to take on host San Diego (10 pm EST/7 pm PST).
On Saturday, the Eagles will return to the SDSU Softball Stadium to face San Jose State (2:30 pm EST/11:30 am PST) and Long Beach State (5 pm EST/ 2 pm PST).
They will then wrap up the tournament on Sunday against Boise State (12 pm EST/9 am PST) before facing San Diego State on Tuesday (9 pm EST/6 pm PST).
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for all six games that the Eagles play. Fans can also stay up to date on the teams' Twitter pages:
FGCU: @FGCU_Softball
San Diego: @USDSoftball
San Diego State: @AztecSoftball
Long Beach State: @LBSUSoftball
BYU: @byusoftball
San Jose State: @SJSUSpartansSB
Boise State: @BroncoSportsSB
Livestats Link:
vs BYU: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=257716
@San Diego: https://admin.usdtoreros.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
@San Diego State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=254391
vs Long Beach State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=257719
vs Boise State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=257730
vs San Jose State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=257718
Other teams in the tournament include Weber State (3-7), UC-Davis (11-3) and the University of Illinois-Chicago (2-8), but FGCU will not be playing either of those teams.
Last Time Out:
The Eagle are coming off of a 1-0 loss to USF on the road, which put them at 4-9 against the Bulls. The game was originally a doubleheader, but then was changed to one game due to Mother Nature hitting the Tampa Bay area.
At the plate, junior Sammi Poehlman leads the team with a .333 batting average (9-for-27) and three stolen bases. Poehlman was 0-for-2 with two walks against USF.
Freshman Reedy Davenport leads the team with a home run and six RBIs. Davenport was 0-for-2 against USF.
On the mound, senior Riley Randolph (5-3) continues to show her dominance. The reigning A-SUN Pitcher of the Week is holding a 0.26 ERA (9th in the nation) and 72 strikeouts (t-5th in the nation). Despite losing to USF, Randolph struck out 11 batters. This was her fifth game where she had 10 or more strikeouts.
Mrs. Doubles:
A milestone has been in sight for senior Racquel Fournet. Fournet is on track to become the all-time leader in career. Batting .325 with three doubles and four RBIs, Fournet is in a three way tie with Cheyenne Jenks (49, 2006-09) and Courtney Platt (49, 2008-11) as the all-time leader in career doubles and only needs one to claim the milestone.
Softball Fun Fact:
The Eagles are 9-4 when competing in the state of California. Last season, the Eagles played in the Loyola Marymount Tournament where they went 4-0 defeating host LMU (5-0), Providence (3-2, 2-1) and Southern Utah (10-1 via mercy rule).
Scouting San Diego:
The Toreros are coming off of completing a sweep over Southern Utah (12-1 (5), 4-2, 7-2) at home.
Junior Sara Silveyra leads the team with a .412 batting average and seven RBIs. Silveyra was 4-for-7 against Southern Utah with three RBIs.
Fellow junior Lindsay Claire is batting .405 with a home run and a team leading eight RBIs. Claire was 5-for-8 with an RBI against Southern Utah.
On the mound, freshman Madison Earnshaw and junior Delany Heller combine for the Toteros' five wins with a combine 61 strikeouts.
Earnshaw earned a win over Southern Utah where she threw 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits while walking three and striking out seven.
Heller earned two of the Toteros' three wins against Southern Utah finishing with a combined 10 innings, giving up one run on eight hits while walking three and striking out 13.
Scouting San Diego State:
The Aztecs are coming off of a 2-1 loss to Loyola Marymount.
Sophomore Kelsey Munoz leads the team with two home runs and 10 RBIs while batting .326. Munoz was 1-for-3 against Loyola Marymount.
Meanwhile, junior Marissa Moreno is 5-3 with a 3.81 ERA and 48 strikeouts. Moreno threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Scouting Brigham Young:
I'm just gonna state this: Brigham Young should not be in the West Coast Conference (WCC). Honestly, I feel like they should be in the Pac-12 because their sports are good enough to be a Power 5 school, but that's my opinion.
The Cougars recently competed in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California. They defeated Missouri (7-3) and California-Santa Barbara (3-2) but fell to Nebraska (5-4), Northwestern (1-0) and #4 Oklahoma (5-0).
Junior Rylee Jensen is batting .429 while leading the team with four home runs and 12 RBIs. Jensen was 6-for-20 (.300) with a home run and two RBIs.
Fellow junior Emilee Erickson and senior Ashley Godfrey have three home runs each while batting over .300 (Erickson: .355, Godfrey: .308). Erickson was 2-for-9 with an RBI while Godfrey was 4-for-9 with a home run and two RBIs.
Sophomore Autumn Moffat is 3-3 with a 2.73 ERA and 29 strikeouts. Moffat threw three scoreless innings against UCSB with two strikeouts.
Scouting Long Beach State:
The 49ers also last competed in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California where they fell to Arizona (12-3), Northwestern (2-1) and California (12-9) while defeating North Carolina (8-4) in their lone tournament win.
Offensively, junior Sydney McCollum holds a .350 BA with five RBI and one home run while senior Nicole Fry is hitting .320 with nine RBI and four home runs. McCollum, a transfer from CCCAA Cypress College, was 7-for-13 (.538) with an RBI while Fry was 4-for-14 with three home runs (two vs UNC) and seven RBIs.
In the circle, junior Devyn Magnett (1-1) has a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 IP, striking out eight while fellow junior Ashley Coleman (3-4) has appeared in 30 IP with a 4.90 ERA with 21 strikeouts. Magnett threw three scoreless innings in her last game against UNC while Coleman, a transfer from California Baptist, suffered her fourth loss to California, throwing 1.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits.
Scouting San Jose:
The Spartans recently competed in their hosted Silicon Valley Classic I where they defeated Ball State (5-0), Northern Colorado (3-1), Montana (4-2) and California State-Bakersfield (6-0).
Junior Makayla Englestad leads the team in hits with 15 in 41 at-bats and has a .366 BA, and six RBI. Englestad was 3-for-14 (.231) in the Silicon Valley Classic I with four RBIs.
Freshman Arianna Miranda has a .324 batting average with a home run and a team-high 10 RBI. Miranda was 5-for-14 (.385) with the home run and seven RBIs.
In the circle, freshman Jenessa Ullegue (3-1) has a 1.48 ERA in 33 IP, has pitched a pair shut-outs, and is tied for a team-high 23 strikeouts this season with sophomore Caroline Bowman, who is 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA. In Ullegue's last start against CSU-Bakersfield, she threw a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts for the win, while in Bowman's last game, she threw 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Montana. In Bowman's last start, she threw a complete game in the win against Northern Colorado with six strikeouts.
Scouting Boise State:
The Broncos, who received 12 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 poll, are coming off of a sweep in the GCU Purple Classic, hosted by Grand Canyon University where they defeated Yale (2-1, 5-3), Michigan State (9-1 (5)) and host Grand Canyon (8-0 (6)). Their last loss this season was to #9 Texas.
Senior Morgan Lamb leads the team in hitting with a .471 average. Lamb wwas 5-for-6 (.833) in the GCU Purple Classic with a home run.
Meanwhile, Kora Wade has a .390 BA and leads the team in both hits (16) and runs (12), while Alison Seng owns a team-leading 13 RBI. Wade was 8-for-14 (.571) with a home run while Heng went 5-for-11 (.455) with five RBIs.
In the circle, Kelsey Broadus (5-0) has a 1.35 ERA in 35.2 IP collecting a team-high 23 strikeouts. Gianna Mancha (4-1) owns a 2.66 ERA in 26.1 IP with 16 strikeouts.
In Broadus' last start, the reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Year threw six scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
For Mancha's last start against Yale, she threw a five hit complete game with three strikeouts.
Series Histories:
While this will be the first time the Eagles play San Diego, San Diego State, Long Beach State, San Jose State and Boise State.
It will be the second time they play Brigham Young. The first time was on March 14, 2009 where the Eagles won 5-4.
Tournament Breakdown:
On Friday, the Eagles will begin with BYU at the SDSU Softball Stadium (5 pm EST/2 pm PST) before traveling to the USD Softball Complex to take on host San Diego (10 pm EST/7 pm PST).
On Saturday, the Eagles will return to the SDSU Softball Stadium to face San Jose State (2:30 pm EST/11:30 am PST) and Long Beach State (5 pm EST/ 2 pm PST).
They will then wrap up the tournament on Sunday against Boise State (12 pm EST/9 am PST) before facing San Diego State on Tuesday (9 pm EST/6 pm PST).
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for all six games that the Eagles play. Fans can also stay up to date on the teams' Twitter pages:
FGCU: @FGCU_Softball
San Diego: @USDSoftball
San Diego State: @AztecSoftball
Long Beach State: @LBSUSoftball
BYU: @byusoftball
San Jose State: @SJSUSpartansSB
Boise State: @BroncoSportsSB
Livestats Link:
vs BYU: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=257716
@San Diego: https://admin.usdtoreros.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
@San Diego State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=254391
vs Long Beach State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=257719
vs Boise State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=257730
vs San Jose State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=257718
FGCU Men's Golf: Colin Montgomerie Invitational Day Two Recap
The FGCU men's golf team claimed the tournament championship at the Colin Montgomerie Invitational, which was held at the par-72, 7,018-yard Cypresswood Golf Club.
The tournament was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather, and the Eagles closed out their second round Tuesday with a 1-over-par 289 to land at 2-over 578. They finished two strokes clear of Houston (292-288=580) and North Dakota State (291-298=580), while Prairie View A&M finished fourth at 5-over 581 (294-287) and California Baptist rounded out the top 5 at 6-over 582 (295-287).
"I'm proud of the team and how they handled themselves under pressure in those final nine holes," FGCU coach Eric Booker said. "They knew what needed to be done and they delivered."
FGCU led wire-to-wire for the second tournament title in the Coach Booker era (since 2015). The Green and Blue shot even on the par-4's in the second round to lead the field. That mark was helped greatly by senior Andrew Potter. Potter began his second round Monday afternoon with an eagle on the par-4 fifth hole, and he finished as the only player in the field to make an eagle on a par-4.
Potter shot 1-under 71 in the second round to finish in a tie for fifth at 1-under 143 (72-71). True freshman Tate Heintzelman tied with Potter with rounds of 69 and 74.
True freshman Chase Bigham cracked the top 10 with a ninth-place finish at even par 144 (71-13). Sophomore Cole Castro shot under par in the second round to vault 16 positions to T-24 at 4-over 148 (77-71). Junior Doug Smith finished his tournament in a tie for 72nd at 14-over 158 (79-79).
Stetson's Baylor Payne won the individual title at 3-under 141 (67-74), while Prairie View A&M's Laurence Crea (69-73) and Van Holmgren of North Dakota State (72-70) tied for second at 2-under 142.
The tournament was originally slated for 54 holes but was cut short due to weather. The teams reached the back nine of their respective second rounds Monday before play was halted, and they were only able to complete 36 holes.
COLIN MONTGOMERIE INVITATIONAL – Final Results
February 26, 2019 at Houston, Texas
(par-72, 7,018-yard Cypresswood Golf Club)
Team Results
1. #163 FGCU 289-289=578 (+2)
T2. #103 Houston 292-288=580 (+4)
#172 North Dakota State 291-298=580 (+4)
4. #207 Prairie View A&M 294-287=581 (+5)
5. California Baptist 295-287=582 (+6)
6. #141 UTRGV 290-299=589 (+13)
7. #188 Abilene Christian 299-298=597 (+21)
T8. #164 Bradley 309-296=605 (+29)
#246 New Orleans 310-295=605 (+29)
10. #250 Stetson 305-302=607 (+31)
T11. #226 Houston Baptist 308-300=608 (+32)
#219 Southeastern Louisiana 299-309=608 (+32)
13. #267 Weber State 310-299=609 (+33)
14. #236 Drake 305-308=613 (+37)
15. #200 Incarnate Word 311-304=615 (+39)
16. #281 North Dakota 319-326=645 (+69)
Rankings reflect the latest Golfstat Rankings
Top-5 Individuals
1. Baylor Payne (Stetson) 67-74=141 (-3)
T2. Laurence Crea (Prairie View A&M) 69-73=142 (-2)
Van Holmgren (North Dakota State) 72-70=142 (-2)
Matt Williams (Houston) 70-72=142 (-2)
T5. Tate Heintzelman 69-74=143 (-1)
Andrew Potter 72-71=143 (-1)
Alexander Frances (Houston) 73-70=143 (-1)
Zane Brooks (Prairie View A&M) 71-72=143 (-1)
FGCU Individuals
T5. Tate Heintzelman 69-74=143 (-1)
T5. Andrew Potter 72-71=143 (-1)
T9. Chase Bigham 71-73=144 (E)
T24. Cole Castro 77-71=148 (+4)
T72. Doug Smith 79-79=158 (+14)
Up Next:
The Eagles will trek to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 4-5 for the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate. The tournament is being hosted by Loyola Maryland and will be contested at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club.
The tournament was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather, and the Eagles closed out their second round Tuesday with a 1-over-par 289 to land at 2-over 578. They finished two strokes clear of Houston (292-288=580) and North Dakota State (291-298=580), while Prairie View A&M finished fourth at 5-over 581 (294-287) and California Baptist rounded out the top 5 at 6-over 582 (295-287).
"I'm proud of the team and how they handled themselves under pressure in those final nine holes," FGCU coach Eric Booker said. "They knew what needed to be done and they delivered."
FGCU led wire-to-wire for the second tournament title in the Coach Booker era (since 2015). The Green and Blue shot even on the par-4's in the second round to lead the field. That mark was helped greatly by senior Andrew Potter. Potter began his second round Monday afternoon with an eagle on the par-4 fifth hole, and he finished as the only player in the field to make an eagle on a par-4.
Potter shot 1-under 71 in the second round to finish in a tie for fifth at 1-under 143 (72-71). True freshman Tate Heintzelman tied with Potter with rounds of 69 and 74.
True freshman Chase Bigham cracked the top 10 with a ninth-place finish at even par 144 (71-13). Sophomore Cole Castro shot under par in the second round to vault 16 positions to T-24 at 4-over 148 (77-71). Junior Doug Smith finished his tournament in a tie for 72nd at 14-over 158 (79-79).
Stetson's Baylor Payne won the individual title at 3-under 141 (67-74), while Prairie View A&M's Laurence Crea (69-73) and Van Holmgren of North Dakota State (72-70) tied for second at 2-under 142.
The tournament was originally slated for 54 holes but was cut short due to weather. The teams reached the back nine of their respective second rounds Monday before play was halted, and they were only able to complete 36 holes.
COLIN MONTGOMERIE INVITATIONAL – Final Results
February 26, 2019 at Houston, Texas
(par-72, 7,018-yard Cypresswood Golf Club)
Team Results
1. #163 FGCU 289-289=578 (+2)
T2. #103 Houston 292-288=580 (+4)
#172 North Dakota State 291-298=580 (+4)
4. #207 Prairie View A&M 294-287=581 (+5)
5. California Baptist 295-287=582 (+6)
6. #141 UTRGV 290-299=589 (+13)
7. #188 Abilene Christian 299-298=597 (+21)
T8. #164 Bradley 309-296=605 (+29)
#246 New Orleans 310-295=605 (+29)
10. #250 Stetson 305-302=607 (+31)
T11. #226 Houston Baptist 308-300=608 (+32)
#219 Southeastern Louisiana 299-309=608 (+32)
13. #267 Weber State 310-299=609 (+33)
14. #236 Drake 305-308=613 (+37)
15. #200 Incarnate Word 311-304=615 (+39)
16. #281 North Dakota 319-326=645 (+69)
Rankings reflect the latest Golfstat Rankings
Top-5 Individuals
1. Baylor Payne (Stetson) 67-74=141 (-3)
T2. Laurence Crea (Prairie View A&M) 69-73=142 (-2)
Van Holmgren (North Dakota State) 72-70=142 (-2)
Matt Williams (Houston) 70-72=142 (-2)
T5. Tate Heintzelman 69-74=143 (-1)
Andrew Potter 72-71=143 (-1)
Alexander Frances (Houston) 73-70=143 (-1)
Zane Brooks (Prairie View A&M) 71-72=143 (-1)
FGCU Individuals
T5. Tate Heintzelman 69-74=143 (-1)
T5. Andrew Potter 72-71=143 (-1)
T9. Chase Bigham 71-73=144 (E)
T24. Cole Castro 77-71=148 (+4)
T72. Doug Smith 79-79=158 (+14)
Up Next:
The Eagles will trek to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 4-5 for the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate. The tournament is being hosted by Loyola Maryland and will be contested at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club.
FGCU Softball @ USF Recap
The FGCU softball team (7-6) fell in a close 1-0 battle to USF (9-7) Wednesday night at the USF Softball Stadium.
"Riley threw a gem," head coach David Deiros said. "Unfortunately for us, so did Corrick. We had loads of chances to score the tying and lead run, but we just couldn't execute. We'll try to be better on the west coast."
The home side scored the only run of the night in its half of the first frame off a sacrifice fly. FGCU collected its first pair of hits in the third and fourth innings. Senior Kate Kelly singled to left with two out as senior Racquel Fournet led the fourth with a double to left.
FGCU attempted one more comeback in the final inning, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate twice. Kelly collected her second hit of the night knocking one up the middle as junior Sammi Poehlman – who was intentionally walked twice during the course of the contest – found her way on via a fielding error. But USF's starting pitcher Georgina Corrick ended the Eagles' threat with a strikeout in the 1-0 final.
In total, the Eagles stranded eight runners on the bases.
Besides conceding only her second earned run of the season in the first, senior starting pitcher Riley Randolph tossed six innings of three-hit softball. The St. Petersburg native finished with 11 strikeouts, giving her six-straight contests with at least nine strikeouts while only walking one Bull. She now moves to a 5-3 record in the losing effort.
Fournet's double was the 49th in her career and has tied Cheyenne Jenkins (2006-09, 49) and Courtney Platt (2008-11, 49) for most career doubles. One more will make her the all-time leader in career doubles.
Up Next:
FGCU will travel to San Diego, CA., to participate in the San Diego Classic from Mar. 1-3 followed by a contest against San Diego State on Mar. 5.
"Riley threw a gem," head coach David Deiros said. "Unfortunately for us, so did Corrick. We had loads of chances to score the tying and lead run, but we just couldn't execute. We'll try to be better on the west coast."
The home side scored the only run of the night in its half of the first frame off a sacrifice fly. FGCU collected its first pair of hits in the third and fourth innings. Senior Kate Kelly singled to left with two out as senior Racquel Fournet led the fourth with a double to left.
FGCU attempted one more comeback in the final inning, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate twice. Kelly collected her second hit of the night knocking one up the middle as junior Sammi Poehlman – who was intentionally walked twice during the course of the contest – found her way on via a fielding error. But USF's starting pitcher Georgina Corrick ended the Eagles' threat with a strikeout in the 1-0 final.
In total, the Eagles stranded eight runners on the bases.
Besides conceding only her second earned run of the season in the first, senior starting pitcher Riley Randolph tossed six innings of three-hit softball. The St. Petersburg native finished with 11 strikeouts, giving her six-straight contests with at least nine strikeouts while only walking one Bull. She now moves to a 5-3 record in the losing effort.
Fournet's double was the 49th in her career and has tied Cheyenne Jenkins (2006-09, 49) and Courtney Platt (2008-11, 49) for most career doubles. One more will make her the all-time leader in career doubles.
Up Next:
FGCU will travel to San Diego, CA., to participate in the San Diego Classic from Mar. 1-3 followed by a contest against San Diego State on Mar. 5.
Suncoast Tournament Champs!!! 1st Herd Punches Ticket to States
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| The team poses after their win |
"I thought that we were the second best team in conference and we deserve to win this," said head coach Tom Parks. "To see everything pan out up to our first meet in August where we talked about our goals including to host at least one conference tournament game and win the tournament and we certainly did that."
In the first half, the Manatees got off to a good start in scoring after a thunderous dunk from freshman D'Moi Hodge, but by the time the Manatees reached double digits, Polk State took advantage of the scoreboard from big 3-pointers from freshman JJ Romer-Rosario, but the Manatees continued to cut the deficit to single digits as the first half ended with Polk State up 41-37.
"Our mentality was just to attack and push the ball," said Parks on halftime. "I'm an offense-oriented coach and we didn't play any defense tonight, but we talked about really pushing the pace and our bye week was this Saturday, so we played Monday while everyone else played Saturday, Monday and Tuesday and we thought it was a huge advantage for us, especially when Polk State had to travel all the way here, so we just talked about continuing to push the pace, not watching the scoreboard and keep chipping away at them. Down the stretch, it was all about getting stops, which we talk about every timeout."
"During halftime, Parks told us just to be calm and think positive even we're down by five points," said sophomore DeAndre Osuigwe. "I think the last two to three times we played them, they've always been up on us."
At the start of the second half, the Manatees started to buckle as the Hawks manage to get points from Romer-Rosario, freshman TK Smith and sophomores Milz Tatum and Alsean Evans, but the Manatees, who were down by as much as 15 points, continued to fight with 7:13 left on the clock after the timeout. After the timeout, the Manatees managed to eventually tie the game at 71-71 and soon caught took the lead.
"Going into the second half, we knew they were already going to be good and at every timeout," said Osuigwe. "Whenever we got the break, coach motivated us with a lot of positive energy and let us know that we can do this and we got to believe."
"We struggled for a while in the last five minutes, but we did a really good job contesting everything and most of the time it was one shot with the rebound," said Parks on the last five minutes.
The Manatees got big crucial buckets from Osuigwe, Hodge and sophomore Cyrus Barnes, but as they tried to add to the score, the Eagles continued to score on their own leading Parks to a timeout for a chance to make adjustments.
"We changed a little bit on matchups and who was guarding" said Parks on the last timeout. Their smaller guards were doing a really good job in the paint. We said the whole time 'let's have somebody else beat us and not have their main guys do that.' Although I didn't think really think we were gonna open the floodgates to get to the basket. We changed up some matchups, but we just talked about believing and continued to believe, but at the five minute mark, things could have gone either way. We could either stop believing, stop playing hard and let them break it open or we could continue to fight and that's what we were able to do."
"We had to keep our composure together defensively," said Hodge. "We know we can play defense, but we had to be fast and play as one."
"We got a great coaching staff, and whatever defense they (Polk State) throw at us, we always got a play," said freshman Isiah Dasher. "Coach (Parks) is a fast thinker and whenever he wants to switch something up, he always goes towards a timeout so we can get it together."
Parks' words got through the players and worked like a charm. Evidently, Polk made a costly mistake as Tatum committed a technical foul, which gave SCF a few more sparks and soon lead by three and with 22 seconds left, the Eagles had the ball. Romer Rosario was given the ball to tie the game, but it was unsuccessful as Dasher grabbed the board before being sent to shoot one of two free throws.
"We were just trying to finish out the game strong, make free throws and stay solid," said Dasher on the last 20 seconds. "Polk is a great team, so we came out with big win today,"
As Barnes finished with the game with the final two free throws, the Manatees officially punched their ticket in front of overwhelming support of over 100 SCF Maniacs while ending the second half 66-45.
Five players from SCF reached in double figures: Barnes, Hodge, Dasher, Osiugwe, and redshirt sophomore Tre Alexandrea. Barnes led the team with a career-high 24 points (7-for-10 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 9-for-10 FT).
"During halftime, Parks told us just to be calm and think positive even we're down by five points," said sophomore DeAndre Osuigwe. "I think the last two to three times we played them, they've always been up on us."
At the start of the second half, the Manatees started to buckle as the Hawks manage to get points from Romer-Rosario, freshman TK Smith and sophomores Milz Tatum and Alsean Evans, but the Manatees, who were down by as much as 15 points, continued to fight with 7:13 left on the clock after the timeout. After the timeout, the Manatees managed to eventually tie the game at 71-71 and soon caught took the lead.
"Going into the second half, we knew they were already going to be good and at every timeout," said Osuigwe. "Whenever we got the break, coach motivated us with a lot of positive energy and let us know that we can do this and we got to believe."
"We struggled for a while in the last five minutes, but we did a really good job contesting everything and most of the time it was one shot with the rebound," said Parks on the last five minutes.
The Manatees got big crucial buckets from Osuigwe, Hodge and sophomore Cyrus Barnes, but as they tried to add to the score, the Eagles continued to score on their own leading Parks to a timeout for a chance to make adjustments.
"We changed a little bit on matchups and who was guarding" said Parks on the last timeout. Their smaller guards were doing a really good job in the paint. We said the whole time 'let's have somebody else beat us and not have their main guys do that.' Although I didn't think really think we were gonna open the floodgates to get to the basket. We changed up some matchups, but we just talked about believing and continued to believe, but at the five minute mark, things could have gone either way. We could either stop believing, stop playing hard and let them break it open or we could continue to fight and that's what we were able to do."
"We had to keep our composure together defensively," said Hodge. "We know we can play defense, but we had to be fast and play as one."
"We got a great coaching staff, and whatever defense they (Polk State) throw at us, we always got a play," said freshman Isiah Dasher. "Coach (Parks) is a fast thinker and whenever he wants to switch something up, he always goes towards a timeout so we can get it together."
Parks' words got through the players and worked like a charm. Evidently, Polk made a costly mistake as Tatum committed a technical foul, which gave SCF a few more sparks and soon lead by three and with 22 seconds left, the Eagles had the ball. Romer Rosario was given the ball to tie the game, but it was unsuccessful as Dasher grabbed the board before being sent to shoot one of two free throws.
"We were just trying to finish out the game strong, make free throws and stay solid," said Dasher on the last 20 seconds. "Polk is a great team, so we came out with big win today,"
As Barnes finished with the game with the final two free throws, the Manatees officially punched their ticket in front of overwhelming support of over 100 SCF Maniacs while ending the second half 66-45.
Five players from SCF reached in double figures: Barnes, Hodge, Dasher, Osiugwe, and redshirt sophomore Tre Alexandrea. Barnes led the team with a career-high 24 points (7-for-10 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 9-for-10 FT).
Hodge and Dasher would finish with a double-double each. Hodge had 22 points (7-for-16 FG, 3-for-9 3PT, 5-for-6 FT) and 14 rebounds to go along with four assists, three blocks and four steals, while Dasher, who began the first half 0-for-6, finished with 16 points (4-for-15 FG, 8-for-13 FT) and 10 rebounds while adding five assists and a steal.
Osiugwe finished with 16 points (6-for-9 FG, 4-for-5 FT), three rebounds and seven assists, while Alexandra rounded out the order with 11 points (4-for-6 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 2-for-2 FT) and two rebounds.
"I think I did better," said Barnes on his performance. "I could have played more defense, but I did what I needed to do."
"I didn't do how I normally wanted to, but I still hit the shots I normally hit, said Hodge. "I did my best and gave what I got."
"I started off the first half really slow, but I knew it was now or never and do or die," said Dasher on his performance. "I played with everything I had on the court. I knew I wasn't leaving the gym saying 'I could have gave more."
"I did my job on the defensive end and as a leader," said Osiugwe on his performance. "My main goal as a leader is to win. There were some spots where we felt sorry for ourselves, but I had to bring the team together and stay positive to let the team know that we're going to be alright and just keep fighting."
Along with Barnes off the bench, freshman Chris Scarborough finished with seven points (2-for-3 FG, 3-for-3 FT) and three rebounds while sophomore Corey Davis and freshman Max Bell-Ramos had two points each. Bell-Ramos also added two rebounds. Sophomore Joel Coffey, who was in the starting lineup, also contributed with two points, a rebound, a block and a steal.
For Polk State, five players reached double figures in scoring: Evan (25), Smith (18), Tatum (16), Romer Rosario (12) and freshman Nikc Merriweather (10).
At the end of the tournament, the team did a ceremonial cutting of the net for their win and in the locker room, the team doused Parks with a Gatorade bath afterwards.
Emotional Comments:
Parks- "It's a sigh of relief because I believe in this team this year and that we were capable of doing this and they believed in each other."
Hodge- "I'm so happy that I'm loss for words. We came back after being down and everyone had faith in us to win this game.
Dasher- "It's crazy that we put in so much work and it just shows in the outcome and I'm so emotional that I can't even speak."
Barnes- "It's bittersweet because this was my last time playing at SCF and this game was a tough one, but me and the boys did keep fighting to the end."
Osiugwe- "At the start of the game, we wanted to make history, so before the team meeting, everybody down on a piece of paper why we wanted to go to states, so we just made our 'why' and what our 'why' was and stayed together so we can do what we need to do, even if we were in a little slump, but I was able to keep the team together, stay positive and believe."
After interviewing coach Parks, he gave me a piece of the cut net for having me as a part of history and I couldn't be anymore appreciative for what he's done for with SCF basketball.
Up Next:
The Manatees ready themselves for Eastern Florida State (24-6), the #1 team in the Mid-Florida Conference. With that being said, the bracket for the 2019 FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament is set in stone for Thursday, March 7 to Saturday, March 9 at the following times:
Quarterfinals (March 7):
*Game One: #1 FSW (#1 Suncoast) vs Indian River State (#2 Southern) at 1 pm.
*Game Two: #8 Northwest Florida State (#1 Panhandle) vs #21 Daytona State (#2 Mid-Florida) at 3 pm
*Game Three: RV Palm Beach State (#1 Southern) vs #11 Chipola (#2 Panhandle) at 6 pm
*Game Four: Eastern Florida State (#1 Mid-Florida) vs SCF (#2 Suncoast) at 8 pm.
*time subject to change depending on length of game.
Semifinals (March 8):
*Game One Winner vs Game Two Winner at 6 pm
*Game Three Winner vs Game Four Winner at 8 pm
Championship (March 9):
Semi Winner One vs Semi Winner Two at 7:30 pm
"I think I did better," said Barnes on his performance. "I could have played more defense, but I did what I needed to do."
"I didn't do how I normally wanted to, but I still hit the shots I normally hit, said Hodge. "I did my best and gave what I got."
"I started off the first half really slow, but I knew it was now or never and do or die," said Dasher on his performance. "I played with everything I had on the court. I knew I wasn't leaving the gym saying 'I could have gave more."
"I did my job on the defensive end and as a leader," said Osiugwe on his performance. "My main goal as a leader is to win. There were some spots where we felt sorry for ourselves, but I had to bring the team together and stay positive to let the team know that we're going to be alright and just keep fighting."
Along with Barnes off the bench, freshman Chris Scarborough finished with seven points (2-for-3 FG, 3-for-3 FT) and three rebounds while sophomore Corey Davis and freshman Max Bell-Ramos had two points each. Bell-Ramos also added two rebounds. Sophomore Joel Coffey, who was in the starting lineup, also contributed with two points, a rebound, a block and a steal.
For Polk State, five players reached double figures in scoring: Evan (25), Smith (18), Tatum (16), Romer Rosario (12) and freshman Nikc Merriweather (10).
At the end of the tournament, the team did a ceremonial cutting of the net for their win and in the locker room, the team doused Parks with a Gatorade bath afterwards.
Emotional Comments:
Parks- "It's a sigh of relief because I believe in this team this year and that we were capable of doing this and they believed in each other."
Hodge- "I'm so happy that I'm loss for words. We came back after being down and everyone had faith in us to win this game.
Dasher- "It's crazy that we put in so much work and it just shows in the outcome and I'm so emotional that I can't even speak."
Barnes- "It's bittersweet because this was my last time playing at SCF and this game was a tough one, but me and the boys did keep fighting to the end."
Osiugwe- "At the start of the game, we wanted to make history, so before the team meeting, everybody down on a piece of paper why we wanted to go to states, so we just made our 'why' and what our 'why' was and stayed together so we can do what we need to do, even if we were in a little slump, but I was able to keep the team together, stay positive and believe."
After interviewing coach Parks, he gave me a piece of the cut net for having me as a part of history and I couldn't be anymore appreciative for what he's done for with SCF basketball.
Up Next:
The Manatees ready themselves for Eastern Florida State (24-6), the #1 team in the Mid-Florida Conference. With that being said, the bracket for the 2019 FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament is set in stone for Thursday, March 7 to Saturday, March 9 at the following times:
Quarterfinals (March 7):
*Game One: #1 FSW (#1 Suncoast) vs Indian River State (#2 Southern) at 1 pm.
*Game Two: #8 Northwest Florida State (#1 Panhandle) vs #21 Daytona State (#2 Mid-Florida) at 3 pm
*Game Three: RV Palm Beach State (#1 Southern) vs #11 Chipola (#2 Panhandle) at 6 pm
*Game Four: Eastern Florida State (#1 Mid-Florida) vs SCF (#2 Suncoast) at 8 pm.
*time subject to change depending on length of game.
Semifinals (March 8):
*Game One Winner vs Game Two Winner at 6 pm
*Game Three Winner vs Game Four Winner at 8 pm
Championship (March 9):
Semi Winner One vs Semi Winner Two at 7:30 pm
FGCU Baseball vs Siena Preview
The FGCU baseball team (5-2) will finish off its season-opening 11-game home slate with a four-game series against Siena College (2-4) Feb. 28-March 2. The Green and Blue will play under the lights at 6:30 p.m. both Thursday and Friday before competing in a doubleheader on Saturday. Saturday's opener is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the series finale will follow after the first game concludes.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of sweeping a series against LIU-Brooklyn this past weekend. Junior Mason Studstill struck out 11 Blackbirds and gave up no runs with just one hit and one walk conceded through 6.0 innings of work on Sunday, freshman Joe Kinker tied the school record with three doubles during Saturday's matchup, a mark that has been matched just one other time in school history, senior Eric Gonzalez, junior Alex Brait and Kinker had three hits each on Saturday, combining for six RBIs and five runs scored. Sophomore Nikolas Bitner and junior Trey Vickery were the only two pitchers needed to toss a clean nine innings at Friday's game. Bitner gave up three hits, while Vickery only allowed one.
Scouting Siena:
The Saints are coming off of a three-game loss against UCF by scores of 3-2, 5-1 and 7-1. The Saints' lone wins came off of winning a three-game series against reigning A-SUN champion Stetson. Siena claimed the first and third games. The teams were scheduled to play a fourth game on Tuesday night, but it was canceled due to weather.
Freshman Devan Kruzinski (.333) has had a big impact in his debut for the Saints. He leads the team with four RBIs, two doubles and is one of two players to start all six games thus far.
Siena returned two of its best pitchers in senior Tommy Miller (1.54) and junior Brendan White (2.77). Miller led the team last year with 84 strikeouts and a 3.70 ERA.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on Facebook Live.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of sweeping a series against LIU-Brooklyn this past weekend. Junior Mason Studstill struck out 11 Blackbirds and gave up no runs with just one hit and one walk conceded through 6.0 innings of work on Sunday, freshman Joe Kinker tied the school record with three doubles during Saturday's matchup, a mark that has been matched just one other time in school history, senior Eric Gonzalez, junior Alex Brait and Kinker had three hits each on Saturday, combining for six RBIs and five runs scored. Sophomore Nikolas Bitner and junior Trey Vickery were the only two pitchers needed to toss a clean nine innings at Friday's game. Bitner gave up three hits, while Vickery only allowed one.
Scouting Siena:
The Saints are coming off of a three-game loss against UCF by scores of 3-2, 5-1 and 7-1. The Saints' lone wins came off of winning a three-game series against reigning A-SUN champion Stetson. Siena claimed the first and third games. The teams were scheduled to play a fourth game on Tuesday night, but it was canceled due to weather.
Freshman Devan Kruzinski (.333) has had a big impact in his debut for the Saints. He leads the team with four RBIs, two doubles and is one of two players to start all six games thus far.
Siena returned two of its best pitchers in senior Tommy Miller (1.54) and junior Brendan White (2.77). Miller led the team last year with 84 strikeouts and a 3.70 ERA.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on Facebook Live.
SCF Softball Splits at Santa Fe
The SCF softball team (17-5) ended their series with Santa Fe College (9-12) with a split winning the first game 3-0 before falling 4-1 in the second game, Despite the loss, the Manatees ultimately won the series 3-1. With the split, the Manatees are now 20-8 against the Saints.
Game One:
For game one, SCF head coach Mandy Schuerman sent freshman Kailey Christian to the mound while Santa Fe head coach Lindsay Fico sent freshman Gabrielle Mathre to counter.
It became a pitcher's duel between Christian and Mathre until Mathre buckled at the top of the third. After freshman Makayla Benavidez drew a leadoff walk before being called out on a fielder's choice from sophomore Cheyenne Nunez, Christian would open the gates for the Manatees as she ripped a double to center, sending home Nunez to make it 1-0 SCF.
While Mathre continued to deal being down by a run, Christian zipped through innings 3-6 with at least one strikeout with no problem. Mathre still continued to fight and get out of jams caused by SCF.
At the top of the seventh, the Manatees decided to add some insurance runs to the mix. After the first two outs, Christian would get a single to start it off. After sophomore Haley McFadden drew a walk, freshman Madi LoCastro would hit a hard single to center and send Christian home to make it 2-0, but it wasn't enough as sophomore Kyria Holcomb sent sophomore Sydney Parks, who came in to pinch run for McFadden, home to make it 3-0 SCF.
In the bottom of the seventh, Christian was unfazed and was able to finish the game for the win despite giving up a two-out single.
Christian would earn her ninth win after throwing a three-hit shutout while walking two batters and striking out 11. This was Christian's third shutout of the season and second game with at 11 strikeouts. Christian was also 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Mathre would earn the loss, putting her at 5-6 for the season. Mathre threw a complete game, giving up all three runs on seven hit while walking five and striking out three.
Holcomb was the only other Manatee with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Santa Fe's three hits came off the bats of sophomore Adriana Garip and freshmen Alanis Mercado and Dontaysha Gobourne.
The win was Schuerman's 149th win of the season.
Game Two:
Schuerman sent freshman Ashley Zientek to the mound while Fica sent sophomore Tihana Zupanic.
The Saints would score the first run in the bottom of the first after a sacrifice fly from freshman Karina Ortiz-Munoz and then in the third inning from a McFadden fielding error to make it 2-0.
The Manatees would get on the board at the top of the fifth off of an RBI single from Nunez that sent Zientek home, but the Saints managed to add two more runs from a solo shot by sophomore Cameron Trehy and a Ortiz-Munoz RBI single before the game was called in the sixth due to the weather.
Zupanic would earn her second win of the season, putting her at 2-2. Zupanic threw a complete game, giving up the lone run on three hits while walking two and striking out two.
Zientek would be dealt with her third loss, putting her at 5-3. Zientek would give up all four runs on five while walking three and striking out one.
Nunez, Parks and freshman Nicci Palumbo had the Manatees' lone hits.
Garip was the only Saint with a multi-hit game as she finished 2-for-2.
Trehy's home run was her third of the season.
Up Next:
The Manatees return home for another series as they welcome Eastern Florida State (9-9) to the SCF Softball Complex. Schuerman will be looking for her 150th career win as head coach for SCF.
Game One:
For game one, SCF head coach Mandy Schuerman sent freshman Kailey Christian to the mound while Santa Fe head coach Lindsay Fico sent freshman Gabrielle Mathre to counter.
It became a pitcher's duel between Christian and Mathre until Mathre buckled at the top of the third. After freshman Makayla Benavidez drew a leadoff walk before being called out on a fielder's choice from sophomore Cheyenne Nunez, Christian would open the gates for the Manatees as she ripped a double to center, sending home Nunez to make it 1-0 SCF.
While Mathre continued to deal being down by a run, Christian zipped through innings 3-6 with at least one strikeout with no problem. Mathre still continued to fight and get out of jams caused by SCF.
At the top of the seventh, the Manatees decided to add some insurance runs to the mix. After the first two outs, Christian would get a single to start it off. After sophomore Haley McFadden drew a walk, freshman Madi LoCastro would hit a hard single to center and send Christian home to make it 2-0, but it wasn't enough as sophomore Kyria Holcomb sent sophomore Sydney Parks, who came in to pinch run for McFadden, home to make it 3-0 SCF.
In the bottom of the seventh, Christian was unfazed and was able to finish the game for the win despite giving up a two-out single.
Christian would earn her ninth win after throwing a three-hit shutout while walking two batters and striking out 11. This was Christian's third shutout of the season and second game with at 11 strikeouts. Christian was also 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Mathre would earn the loss, putting her at 5-6 for the season. Mathre threw a complete game, giving up all three runs on seven hit while walking five and striking out three.
Holcomb was the only other Manatee with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Santa Fe's three hits came off the bats of sophomore Adriana Garip and freshmen Alanis Mercado and Dontaysha Gobourne.
The win was Schuerman's 149th win of the season.
Game Two:
Schuerman sent freshman Ashley Zientek to the mound while Fica sent sophomore Tihana Zupanic.
The Saints would score the first run in the bottom of the first after a sacrifice fly from freshman Karina Ortiz-Munoz and then in the third inning from a McFadden fielding error to make it 2-0.
The Manatees would get on the board at the top of the fifth off of an RBI single from Nunez that sent Zientek home, but the Saints managed to add two more runs from a solo shot by sophomore Cameron Trehy and a Ortiz-Munoz RBI single before the game was called in the sixth due to the weather.
Zupanic would earn her second win of the season, putting her at 2-2. Zupanic threw a complete game, giving up the lone run on three hits while walking two and striking out two.
Zientek would be dealt with her third loss, putting her at 5-3. Zientek would give up all four runs on five while walking three and striking out one.
Nunez, Parks and freshman Nicci Palumbo had the Manatees' lone hits.
Garip was the only Saint with a multi-hit game as she finished 2-for-2.
Trehy's home run was her third of the season.
Up Next:
The Manatees return home for another series as they welcome Eastern Florida State (9-9) to the SCF Softball Complex. Schuerman will be looking for her 150th career win as head coach for SCF.
FGCU Softball @ USF Preview
The FGCU softball team will travel up the road to face I-75 rival USF for a doubleheader contest Wednesday evening.
Last Time Out
The Eagles are coming off a 2-1 weekend in which they defeated UConn twice but fell to FAU in the Strike Out Cancer Tournament. In both victories against UConn (7-0 & 1-0), senior pitcher Riley Randolph tossed two complete games, allowed no runs while striking out a combined 22 batters. Her two-day performance led her to be named the A-SUN Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season and seventh overall of her Eagle career.
Heading into Tampa with an overall 7-5 record, junior Sammi Poehlman leads the Eagles hitting .360, tallying two doubles, four runs scored and three RBI.
Senior Racquel Fournet is batting .324 as she has a team-high 12 hits along with four RBI. Fournet is the only Eagle to record a start in each contest this season.
In the circle, Randolph (5-2) has yielded just one earned run this season in seven appearances, giving her a 0.15 ERA which ranks 11th in the nation. Her four shutouts are good for second in the country.
Sophomore Marissa Mesiemore is 2-2 overall in five appearances and owns a 2.43 ERA. The pitching staff collectively holds a 1.18 ERA – ninth in the nation.
Scouting USF:
The Bulls are 8-7 overall after going 5-1 in the USF-Rawlings Invitational last weekend. At the plate, Bethaney Keen (.381) is one of three Bulls hitting .300 plus as Megan Pierro (.355) and AnaMarie Bruni (.318) are the other two members. Keen leads the team in RBI (nine) and home runs (two). Meanwhile, Bruni has scored a team-high 10 runs.
In the circle, USF has utilized five pitchers this season as they hold a combined 2.65 ERA. Georgina Cook (5-1) leads the staff with a 1.24 ERA in 11 appearances. Opposing batters are hitting .206 so far this season against the Bulls.
Series History:
FGCU is 4-8 all-time against the Bulls as the Eagles swept the doubleheader last season in Fort Myers (1-0 & 4-1) at the time when USF was receiving votes in the polls.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and fans can keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_Softball
USF: @USFSoftball
Livstats Link:
Gm 1.: https://gousfbulls.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Gm. 2: https://gousfbulls.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Last Time Out
The Eagles are coming off a 2-1 weekend in which they defeated UConn twice but fell to FAU in the Strike Out Cancer Tournament. In both victories against UConn (7-0 & 1-0), senior pitcher Riley Randolph tossed two complete games, allowed no runs while striking out a combined 22 batters. Her two-day performance led her to be named the A-SUN Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season and seventh overall of her Eagle career.
Heading into Tampa with an overall 7-5 record, junior Sammi Poehlman leads the Eagles hitting .360, tallying two doubles, four runs scored and three RBI.
Senior Racquel Fournet is batting .324 as she has a team-high 12 hits along with four RBI. Fournet is the only Eagle to record a start in each contest this season.
In the circle, Randolph (5-2) has yielded just one earned run this season in seven appearances, giving her a 0.15 ERA which ranks 11th in the nation. Her four shutouts are good for second in the country.
Sophomore Marissa Mesiemore is 2-2 overall in five appearances and owns a 2.43 ERA. The pitching staff collectively holds a 1.18 ERA – ninth in the nation.
Scouting USF:
The Bulls are 8-7 overall after going 5-1 in the USF-Rawlings Invitational last weekend. At the plate, Bethaney Keen (.381) is one of three Bulls hitting .300 plus as Megan Pierro (.355) and AnaMarie Bruni (.318) are the other two members. Keen leads the team in RBI (nine) and home runs (two). Meanwhile, Bruni has scored a team-high 10 runs.
In the circle, USF has utilized five pitchers this season as they hold a combined 2.65 ERA. Georgina Cook (5-1) leads the staff with a 1.24 ERA in 11 appearances. Opposing batters are hitting .206 so far this season against the Bulls.
Series History:
FGCU is 4-8 all-time against the Bulls as the Eagles swept the doubleheader last season in Fort Myers (1-0 & 4-1) at the time when USF was receiving votes in the polls.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and fans can keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_Softball
USF: @USFSoftball
Livstats Link:
Gm 1.: https://gousfbulls.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Gm. 2: https://gousfbulls.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
FGCU Men's Golf: Colin Montgomerie Invitational Day One Recap
The FGCU men's golf team sat atop the leaderboard after Monday's opening round of the Colin Montgomerie Invitational, which is being contested at the par-72, 7,018-yard Cypresswood Golf Club.
The Eagles carded a 1-over-par 289 to narrowly best second-place UTRGV (2-over 290). North Dakota State (3-over 291) sat a stroke back in third place, while the tournament's top-rated team Houston was fourth at 4-over 292. Prairie View A&M slotted into fifth at 6-over 294.
"The weather was a challenge today with all the changes happening at different times throughout the round. We had a one-hour lightning delay that included some misty rain," FGCU coach Eric Booker said. "With that being said, the guys are playing well for the most part and trusting their skills. Andrew (Potter), Chase (Bigham) and Tate (Heintzelman) are right there in contention. Cole (Castro) and Doug (Smith) need to give them some help, but our spirits are high. We are looking forward to tomorrow as we try to bring back a win."
True freshman Tate Heintzelman carded four birdies to just one bogey to land in a second-place tie on the individual leaderboard at 3-under 69. True freshman Chase Bigham also finished with four birdies and sits in a tie for seventh at 1-under 71.
Senior Andrew Potter shot even-par 72 and is tied for 13th, while sophomore Cole Castro is T-40 (5-over 77) and junior Doug Smith is T-60 (7-over 79).
FGCU combined for the most birdies in the opening round with 15. The Green and Blue also led the field in par-3 scoring (+3) and was second in par-5 scoring (-8).
The 16 teams were slated to complete 36 holes Monday, but inclement weather forced play to be halted with all competitors on the back-9 of the second round.
The penultimate round will wrap up Tuesday in the morning session, and the 18-hole final round will follow directly after the conclusion of the second.
COLIN MONTGOMERIE INVITATIONAL – First Round Results
February 25, 2019 at Houston, Texas
(par-72, 7,018-yard Cypresswood Golf Club)
Team Results
1. #163 FGCU 289 (+1)
2. #141 UTRGV 290 (+2)
3. #172 North Dakota State 291 (+3)
4. #103 Houston 292 (+4)
5. #207 Prairie View A&M 294 (+6)
6. California Baptist 295 (+7)
T7. #188 Abilene Christian 299 (+11)
#219 Southeastern Louisiana 299 (+11)
T9. #250 Stetson 305 (+17)
#236 Drake 305 (+17)
11. #226 Houston Baptist 308 (+20)
12. #164 Bradley 309 (+21)
T13. #246 New Orleans 310 (+22)
#267 Weber State 310 (+22)
15. #200 Incarnate Word 311 (+23)
16. #281 North Dakota 319 (+31)
FGCU Individuals
T2. Tate Heintzelman 69 (-3)
T7. Chase Bigham 71 (-1)
T13. Andrew Potter 72 (E)
T40. Cole Castro 77 (+5)
T60. Doug Smith 79 (+7)
Quotes From Other Coaches:
Southeastern Louisiana: "We didn't start real well or finish real well" said SLU head golf coach Jake Narro. "I thought we played pretty well during the middle holes but had to fight through some tough weather conditions again."
"Hopefully we can get it in somehow," said Narro. "At least get the second round in and then see what happens because there are a lot of teams with flights to catch."
New Orleans: "It was a really consistent day for Max. He's hitting a lot of fairways and greens," said head coach Jeff Lorio. "He had a lot of opportunities for birdies and he made his fair share."
"Give the guys credit, we didn't start off well but they rallied back and we're 3-under par for the second round. Hopefully we can go out tomorrow and finish strong and have some momentum going into the third round."
The Eagles carded a 1-over-par 289 to narrowly best second-place UTRGV (2-over 290). North Dakota State (3-over 291) sat a stroke back in third place, while the tournament's top-rated team Houston was fourth at 4-over 292. Prairie View A&M slotted into fifth at 6-over 294.
"The weather was a challenge today with all the changes happening at different times throughout the round. We had a one-hour lightning delay that included some misty rain," FGCU coach Eric Booker said. "With that being said, the guys are playing well for the most part and trusting their skills. Andrew (Potter), Chase (Bigham) and Tate (Heintzelman) are right there in contention. Cole (Castro) and Doug (Smith) need to give them some help, but our spirits are high. We are looking forward to tomorrow as we try to bring back a win."
True freshman Tate Heintzelman carded four birdies to just one bogey to land in a second-place tie on the individual leaderboard at 3-under 69. True freshman Chase Bigham also finished with four birdies and sits in a tie for seventh at 1-under 71.
Senior Andrew Potter shot even-par 72 and is tied for 13th, while sophomore Cole Castro is T-40 (5-over 77) and junior Doug Smith is T-60 (7-over 79).
FGCU combined for the most birdies in the opening round with 15. The Green and Blue also led the field in par-3 scoring (+3) and was second in par-5 scoring (-8).
The 16 teams were slated to complete 36 holes Monday, but inclement weather forced play to be halted with all competitors on the back-9 of the second round.
The penultimate round will wrap up Tuesday in the morning session, and the 18-hole final round will follow directly after the conclusion of the second.
COLIN MONTGOMERIE INVITATIONAL – First Round Results
February 25, 2019 at Houston, Texas
(par-72, 7,018-yard Cypresswood Golf Club)
Team Results
1. #163 FGCU 289 (+1)
2. #141 UTRGV 290 (+2)
3. #172 North Dakota State 291 (+3)
4. #103 Houston 292 (+4)
5. #207 Prairie View A&M 294 (+6)
6. California Baptist 295 (+7)
T7. #188 Abilene Christian 299 (+11)
#219 Southeastern Louisiana 299 (+11)
T9. #250 Stetson 305 (+17)
#236 Drake 305 (+17)
11. #226 Houston Baptist 308 (+20)
12. #164 Bradley 309 (+21)
T13. #246 New Orleans 310 (+22)
#267 Weber State 310 (+22)
15. #200 Incarnate Word 311 (+23)
16. #281 North Dakota 319 (+31)
FGCU Individuals
T2. Tate Heintzelman 69 (-3)
T7. Chase Bigham 71 (-1)
T13. Andrew Potter 72 (E)
T40. Cole Castro 77 (+5)
T60. Doug Smith 79 (+7)
Quotes From Other Coaches:
Southeastern Louisiana: "We didn't start real well or finish real well" said SLU head golf coach Jake Narro. "I thought we played pretty well during the middle holes but had to fight through some tough weather conditions again."
"Hopefully we can get it in somehow," said Narro. "At least get the second round in and then see what happens because there are a lot of teams with flights to catch."
New Orleans: "It was a really consistent day for Max. He's hitting a lot of fairways and greens," said head coach Jeff Lorio. "He had a lot of opportunities for birdies and he made his fair share."
"Give the guys credit, we didn't start off well but they rallied back and we're 3-under par for the second round. Hopefully we can go out tomorrow and finish strong and have some momentum going into the third round."
SCF Softball Snaps Winning Streak With Split to Oakland
The SCF softball team (16-4) finished with a split against Oakland Community College (3-3) as they fell 7-5 (9) in the first game before winning 3-2 in the second game. With the split, the Manatees are now 13-1 against the Raiders.
Game One:
For game one, head coach Mandy Schuerman sent freshman Madi LoCastro to the mound while Oakland head coach Jamie Corona sent sophomore Ysabela Soto to counter.
Both teams held each other scoreless in the first two innings, but LoCastro would buckle at the top of the third giving up two runs on two fielding errors, but the Manatees managed to make up for it in the bottom half. After the first two outs, freshman Kailey Christian would hit a double to left center to start a rally before LoCastro sent her home with a single to left to cut the deficit to one. Sophomore Haley McFadden drew a walk, the Manatees were able to take the lead from a double off the bat of sophomore Kyria Holcomb as she sent LoCastro and McFadden home.
The Manatees continued to hold onto the lead until the top of the seventh when freshman Ashley Zientek, who came in at the top of the fifth, gave the game-tying run from a hard ground ball hit by freshman Rachel Miller. The Manatees tried to get the game-winner, but were unable to do so and the game would go to extra innings and invoked the Texas Tiebreaker rule.
At the top of the eighth, the Raiders took the lead from a Soto bases loaded walk, but the Manatees were able to retie the game from an RBI double off the bat of freshman Sabrina Long and send the game to another extra inning.
At the top of the ninth, the Raiders got Zientek to buckle again with three runs off of two RBI singles from sophomores Amy Benson and Ali Magiera and a fielding error to make it 7-4 Oakland. The Manatees had one more try to at least tie the game as Christian hit an RBI single to make 7-5 Oakland, but it was all they could muster as the Raiders defeated SCF for the first time overall.
LoCastro would earn a no-decision after four innings. She gave four runs on six hits with one walk and one strikeout. At the plate, she went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Zientek would be credited with the loss putting her at 5-3 on her record. Zientek would give up three runs on four hits while walking five and striking out two.
Soto would earn her second win of the season as she threw a nine inning complete game giving up five runs on 14 hits while walking four and striking out one.
Christian and fellow freshman Lauren Bostwick each had three hits. Christian added an RBI and a run while Bostwick added three stolen bases.
Along with LoCastro, Holcomb and Long each had two hits. Holcomb added two RBI and a stolen base, while Long added an RBI.
At the plate for Oakland, freshman Ivy Velazquez was the only Raider with a multi-hit game as she went 3-for-4 with two runs.
Game Two:
Hoping to bounce back, Schuerman sent Christian to the mound while Corona sent freshman Lanie Ellinger to counter.
Both Christian and Ellinger fought in a pitchers battle in the first two innings as they exchanged five strikeouts (Christian: 3, Ellinger: 2), but Ellinger would buckle first in the bottom of the third when sophomore Cheyenne Nunez grounded out to send freshman Nicci Palumbo, who hit a leadoff single, home to make it 1-0 SCF.
Christian continued to hold onto the 1-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth. In fact, Christian had a no-hitter going into the sixth until a leadoff triple from freshman Olivia Marasco set up Velazquez for a two-run home run to left to make it 2-1 Oakland.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees had to fight hard to win the game and they did in success. After long flew out to start the inning, freshman Madelyn Graham would tie the game at 2-2 for the Manatees with a solo shot to center. This was Graham's first home run of the season. Palumbo would then hit a single to center before McFadden struck out. With two outs, freshman Makayla Benavidez would line a single to left in order to keep the rally alive for the Manatees. While sophomore Megan Seeds came in to pinch run for Palumbo, she was able to steal third to put SCF in a good chance to win the game with Nunez at the plate. With a 2-2 count, Nunez got what the Manatees deserved, a win with a game-winning RBI double, sending Seeds home for the win.
Christian would earn her eighth win of the season, putting her at 8-0. She threw a complete game, giving up the two runs on two hits while striking out nine batters.
Ellinger would go to 1-2 after the loss. Ellinger threw 6.2 innings and gave up all three runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out five.
Palumbo and Long would both go 2-for-3 with Palumbo adding a run, while Nunez went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Nunez was the only Manatee with a multi-RBI game. Graham finished 1-for-3 with the home run.
Marasco and Velazquez were the only Raiders with a hit.
Notes:
1. SCF is 40-5 against non-Florida teams.
2. The win for Schuerman puts her career win total at 148.
Up Next:
The Manatees head back on the road as they travel to Gainsville to face Santa Fe Colleges (8-11) on Tuesday, February 26 at 2 and 4 pm.
Game One:
For game one, head coach Mandy Schuerman sent freshman Madi LoCastro to the mound while Oakland head coach Jamie Corona sent sophomore Ysabela Soto to counter.
Both teams held each other scoreless in the first two innings, but LoCastro would buckle at the top of the third giving up two runs on two fielding errors, but the Manatees managed to make up for it in the bottom half. After the first two outs, freshman Kailey Christian would hit a double to left center to start a rally before LoCastro sent her home with a single to left to cut the deficit to one. Sophomore Haley McFadden drew a walk, the Manatees were able to take the lead from a double off the bat of sophomore Kyria Holcomb as she sent LoCastro and McFadden home.
The Manatees continued to hold onto the lead until the top of the seventh when freshman Ashley Zientek, who came in at the top of the fifth, gave the game-tying run from a hard ground ball hit by freshman Rachel Miller. The Manatees tried to get the game-winner, but were unable to do so and the game would go to extra innings and invoked the Texas Tiebreaker rule.
At the top of the eighth, the Raiders took the lead from a Soto bases loaded walk, but the Manatees were able to retie the game from an RBI double off the bat of freshman Sabrina Long and send the game to another extra inning.
At the top of the ninth, the Raiders got Zientek to buckle again with three runs off of two RBI singles from sophomores Amy Benson and Ali Magiera and a fielding error to make it 7-4 Oakland. The Manatees had one more try to at least tie the game as Christian hit an RBI single to make 7-5 Oakland, but it was all they could muster as the Raiders defeated SCF for the first time overall.
LoCastro would earn a no-decision after four innings. She gave four runs on six hits with one walk and one strikeout. At the plate, she went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Zientek would be credited with the loss putting her at 5-3 on her record. Zientek would give up three runs on four hits while walking five and striking out two.
Soto would earn her second win of the season as she threw a nine inning complete game giving up five runs on 14 hits while walking four and striking out one.
Christian and fellow freshman Lauren Bostwick each had three hits. Christian added an RBI and a run while Bostwick added three stolen bases.
Along with LoCastro, Holcomb and Long each had two hits. Holcomb added two RBI and a stolen base, while Long added an RBI.
At the plate for Oakland, freshman Ivy Velazquez was the only Raider with a multi-hit game as she went 3-for-4 with two runs.
Game Two:
Hoping to bounce back, Schuerman sent Christian to the mound while Corona sent freshman Lanie Ellinger to counter.
Both Christian and Ellinger fought in a pitchers battle in the first two innings as they exchanged five strikeouts (Christian: 3, Ellinger: 2), but Ellinger would buckle first in the bottom of the third when sophomore Cheyenne Nunez grounded out to send freshman Nicci Palumbo, who hit a leadoff single, home to make it 1-0 SCF.
Christian continued to hold onto the 1-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth. In fact, Christian had a no-hitter going into the sixth until a leadoff triple from freshman Olivia Marasco set up Velazquez for a two-run home run to left to make it 2-1 Oakland.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Manatees had to fight hard to win the game and they did in success. After long flew out to start the inning, freshman Madelyn Graham would tie the game at 2-2 for the Manatees with a solo shot to center. This was Graham's first home run of the season. Palumbo would then hit a single to center before McFadden struck out. With two outs, freshman Makayla Benavidez would line a single to left in order to keep the rally alive for the Manatees. While sophomore Megan Seeds came in to pinch run for Palumbo, she was able to steal third to put SCF in a good chance to win the game with Nunez at the plate. With a 2-2 count, Nunez got what the Manatees deserved, a win with a game-winning RBI double, sending Seeds home for the win.
Christian would earn her eighth win of the season, putting her at 8-0. She threw a complete game, giving up the two runs on two hits while striking out nine batters.
Ellinger would go to 1-2 after the loss. Ellinger threw 6.2 innings and gave up all three runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out five.
Palumbo and Long would both go 2-for-3 with Palumbo adding a run, while Nunez went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Nunez was the only Manatee with a multi-RBI game. Graham finished 1-for-3 with the home run.
Marasco and Velazquez were the only Raiders with a hit.
Notes:
1. SCF is 40-5 against non-Florida teams.
2. The win for Schuerman puts her career win total at 148.
Up Next:
The Manatees head back on the road as they travel to Gainsville to face Santa Fe Colleges (8-11) on Tuesday, February 26 at 2 and 4 pm.
SCF Softball Welcomes Oakland, Returns for Santa Fe College
The SCF softball team (15-3) return home for another series as they welcome Oakland Community College (2-2) to the SCF Softball Complex on Monday, February 25 at 4 and 6 pm before heading to Gainesville to take on Santa Fe College (8-11) on Tuesday, February 26 at 2 and 4 pm.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees recently competed in the Seminole Tournament where they fell to Tallahassee Community College (4-3) and St. Johns River State (4-2) on day one before defeating Abraham Baldwin (10-5) and Chattanooga State (8-4) on day two.
To 150 and Beyond:
Head coach Mandy Schuerman has inched closer to reaching 150th career win as head coach for SCF. Schuerman joined SCF fall 2014 after spending the 2014 season as a head coach for Bloomingdale High, while leading them to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) 8A State Championship title with a record of 28-3.
To 150 and Beyond:
Head coach Mandy Schuerman has inched closer to reaching 150th career win as head coach for SCF. Schuerman joined SCF fall 2014 after spending the 2014 season as a head coach for Bloomingdale High, while leading them to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) 8A State Championship title with a record of 28-3.
The former Gator and two-time team captain (2003-04), SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and All-SEC Second-Team member began her inaugural season with SCF in 2015 where eight Manatees were named on both the Suncoast Conference First and Second Teams with Erica Ward also being named on the FCSAA All-State while being named Suncoast Coach of the Year in her first season. Since being under Schuerman's helm, the Manatees have had at least two players being named to the All-Suncoast Conference First Team, Second Team or Suncoast Honorable Mention (12 First Team, 12 Second Team, 4 Honorable Mention). Along with Ward, two other players have been named to the FCSAA All-State Second Team under Schuerman's wing, Lindsey Hall and Taylor Engman.
Currently, Schuerman is 147-85 and is only three away from reaching the milestone. Schuerman earned 100th win on February 3, 2018 against Seminole State College (4-2).
Key Players:
At the plate, key bats for the Manatees include sophomores Cheyenne Nunez and Haley McFadden and freshmen Madi LoCastro, Sabrina Long, Makayla Benavidez and Lauren Bostwick.
Nunez is batting .293 (17-for-58) and leads the team in runs (21) and stolen bases (13). In the Seminole Tournament, Nunez was 3-for-15 (.200) with three runs and a stolen base. In fact, Nunez has 35 stolen bases in her career.
McFadden is batting .289 with 11 hits and six RBI despite going 1-for-8 with an RBI in the Seminole Tournament.
LoCastro is one of two hybrid players on the team at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, LoCastro is batting .412 with four home runs and 16 RBI while on the mound, she is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 11 strikeouts. In the Seminole Tournament, LoCastro was 6-for-14 (.429) with two RBI while going 0-1 in seven innings with six strikeouts.
Long follows behind LoCastro as she is batting .353 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Long was 4-for-13 (.308) in the Seminole Tournament with three RBI.
Benavidez leads the team with a .438 batting average (21-for-48), five RBI and nine stolen bases. Benavidez was 6-for-12 (.500) with six runs and four stolen bases.
Although mostly as a pinch runner, Bostwick is batting .219 (5-for-20) with nine runs, four RBI and 10 steals. In the Seminole Tournament, Bostwick was 2-for-12 (.167) with two runs and two stolen bases.
On the mound, freshmen Kailey Christian and Ashley Zientek lead the way.
Like LoCastro, Christian is also a hybrid player at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, Christian is batting .364 (12-for-33) and is second behind LoCastro in RBI (13) while at the plate, she is 7-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 49 strikeouts. Against Lake Sumter, Christian went threw 15 innings giving up two runs on six hits while walking four and striking out 19. In her last game, she threw a two-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. At the plate, she was 1-for-6 with two RBI.
Zientek is 5-2 with a 1.74 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Zientek threw a complete game for her second loss to TCC before bouncing back with a win in relief after throwing five innings in the Seminole Tournament against Abraham Baldwin.
SCF is in the top 10 in 16 categories in the FCSAA: batting average (.323, 7th ), hits (161, 8th), triples (5, t-5th with Daytona State, Northwest Florida State, TCC), RBI (103, 6th), walks (68 6th), fewest strikeouts (44, t-4th with Hillsborough), stolen bases (52, 4th), on base percentage (.411, 5th), hits allowed (89, 6th), runs allowed (57, 6th), earned runs allowed (38, 5th), walks allowed (24, 4th), strikeouts (112, 4th), strikeouts per seven innings (6.84, 4th), home runs allowed (6, 9th) and ERA (2.32 ERA, 4th).
Scouting Oakland:
The Raiders, who are a part of the NJCAA DII Region 12 Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA), are just beginning their season with two wins over Augustana College JV (8-1 and 10-6) and losses to Lake-Sumter (8-0) and the Czech Republic National Team (4-3).
At the plate, sophomore Amy Benson leads the team with a .625 batting average and five RBI. Benson was 4-for-7 with five RBI and two runs against Augustana College JV and the Czech Republic National Team.
On the mound, freshman Lanie Ellinger is 1-1 with a 0.70 ERA and nine strikeouts. Ellinger threw a third of a scoreless inning with two walks.
Series History:
SCF is 12-0 against Oaklan. Last time out, the Manatees swept the Raiders 11-3 and 14-0 via the mercy rule.
Scouting Santa Fe:
The Saints are coming off of a split against Eastern Florida State where they fell 5-3 in the first game before winning 7-6 in the second. They were originally scheduled to face Polk State Friday, February 22, but the series was cancelled.
At the plate, sophomore Emily Yakel is batting .345 with six home runs and 18 RBI despite going 1-for-5 in the series.
Fellow sophomore Cameron Trehy is leading the team with a .377 batting average with two home runs and 13 RBI even if she went 0-for-3 with two walks against Polk State.
On the mound, freshman Gabrielle Mathre is 5-5 with a 5.25 ERA and 21 strikeouts. In Mathre's last game against EFSC, she threw six innings, giving up five runs on six hits while walking three and striking out five.
Overall as a team, Santa Fe has a 5.20 ERA (20th in the FCSAA).
Series History:
Since 2012, the Manatees are 19-7 against the Saints. The Manatees played SFC earlier this season as they swept them with a 4-2 win in game one and an 8-0 win in game two.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and fans can keep up on Twitter.
SCF: @SCFSoftball
Currently, Schuerman is 147-85 and is only three away from reaching the milestone. Schuerman earned 100th win on February 3, 2018 against Seminole State College (4-2).
Key Players:
At the plate, key bats for the Manatees include sophomores Cheyenne Nunez and Haley McFadden and freshmen Madi LoCastro, Sabrina Long, Makayla Benavidez and Lauren Bostwick.
Nunez is batting .293 (17-for-58) and leads the team in runs (21) and stolen bases (13). In the Seminole Tournament, Nunez was 3-for-15 (.200) with three runs and a stolen base. In fact, Nunez has 35 stolen bases in her career.
McFadden is batting .289 with 11 hits and six RBI despite going 1-for-8 with an RBI in the Seminole Tournament.
LoCastro is one of two hybrid players on the team at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, LoCastro is batting .412 with four home runs and 16 RBI while on the mound, she is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 11 strikeouts. In the Seminole Tournament, LoCastro was 6-for-14 (.429) with two RBI while going 0-1 in seven innings with six strikeouts.
Long follows behind LoCastro as she is batting .353 with two home runs and 15 RBI. Long was 4-for-13 (.308) in the Seminole Tournament with three RBI.
Benavidez leads the team with a .438 batting average (21-for-48), five RBI and nine stolen bases. Benavidez was 6-for-12 (.500) with six runs and four stolen bases.
Although mostly as a pinch runner, Bostwick is batting .219 (5-for-20) with nine runs, four RBI and 10 steals. In the Seminole Tournament, Bostwick was 2-for-12 (.167) with two runs and two stolen bases.
On the mound, freshmen Kailey Christian and Ashley Zientek lead the way.
Like LoCastro, Christian is also a hybrid player at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, Christian is batting .364 (12-for-33) and is second behind LoCastro in RBI (13) while at the plate, she is 7-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 49 strikeouts. Against Lake Sumter, Christian went threw 15 innings giving up two runs on six hits while walking four and striking out 19. In her last game, she threw a two-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. At the plate, she was 1-for-6 with two RBI.
Zientek is 5-2 with a 1.74 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Zientek threw a complete game for her second loss to TCC before bouncing back with a win in relief after throwing five innings in the Seminole Tournament against Abraham Baldwin.
SCF is in the top 10 in 16 categories in the FCSAA: batting average (.323, 7th ), hits (161, 8th), triples (5, t-5th with Daytona State, Northwest Florida State, TCC), RBI (103, 6th), walks (68 6th), fewest strikeouts (44, t-4th with Hillsborough), stolen bases (52, 4th), on base percentage (.411, 5th), hits allowed (89, 6th), runs allowed (57, 6th), earned runs allowed (38, 5th), walks allowed (24, 4th), strikeouts (112, 4th), strikeouts per seven innings (6.84, 4th), home runs allowed (6, 9th) and ERA (2.32 ERA, 4th).
Scouting Oakland:
The Raiders, who are a part of the NJCAA DII Region 12 Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA), are just beginning their season with two wins over Augustana College JV (8-1 and 10-6) and losses to Lake-Sumter (8-0) and the Czech Republic National Team (4-3).
At the plate, sophomore Amy Benson leads the team with a .625 batting average and five RBI. Benson was 4-for-7 with five RBI and two runs against Augustana College JV and the Czech Republic National Team.
On the mound, freshman Lanie Ellinger is 1-1 with a 0.70 ERA and nine strikeouts. Ellinger threw a third of a scoreless inning with two walks.
Series History:
SCF is 12-0 against Oaklan. Last time out, the Manatees swept the Raiders 11-3 and 14-0 via the mercy rule.
Scouting Santa Fe:
The Saints are coming off of a split against Eastern Florida State where they fell 5-3 in the first game before winning 7-6 in the second. They were originally scheduled to face Polk State Friday, February 22, but the series was cancelled.
At the plate, sophomore Emily Yakel is batting .345 with six home runs and 18 RBI despite going 1-for-5 in the series.
Fellow sophomore Cameron Trehy is leading the team with a .377 batting average with two home runs and 13 RBI even if she went 0-for-3 with two walks against Polk State.
On the mound, freshman Gabrielle Mathre is 5-5 with a 5.25 ERA and 21 strikeouts. In Mathre's last game against EFSC, she threw six innings, giving up five runs on six hits while walking three and striking out five.
Overall as a team, Santa Fe has a 5.20 ERA (20th in the FCSAA).
Series History:
Since 2012, the Manatees are 19-7 against the Saints. The Manatees played SFC earlier this season as they swept them with a 4-2 win in game one and an 8-0 win in game two.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and fans can keep up on Twitter.
SCF: @SCFSoftball
Oakland: @OCCollege
Santa Fe: @santafesaints
Livestats link: https://gc.com/t/spring-2019/state-college-of-florida-softball-5c4617fc03d69700218c16d3
Santa Fe: @santafesaints
Livestats link: https://gc.com/t/spring-2019/state-college-of-florida-softball-5c4617fc03d69700218c16d3
FGCU Baseball vs LIU Brooklyn Game Three Recap
The FGCU baseball team (5-2) ended the weekend with a 9-1 triumph over LIU Brooklyn (0-6) Sunday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
The Eagles outscored the Blackbirds 29-2 and outhit the visitors 39-8. This was the first time in FGCU's NCAA Division I era that the Green and Blue held an opponent to two runs or fewer in a three-game series. The only other two such occurrences in school history came when the Eagles competed at the Division II level. FGCU held Albany State to two runs in 2005 and Clark Atlanta to one run in 2007.
The Eagles also continued their torrid pace at the plate, as they are now up to 67 runs through seven games. That mark is the highest run total for FGCU through the opening seven games to any season since 2010, and the run production is also the second-most in the NCAA Division I era.
"We swung the bats really well against a pretty good pitcher who started (an NCAA Regional) game for (LIU Brooklyn) last year. We came out and had a good approach at the plate," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "We also pitched well this weekend. Our starters were very good, and we had a lot of good production out of the bullpen. All the way around we played a great series."
Junior Mason Studstill (1-0) was dominant in 6.0 innings of work on the mound. He struck out 11 Blackbirds and gave up no runs with just one hit and one walk conceded.
Senior Evan Lumbert, junior Sebastian Gruszecki and junior Hunter McGarry all tossed an inning on the mound. Lumbert gave up just one run on one hit, and the final two hurlers did not allow a baserunner.
Juniors Marc Coffers and Alex Brait joined true freshman Joe Kinker with two hits each. The trio scored four combined runs. Seniors Eric Gonzalez and Keith Stevens both drove in a pair of teammates.
A suicide squeeze from sophomore Christian Proffitt got the Green and Blue on the board in the second frame. Gonzalez hit a two-RBI single to cap a three-run third, and the Eagles added two more in the fourth to take a comfortable 6-0 lead. LIU Brooklyn scored its lone run in the seventh, but FGCU came right back and added three insurance tallies in the eighth.
The lone hits of the day by the Blackbirds came from Andrew Smith and Rob Griswold. Griswold's RBI brought in Gregory Vaughn. Patrick Clyne (0-2) suffered the loss on the mound after conceding four runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. LIU utilized four more pitchers in the final 5.2 innings.
The sweep was the first of the young season for FGCU. The team finished with four sweeps last year.
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for a four-game set with Siena College Feb. 28-March 2. The Saints (1-4) are currently wrapping up a series with reigning ASUN Conference champion Stetson and will play two more times against the Hatters before venturing to Fort Myers. Siena competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). First pitch is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start on Thursday.
The Eagles outscored the Blackbirds 29-2 and outhit the visitors 39-8. This was the first time in FGCU's NCAA Division I era that the Green and Blue held an opponent to two runs or fewer in a three-game series. The only other two such occurrences in school history came when the Eagles competed at the Division II level. FGCU held Albany State to two runs in 2005 and Clark Atlanta to one run in 2007.
The Eagles also continued their torrid pace at the plate, as they are now up to 67 runs through seven games. That mark is the highest run total for FGCU through the opening seven games to any season since 2010, and the run production is also the second-most in the NCAA Division I era.
"We swung the bats really well against a pretty good pitcher who started (an NCAA Regional) game for (LIU Brooklyn) last year. We came out and had a good approach at the plate," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "We also pitched well this weekend. Our starters were very good, and we had a lot of good production out of the bullpen. All the way around we played a great series."
Junior Mason Studstill (1-0) was dominant in 6.0 innings of work on the mound. He struck out 11 Blackbirds and gave up no runs with just one hit and one walk conceded.
Senior Evan Lumbert, junior Sebastian Gruszecki and junior Hunter McGarry all tossed an inning on the mound. Lumbert gave up just one run on one hit, and the final two hurlers did not allow a baserunner.
Juniors Marc Coffers and Alex Brait joined true freshman Joe Kinker with two hits each. The trio scored four combined runs. Seniors Eric Gonzalez and Keith Stevens both drove in a pair of teammates.
A suicide squeeze from sophomore Christian Proffitt got the Green and Blue on the board in the second frame. Gonzalez hit a two-RBI single to cap a three-run third, and the Eagles added two more in the fourth to take a comfortable 6-0 lead. LIU Brooklyn scored its lone run in the seventh, but FGCU came right back and added three insurance tallies in the eighth.
The lone hits of the day by the Blackbirds came from Andrew Smith and Rob Griswold. Griswold's RBI brought in Gregory Vaughn. Patrick Clyne (0-2) suffered the loss on the mound after conceding four runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. LIU utilized four more pitchers in the final 5.2 innings.
The sweep was the first of the young season for FGCU. The team finished with four sweeps last year.
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for a four-game set with Siena College Feb. 28-March 2. The Saints (1-4) are currently wrapping up a series with reigning ASUN Conference champion Stetson and will play two more times against the Hatters before venturing to Fort Myers. Siena competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). First pitch is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start on Thursday.
FGCU Softball: Strikeout Cancer Tournament Day Two Recap
Wrapping up day two of the FAU Strikeout Cancer Tournament, the FGCU softball team (7-5) finished the weekend 2-1 as they defeated UConn (3-9) 1-0. With the win, the Eagles are now 7-0 against the Huskies. The Huskkies wrapped up the tournament with a 2-3 loss to FAU (8-7).
Head coach Dave Deiros sent senior Riley Randolph to the mound while head coach Jen McIntyre sent sophomore MaryBeth Olson to counter.
Throughout the first three innings, it was clear pitchers battle between Randolph and Olson as they exchange in a combined nine strikeouts (Randolph: 4, Olson : 5) with Olson also striking out the side at the top of the third, but then Olson was the one to buckle. After striking out junior Sammi Poehlman, junior Mikenzie Vaughn would come away with a one out single to left center to spark up the Eagles a bit before freshman Ashley Hayes came in to pinch run. After stealing second, senior Brooke Clemens would send Hayes home with an RBI double before the top half ended.
The Huskies had several opportunities to get on the board, but an unfazed Randolph made it clear that she would not allow a run to score as she continued to 0s on the Huskies scoreboard and eventually got the win.
"Riley came up big again and she saved her best for the final two innings with runners in scoring position," Deiros said. "I thought we had our best offensive game of the weekend, even though the score might say otherwise."
Randolph would earn her fifth win of the season after throwing a two-hit complete game shutout with three walks and nine strikeouts. This was Randolph's fifth complete game (third shutout) of the season and her 44th complete game (19th shutout) of her career.
Randolph is fifth all-time in career complete game and is 11 away from passing Catherine McDaniel (49, 2009-11) for four all-time while being fourth all-time in career shutouts as she passed Dana Frantz (16, 2006-09) and is three away from passing Shelby Morgan (21, 2012-15) for third all-time. In addition, Randolph's nine k's put her at 483 and remains 198 away from passing Rachel Edinger (680, 2006-08) as the all-time leader in career strikeouts.
Olson would earn her second loss of the season after giving up the lone run on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Junior Katie Koshes threw two scoreless innings while giving up one hit.
Three of the Eagles' hit were doubles that came off the bats of Clemens, Poehman and senior Kate Kelly.
Up Next:
FGCU will travel to Tampa, FL., Wednesday for a doubleheader against USF before flying out to San Diego, CA to compete in the San Diego Classic hosted by San Diego State.
Head coach Dave Deiros sent senior Riley Randolph to the mound while head coach Jen McIntyre sent sophomore MaryBeth Olson to counter.
Throughout the first three innings, it was clear pitchers battle between Randolph and Olson as they exchange in a combined nine strikeouts (Randolph: 4, Olson : 5) with Olson also striking out the side at the top of the third, but then Olson was the one to buckle. After striking out junior Sammi Poehlman, junior Mikenzie Vaughn would come away with a one out single to left center to spark up the Eagles a bit before freshman Ashley Hayes came in to pinch run. After stealing second, senior Brooke Clemens would send Hayes home with an RBI double before the top half ended.
The Huskies had several opportunities to get on the board, but an unfazed Randolph made it clear that she would not allow a run to score as she continued to 0s on the Huskies scoreboard and eventually got the win.
"Riley came up big again and she saved her best for the final two innings with runners in scoring position," Deiros said. "I thought we had our best offensive game of the weekend, even though the score might say otherwise."
Randolph would earn her fifth win of the season after throwing a two-hit complete game shutout with three walks and nine strikeouts. This was Randolph's fifth complete game (third shutout) of the season and her 44th complete game (19th shutout) of her career.
Randolph is fifth all-time in career complete game and is 11 away from passing Catherine McDaniel (49, 2009-11) for four all-time while being fourth all-time in career shutouts as she passed Dana Frantz (16, 2006-09) and is three away from passing Shelby Morgan (21, 2012-15) for third all-time. In addition, Randolph's nine k's put her at 483 and remains 198 away from passing Rachel Edinger (680, 2006-08) as the all-time leader in career strikeouts.
Olson would earn her second loss of the season after giving up the lone run on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Junior Katie Koshes threw two scoreless innings while giving up one hit.
Three of the Eagles' hit were doubles that came off the bats of Clemens, Poehman and senior Kate Kelly.
Up Next:
FGCU will travel to Tampa, FL., Wednesday for a doubleheader against USF before flying out to San Diego, CA to compete in the San Diego Classic hosted by San Diego State.
SCF Basketball vs HCC: Suncoast Conference Tournament Semifinal Preview
The SCF basketball team (16-14) will now be preparing for the Suncoast Conference Tournament as they host one of two semifinals games. The Manatees will face Hillsborough (15-15) at the Hal Chasey Gymnasium on Monday, February 25 at 7 pm.
Polk State (13-16) will host the other semifinal game and face St. Pete College (16-14) at the Winter Haven Health Center same. The winners of those games will face each other and play at the highest seed's location.
Suncoast Conference Final Standings:
1. Florida Southwestern State (FSW) (28-1, 12-0) * ^
2. SCF (16-14, 6-6) #1
3. Polk State (13-16, 5-7) #2
4. SPC (16-14, 4-8) #3
5. HCC (15-15, 3-9) #4
*Conference Regular Season Champion
#1-4 conference tournament seeds
^ Clinched Playoff Berth
FCSAA/NJCAA District VIII Men’s Basketball Championship:
The FCSAA/NJCAA District VIII Men’s Basketball Championship takes eight teams from the top two seeds in the Suncoast, Mid-Florida, Panhandle and Southern Conference. Those eight will then play in an eight team single elimination tournament where the winner and runner-up will punch their tickets to be in the 72nd NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship - known as The Tournament. The Location of the tournament will be held at Patriot Gym at College of Central Florida in Ocala, Florida.
#1 FSW (28-1, 12-0 Suncoast), #21 Eastern Florida State (24-6, 10-2 Mid-Florida), #6 Northwest Florida State (24-4, 10-2 Panhandle) and Palm Beach State (21-7, 9-2 Southern) have won their respected conference championships and a playoff berth in the district championship. #11 Chipola College (25-4, 8-3 Panhandle) also earned a playoff berth, but will be in their conference championship as the #1 seed.
A look at SCF:
The Manatees are coming off of a tough loss to #1 FSW as they fell 91-59 at home on sophomore day for 10 sophomores. Leading the way offensively for the Manatees have been six players: freshmen D'Moi Hodge and Isiah Dasher, sophomores DeAndre Osuigwe and Cyrus Barnes, Clearance Miles and redshirt sophomore Tre Alexandrea.
Hodge is averaging 18.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 3.1 steals per game. Despite only scoring nine points against FSW, Hodge added seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal to his regime.
Dasher is averaging 16.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Dasher led the team against FSW with 18 points and two rebounds.
Primarily a pass first guard, Osuigwe is averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. Osuigwe had four points and seven assists against FSW.
Although he was serving a one-game suspension, Barnes is averaging nine points per game. In his last game against HCC, Barnes had eight points and five rebounds.
Mainly the 3-point specialist, Miles is averaging 3.5 points per game and leads the team in 3-pointers made (31). Against FSW, Miles had six points that were behind the 3-point line.
Alexandrea is averaging 9.3 points and 4.7 assists per game. Alexandrea had 10 points and two assists against FSW.
Scouting HCC:
The Hawks enter the conference tournament as the #4 seed. They finished their last game with an 80-71 win over SPC.
Sophomores Walter Covington IV (15.5), Jeffrey Prophete (13.5), Anthony Jeanty (13.4) and Jacorie Archie (11.8) and freshman Michael Cole (12.7) continue to lead the way for the Hawks in scoring, while sophomore Efstratios Kalogerias is averaging seven points and 9.3 rebounds per game and freshman Joshua Jackson averages 7.8 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Series History (2012-present):
The Manatees are 12-15 against the Hawks and have taken the series, defeating them 93-79 and 104-92 in the first two games before falling 93-88 in the finale.
How to Keep Up:
The game will be livestream on SCF's YouTube page.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
SCF: @SCF_Basketball
HCC: @HCCFLAthletics
Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpxyXJqcQVkozbVYacR26g/featured
Polk State (13-16) will host the other semifinal game and face St. Pete College (16-14) at the Winter Haven Health Center same. The winners of those games will face each other and play at the highest seed's location.
Suncoast Conference Final Standings:
1. Florida Southwestern State (FSW) (28-1, 12-0) * ^
2. SCF (16-14, 6-6) #1
3. Polk State (13-16, 5-7) #2
4. SPC (16-14, 4-8) #3
5. HCC (15-15, 3-9) #4
*Conference Regular Season Champion
#1-4 conference tournament seeds
^ Clinched Playoff Berth
FCSAA/NJCAA District VIII Men’s Basketball Championship:
The FCSAA/NJCAA District VIII Men’s Basketball Championship takes eight teams from the top two seeds in the Suncoast, Mid-Florida, Panhandle and Southern Conference. Those eight will then play in an eight team single elimination tournament where the winner and runner-up will punch their tickets to be in the 72nd NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship - known as The Tournament. The Location of the tournament will be held at Patriot Gym at College of Central Florida in Ocala, Florida.
#1 FSW (28-1, 12-0 Suncoast), #21 Eastern Florida State (24-6, 10-2 Mid-Florida), #6 Northwest Florida State (24-4, 10-2 Panhandle) and Palm Beach State (21-7, 9-2 Southern) have won their respected conference championships and a playoff berth in the district championship. #11 Chipola College (25-4, 8-3 Panhandle) also earned a playoff berth, but will be in their conference championship as the #1 seed.
A look at SCF:
The Manatees are coming off of a tough loss to #1 FSW as they fell 91-59 at home on sophomore day for 10 sophomores. Leading the way offensively for the Manatees have been six players: freshmen D'Moi Hodge and Isiah Dasher, sophomores DeAndre Osuigwe and Cyrus Barnes, Clearance Miles and redshirt sophomore Tre Alexandrea.
Hodge is averaging 18.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 3.1 steals per game. Despite only scoring nine points against FSW, Hodge added seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal to his regime.
Dasher is averaging 16.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Dasher led the team against FSW with 18 points and two rebounds.
Primarily a pass first guard, Osuigwe is averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. Osuigwe had four points and seven assists against FSW.
Although he was serving a one-game suspension, Barnes is averaging nine points per game. In his last game against HCC, Barnes had eight points and five rebounds.
Mainly the 3-point specialist, Miles is averaging 3.5 points per game and leads the team in 3-pointers made (31). Against FSW, Miles had six points that were behind the 3-point line.
Alexandrea is averaging 9.3 points and 4.7 assists per game. Alexandrea had 10 points and two assists against FSW.
Scouting HCC:
The Hawks enter the conference tournament as the #4 seed. They finished their last game with an 80-71 win over SPC.
Sophomores Walter Covington IV (15.5), Jeffrey Prophete (13.5), Anthony Jeanty (13.4) and Jacorie Archie (11.8) and freshman Michael Cole (12.7) continue to lead the way for the Hawks in scoring, while sophomore Efstratios Kalogerias is averaging seven points and 9.3 rebounds per game and freshman Joshua Jackson averages 7.8 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Series History (2012-present):
The Manatees are 12-15 against the Hawks and have taken the series, defeating them 93-79 and 104-92 in the first two games before falling 93-88 in the finale.
How to Keep Up:
The game will be livestream on SCF's YouTube page.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
SCF: @SCF_Basketball
HCC: @HCCFLAthletics
Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpxyXJqcQVkozbVYacR26g/featured
SCF Finishes 2-2 at Seminole Tournament
The SCF softball team (15-3) finished at even in the Seminole Tournament at Boombah Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, Florida. The Manatees fell 4-3 to Tallahassee Community College (TCC) and 4-2 to St. Johns River State on day one before defeating Abraham Baldwin 10-5 and Chattanooga State Community College 8-4 on day two. With the losses, the Manatees are now 4-5 against the Eagles and 8-7 against the Vikings, while with the wins they are 2-0 against the Stallions and now 1-0 against the Tigers. In addition to the two wins against Abraham Baldwin and Chattanooga State, SCF head coach Mandy Schuerman earned her 146th and 147th career wins.
Games One and Two:
For the first game, freshman Ashley Zientek took the mound against TCC where she was credited with her second loss of the season putting her at 4-2. Zientek threw a complete game, giving up all four runs (all unearned) on six hits with four strikeouts.
For TCC, freshman Sammie Massaro earned her second win of the season after throwing 4.1 innings and giving up all three runs on seven hits while walking two batters. Massaro is now at 2-4 for her record.
Sophomore Sidney Mathis earned her first save of the season after 2.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Offensively, Freshman Madi LoCastro was 3-for-4 with an RBI while classmates Makayla Benavidez, Kailey Christian and Lauren Bostwick went 2-for-3 each. Benavidez add two runs scored and a stolen base, while Christian added an RBI, a run scored and Bostwick added two stolen bases.
TCC's offense was led by freshman Katelyn Hobbs who went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while fellow freshman River Glenn went 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBI.
For game two, LoCastro was credited with her first loss of the season, putting her at 2-1 on the year. LoCastro would throw five innings, giving up three runs on five hits with two strikeouts while going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Freshman Kailey Christian threw two scoreless innings of relief, giving up one run on one hit with two walks and five strikeouts.
Freshman Kendall Moody earned her second win of the season as she moves to 2-1 after throwing four innings. Moody gave up one run on three hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Freshman Maddie Tomas gave up one run on five hits with one walk in three innings.
Along with LoCastro, freshman Madelyn Graham was also 2-for-3 with an RBI. Meanwhile sophomore Kyria Holcomb went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases.
Freshman Taylor Finney was the only Viking with a multi-hit game as she finished 2-for-3 with a run.
Game Three:
For game three, Schuerman sent LoCastro back to the mound while ABAC head coach Jennifer Martinez sent freshman Taylor Layfield to counter.
It didn't take long for the Manatees to get on the board first after holding the Stallions scoreless in the top half of the first as they loaded the bases with a leadoff walk to Benavidez, sophomore Cheyenne Nunez getting hit by a pitch and Christian hitting an infield single. After LoCastro struck out and Holcomb reaching first on a fielder's choice, freshman Sabrina Long would send Nunez home with a bases-loaded single to make it 1-0 SCF. Sophomore Nicci Palumbo would then hit a bases-load two RBI single and send home Christian and Holcomb to make it 3-0 SCF.
At the top of the second, the Stallions reached got on the board from a two-run shot off the bat of freshman Braxton Hill to cut the deficit to 3-2 SCF, but the Manatees answered back and re-extended the lead. After Benavidez reached first on a fielding error and advanced to second on the same error before stealing third, Nunez would send her home on a hard ground ball while reaching first on a another Stallion fielding error while advancing to second on the same error. Christian would then send Nunez home with a single to make it 5-2 SCF.
LoCastro would be replaced by Zientek who got out of the top of the third seemingly unfazed despite giving up a lead-off single. The Manatees would increase their lead a little higher in the bottom half of the third. Beginning with a one-out single from Palumbo and Zientek walk before both moving to scoring position from a Bostwick groundout, Benavidez would send them home with a two RBI single to make it 7-2 SCF before advancing to second on a fielding error. After Benavidez stole third, Nunez would send her home before stealing second and scoring on a Christian RBI single to make it 9-2 SCF.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Stallions were able to score in the fifth from an RBI double off the bat of sophomore Sutton Bridges and in the sixth from a hard ground ball from sophomore Aspen Barker, but the Manatees managed to add one more run to the mix in the bottom of the sixth from an RBI single off the bat of Long. At the the top of the seventh, the Stallions their final run off of an RBI single by sophomore Jamilah Johnson, but that was all they could pull as SCF pulled away with the win.
LoCastro would earn a no-decision after throwing two innings and giving up two runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
Zientek would earn her fifth win, putting her at 5-2 on the year. Zientek would give up two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out five in five innings of relief.
Layfield would earn her second loss of the season, putting her at 2-2. Layfield threw five innings and gave up nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits while walking three and striking out three.
Sophomore Samantha Davis came in relief and gave up one run on two hits with three strikeouts.
Five Manatees had a multi-hit game: Christian (3-for-3, two RBI, one run, one stolen base), Palumbo (3-for-4, two RBI, one run), Benavidez (2-for-3, two RBI, two runs, one walk, three stolen bases), Holcomb (2-for-4, two runs) and Long (2-for-3, two RBI, one walk).
Hill and Bridges were the only Stallions with a multi-hit game as they finished 2-for-3 each.
Game Four:
For game four, Schuerman sent Christian to the mound while Chattanooga State head coach Blythe Golden sent freshman Brooke Parrott to counter.
After a scoreless first, the Manatees would open up the scoreboard first. After sophomore Haley McFadden began with a lead-off double, Long would smack a triple to center and send McFadden home. Freshman Sydney Parks would then send Long home with a single to make it 2-0 SCF.
The score remained 2-0 SCF until the Tigers scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth from a home run off the bat of freshman Lauren Hamby, but a big sixth inning helped the Manatees even better. Beginning with a LoCastro leadoff double, a one out single from Long and a Bostwick walk to load the bases, Palumbo and Parks would draw back-to-back bases-loaded walks to make it 4-1 SCF. With the bases still loaded, Sophomore Megan Seeds would send Bostwick and Palumbo with a bases-loaded single to make it 6-1 before Nunez laid a bunt single to send Parks home to make it 7-1 SCF. Seeds would then score on a fielding error to make it 8-1 SCF.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers attempted to start a rally from a two-RBI double off the bat of sophomore Mary Kate Pritchett and an RBI single from sophomore Katie Cheeseman, but it wasn't enough as SCF pulled away with the win.
Christian would earn the win, putting her at 7-0 after throwing a complete game, giving up all four runs on four hits while walking three batters and striking out nine.
Parrott would be credited with the loss, putting her at 2-2. Parrott would throw 5.1 innings and give up seven runs on seven hits with five walks and five strikeouts.
Freshman Rilee King would give up one run on five hits while walking two and striking out one in 1.2 innings.
Long and Parks would finish with three hits each. Long added one RBI and two runs, while Parks added two RBI and a run.
Prichett was the only Tiger with a multi-RBI game as she finished 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Fun Fact (2012-present):
SCF is 39-4 overall against colleges that are not from Florida.
Up Next:
The Manatees return home as they welcome Oakland Community College (2-2) to the SCF Softball Complex on Monday, February 24 at 4 and 6 pm.
Games One and Two:
For the first game, freshman Ashley Zientek took the mound against TCC where she was credited with her second loss of the season putting her at 4-2. Zientek threw a complete game, giving up all four runs (all unearned) on six hits with four strikeouts.
For TCC, freshman Sammie Massaro earned her second win of the season after throwing 4.1 innings and giving up all three runs on seven hits while walking two batters. Massaro is now at 2-4 for her record.
Sophomore Sidney Mathis earned her first save of the season after 2.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Offensively, Freshman Madi LoCastro was 3-for-4 with an RBI while classmates Makayla Benavidez, Kailey Christian and Lauren Bostwick went 2-for-3 each. Benavidez add two runs scored and a stolen base, while Christian added an RBI, a run scored and Bostwick added two stolen bases.
TCC's offense was led by freshman Katelyn Hobbs who went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while fellow freshman River Glenn went 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBI.
For game two, LoCastro was credited with her first loss of the season, putting her at 2-1 on the year. LoCastro would throw five innings, giving up three runs on five hits with two strikeouts while going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Freshman Kailey Christian threw two scoreless innings of relief, giving up one run on one hit with two walks and five strikeouts.
Freshman Kendall Moody earned her second win of the season as she moves to 2-1 after throwing four innings. Moody gave up one run on three hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Freshman Maddie Tomas gave up one run on five hits with one walk in three innings.
Along with LoCastro, freshman Madelyn Graham was also 2-for-3 with an RBI. Meanwhile sophomore Kyria Holcomb went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases.
Freshman Taylor Finney was the only Viking with a multi-hit game as she finished 2-for-3 with a run.
Game Three:
For game three, Schuerman sent LoCastro back to the mound while ABAC head coach Jennifer Martinez sent freshman Taylor Layfield to counter.
It didn't take long for the Manatees to get on the board first after holding the Stallions scoreless in the top half of the first as they loaded the bases with a leadoff walk to Benavidez, sophomore Cheyenne Nunez getting hit by a pitch and Christian hitting an infield single. After LoCastro struck out and Holcomb reaching first on a fielder's choice, freshman Sabrina Long would send Nunez home with a bases-loaded single to make it 1-0 SCF. Sophomore Nicci Palumbo would then hit a bases-load two RBI single and send home Christian and Holcomb to make it 3-0 SCF.
At the top of the second, the Stallions reached got on the board from a two-run shot off the bat of freshman Braxton Hill to cut the deficit to 3-2 SCF, but the Manatees answered back and re-extended the lead. After Benavidez reached first on a fielding error and advanced to second on the same error before stealing third, Nunez would send her home on a hard ground ball while reaching first on a another Stallion fielding error while advancing to second on the same error. Christian would then send Nunez home with a single to make it 5-2 SCF.
LoCastro would be replaced by Zientek who got out of the top of the third seemingly unfazed despite giving up a lead-off single. The Manatees would increase their lead a little higher in the bottom half of the third. Beginning with a one-out single from Palumbo and Zientek walk before both moving to scoring position from a Bostwick groundout, Benavidez would send them home with a two RBI single to make it 7-2 SCF before advancing to second on a fielding error. After Benavidez stole third, Nunez would send her home before stealing second and scoring on a Christian RBI single to make it 9-2 SCF.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Stallions were able to score in the fifth from an RBI double off the bat of sophomore Sutton Bridges and in the sixth from a hard ground ball from sophomore Aspen Barker, but the Manatees managed to add one more run to the mix in the bottom of the sixth from an RBI single off the bat of Long. At the the top of the seventh, the Stallions their final run off of an RBI single by sophomore Jamilah Johnson, but that was all they could pull as SCF pulled away with the win.
LoCastro would earn a no-decision after throwing two innings and giving up two runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
Zientek would earn her fifth win, putting her at 5-2 on the year. Zientek would give up two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out five in five innings of relief.
Layfield would earn her second loss of the season, putting her at 2-2. Layfield threw five innings and gave up nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits while walking three and striking out three.
Sophomore Samantha Davis came in relief and gave up one run on two hits with three strikeouts.
Five Manatees had a multi-hit game: Christian (3-for-3, two RBI, one run, one stolen base), Palumbo (3-for-4, two RBI, one run), Benavidez (2-for-3, two RBI, two runs, one walk, three stolen bases), Holcomb (2-for-4, two runs) and Long (2-for-3, two RBI, one walk).
Hill and Bridges were the only Stallions with a multi-hit game as they finished 2-for-3 each.
Game Four:
For game four, Schuerman sent Christian to the mound while Chattanooga State head coach Blythe Golden sent freshman Brooke Parrott to counter.
After a scoreless first, the Manatees would open up the scoreboard first. After sophomore Haley McFadden began with a lead-off double, Long would smack a triple to center and send McFadden home. Freshman Sydney Parks would then send Long home with a single to make it 2-0 SCF.
The score remained 2-0 SCF until the Tigers scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth from a home run off the bat of freshman Lauren Hamby, but a big sixth inning helped the Manatees even better. Beginning with a LoCastro leadoff double, a one out single from Long and a Bostwick walk to load the bases, Palumbo and Parks would draw back-to-back bases-loaded walks to make it 4-1 SCF. With the bases still loaded, Sophomore Megan Seeds would send Bostwick and Palumbo with a bases-loaded single to make it 6-1 before Nunez laid a bunt single to send Parks home to make it 7-1 SCF. Seeds would then score on a fielding error to make it 8-1 SCF.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers attempted to start a rally from a two-RBI double off the bat of sophomore Mary Kate Pritchett and an RBI single from sophomore Katie Cheeseman, but it wasn't enough as SCF pulled away with the win.
Christian would earn the win, putting her at 7-0 after throwing a complete game, giving up all four runs on four hits while walking three batters and striking out nine.
Parrott would be credited with the loss, putting her at 2-2. Parrott would throw 5.1 innings and give up seven runs on seven hits with five walks and five strikeouts.
Freshman Rilee King would give up one run on five hits while walking two and striking out one in 1.2 innings.
Long and Parks would finish with three hits each. Long added one RBI and two runs, while Parks added two RBI and a run.
Prichett was the only Tiger with a multi-RBI game as she finished 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Fun Fact (2012-present):
SCF is 39-4 overall against colleges that are not from Florida.
Up Next:
The Manatees return home as they welcome Oakland Community College (2-2) to the SCF Softball Complex on Monday, February 24 at 4 and 6 pm.
FGCU Men's Golf: Colin Montgomerie Invitational Preview
The FGCU men's golf team is set to open the spring season at the Colin Montgomerie Invitational in Spring, Texas.
The tournament will be contested Feb. 25-26 at Cypresswood GC and will be hosted by Houston Baptist University. There will be 36 holes played across two rounds on Monday, with Tuesday's final round of 18 holes set to begin at 9 a.m. EST.
Currently the Green and Blue are ranked No. 163 in the GolfStat Division I team rankings. The Eagles wrapped up the fall portion of the schedule with a fourth-place finish at their home event, the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic.
Senior Andrew Potter leads the team averaging 72.13 in 12 rounds, including two scores below 70 and eight below or equal to par. Close behind him is sophomore Cole Castro who has a 73.83 average in 12 rounds, and four scores below or equal to par.
"The team has put in some hard work this spring and we are looking forward to testing out their skills in Houston, Texas this coming week," FGCU coach Eric Booker said.
Booker will be utilizing the following lineup beginning Monday:
1. Andrew Potter
2. Chase Bigham
3. Cole Castro
4. Doug Smith
5. Tate Heintzelman
Complete Field [Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of 2/19]:
103 - Houston
141 - UTRGV
163 - FGCU
164 - Bradley
200 - Incarnate Word
207 - Prairie View A&M
219 - Southeastern Louisiana
226 - Houston Baptist
236 - Drake
246 - New Orleans
281 - North Dakota
N/E - California Baptist
This will be the first time the Eagles have participated in the two-day event. The last time FGCU ventured to the state of Texas was for the 2015 NCAA Championship Lubbock Regional. During the fall season, the Eagles had a pair of top-5 finishes, including a fifth-place effort in a 14-team field at the Golfweek Program Challenge in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The tournament will be contested Feb. 25-26 at Cypresswood GC and will be hosted by Houston Baptist University. There will be 36 holes played across two rounds on Monday, with Tuesday's final round of 18 holes set to begin at 9 a.m. EST.
Currently the Green and Blue are ranked No. 163 in the GolfStat Division I team rankings. The Eagles wrapped up the fall portion of the schedule with a fourth-place finish at their home event, the Homewood/Hilton Garden Airport and FGCU Classic.
Senior Andrew Potter leads the team averaging 72.13 in 12 rounds, including two scores below 70 and eight below or equal to par. Close behind him is sophomore Cole Castro who has a 73.83 average in 12 rounds, and four scores below or equal to par.
"The team has put in some hard work this spring and we are looking forward to testing out their skills in Houston, Texas this coming week," FGCU coach Eric Booker said.
Booker will be utilizing the following lineup beginning Monday:
1. Andrew Potter
2. Chase Bigham
3. Cole Castro
4. Doug Smith
5. Tate Heintzelman
Complete Field [Sorted by GolfStat ranking as of 2/19]:
103 - Houston
141 - UTRGV
163 - FGCU
164 - Bradley
200 - Incarnate Word
207 - Prairie View A&M
219 - Southeastern Louisiana
226 - Houston Baptist
236 - Drake
246 - New Orleans
281 - North Dakota
N/E - California Baptist
This will be the first time the Eagles have participated in the two-day event. The last time FGCU ventured to the state of Texas was for the 2015 NCAA Championship Lubbock Regional. During the fall season, the Eagles had a pair of top-5 finishes, including a fifth-place effort in a 14-team field at the Golfweek Program Challenge in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
FGCU Baseball vs LIU-Brooklyn Game Two Recap
The FGCU baseball team (4-2) continued its torrid start to the season with a 10-1 victory over LIU Brooklyn (0-5) Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
The Eagles have now opened the campaign with a pair of series triumphs. They have scored 58 times through six games and have reached double-digit runs in four games. Both marks are the first occurrences since 2010, and the run production is the second-most in the NCAA Division I era (since 2008). FGCU also cranked out 16 hits.
"We're swinging the bats pretty well. I'm very impressed with our offense at the moment," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "Our pitching has also been stellar this weekend. Our bullpen was good today, and our starter (Brenden) Heiss has gotten better each week. We're in a good place right now, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. This team has a chance to be pretty good."
Senior Eric Gonzalez, junior Alex Brait and true freshman Joe Kinker all had three hits for the Eagles. The trio also combined for six RBIs and five runs scored. Kinker tied the school record with three doubles, which is a mark that has been matched just one other time in school history. That came last season off the bat of junior Richie Garcia, who finished Saturday's win with a hit of his own.
Juniors Marc Coffers and Kohl Gilmore added two hits each to the winning cause.
LIU Brooklyn actually took a lead in the second inning when Colin Adams sent a solo home run over the wall in left center. The rest of the game was all Eagles, however. Coffers tied the game on a Brait RBI in the third, and Kinker gave the home side the lead for good with a two-out, two-RBI double later in the frame. Four different players recorded RBIs in the sixth as FGCU batted around and blew the game open. The home side added an insurance marker in the seventh and two more in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Four Eagle hurlers combined to give up just two hits all game.
Junior Brenden Heiss took the ball first and fought into a no-decision after conceding one run on one hit across 4.0 innings. He struck out six and walked five.
Sophomore Tyler Shuck (2-0) went the next 3.2 frames and did not allow a run to earn the win. He conceded just one hit, while striking out four and walking two.
Juniors Garrett Bye and Keegan Collett combined to record the final four outs, and they did not give up a run or a hit.
The only other hit from the visitors was registered by Joe Mercadante in the eighth. Starter Alec Huertas (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits in 3.0 innings to take the loss. Ryan Neuweiler, Jackson Svete and Anthony combined to allow seven runs on 10 hits in the remaining 5.0 frames.
Up Next:
The series is set to conclude at 1 p.m. Feb. 24 at Swanson Stadium. The Blackbirds are off to a slow start this season, but they won the Northeast Conference Championship last year and advanced to an NCAA Championship Regional. These are the first three contests between the two programs in school history.
The Eagles have now opened the campaign with a pair of series triumphs. They have scored 58 times through six games and have reached double-digit runs in four games. Both marks are the first occurrences since 2010, and the run production is the second-most in the NCAA Division I era (since 2008). FGCU also cranked out 16 hits.
"We're swinging the bats pretty well. I'm very impressed with our offense at the moment," FGCU coach Dave Tollett said. "Our pitching has also been stellar this weekend. Our bullpen was good today, and our starter (Brenden) Heiss has gotten better each week. We're in a good place right now, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. This team has a chance to be pretty good."
Senior Eric Gonzalez, junior Alex Brait and true freshman Joe Kinker all had three hits for the Eagles. The trio also combined for six RBIs and five runs scored. Kinker tied the school record with three doubles, which is a mark that has been matched just one other time in school history. That came last season off the bat of junior Richie Garcia, who finished Saturday's win with a hit of his own.
Juniors Marc Coffers and Kohl Gilmore added two hits each to the winning cause.
LIU Brooklyn actually took a lead in the second inning when Colin Adams sent a solo home run over the wall in left center. The rest of the game was all Eagles, however. Coffers tied the game on a Brait RBI in the third, and Kinker gave the home side the lead for good with a two-out, two-RBI double later in the frame. Four different players recorded RBIs in the sixth as FGCU batted around and blew the game open. The home side added an insurance marker in the seventh and two more in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Four Eagle hurlers combined to give up just two hits all game.
Junior Brenden Heiss took the ball first and fought into a no-decision after conceding one run on one hit across 4.0 innings. He struck out six and walked five.
Sophomore Tyler Shuck (2-0) went the next 3.2 frames and did not allow a run to earn the win. He conceded just one hit, while striking out four and walking two.
Juniors Garrett Bye and Keegan Collett combined to record the final four outs, and they did not give up a run or a hit.
The only other hit from the visitors was registered by Joe Mercadante in the eighth. Starter Alec Huertas (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits in 3.0 innings to take the loss. Ryan Neuweiler, Jackson Svete and Anthony combined to allow seven runs on 10 hits in the remaining 5.0 frames.
Up Next:
The series is set to conclude at 1 p.m. Feb. 24 at Swanson Stadium. The Blackbirds are off to a slow start this season, but they won the Northeast Conference Championship last year and advanced to an NCAA Championship Regional. These are the first three contests between the two programs in school history.
FGCU MBB vs Kennesaw State Recap
The FGCU men's basketball team (13-17, 8-7 A-SUN) remained hot at home in a 78-56 victory over Kennesaw State (5-24, 2-12 A-SUN) Saturday night in Alico Arena.
The Eagles continued to own the longest home win streak in the A-SUN Conference, and they stretched that mark to seven in a row. They were also celebrating Senior Night, and the four seniors and three graduating senior managers were all honored prior to tip.
One senior recognized was Dolan Mahoney. The four-year Eagle was rewarded with the first start of his career, and he celebrated in style by knocking down a 3-point basket for the first points of the game for the Green and Blue.
"I'm so proud of our guys, and I'm happy for Dinero (Mercurius), Schadrac (Casimir) and Dolan (Mahoney) especially," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "I told these guys that if they stay locked in and focused that this will not be the last game they play in (Alico Arena). We're happy about the win obviously and happy we got a win on Senior Night. But we want to make sure we stay locked in and prepare for Jacksonville."
Once Mahoney made his electric exit, the rest of the Eagles went to work. Six different members of the home side chipped in for the first 14 points, and the Green and Blue quickly found a 22-9 advantage. KSU knocked down a jumper at the 8:16 mark to pull within eight at 22-14, but FGCU erupted on a 20-1 run across the next seven minutes to seemingly put the game out of reach.
The Eagles led 42-20 at halftime and stretched their advantage to as many as 32 points in the second half. KSU was never able to get closer than the final 22-point margin the rest of the way.
Also honored on Senior Night were Dinero Mercurius, Schadrac Casimir and Ricky Doyle. Doyle ended his career due to injury earlier this season, but Mercurius (14 points) scored in double figures for the seventh-straight game. Casimir ended his own streak of scoring in double figures at six, but he stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six assists, five steals and two rebounds.
True freshman Zach Scott had a game-high 16 points, and junior Christian Carlyle and sophomore Troy Baxter Jr. both chipped in 12. In total, 10 different Eagles got their name in the scoring book.
FGCU shot 47.6 percent (30-for-63) from the field, 34.3 percent (12-for-35) from behind the 3-point line and 66.7 percent (6-for-9) at the free-throw line. Kennesaw State shot 29.2 percent (19-for-65) overall, 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from distance and 68.4 percent (13-for-19) at the charity stripe.
The Eagles led the night in rebounding (42-41), assists (22-9), blocks (7-5), steals (11-10), points in the paint (34-22, fast-break points (10-6), and bench production (37-13).
Bryson Lockley finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Owls. Danny Lewis added 13 points, and Tyler Hooker chipped in 11.
Up Next:
FGCU hits the road for the final game of the regular season in a 7 p.m. tilt March 1 against Jacksonville. The rare Friday bout will be contested inside Historic Swisher Gymnasium in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Eagles continued to own the longest home win streak in the A-SUN Conference, and they stretched that mark to seven in a row. They were also celebrating Senior Night, and the four seniors and three graduating senior managers were all honored prior to tip.
One senior recognized was Dolan Mahoney. The four-year Eagle was rewarded with the first start of his career, and he celebrated in style by knocking down a 3-point basket for the first points of the game for the Green and Blue.
"I'm so proud of our guys, and I'm happy for Dinero (Mercurius), Schadrac (Casimir) and Dolan (Mahoney) especially," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "I told these guys that if they stay locked in and focused that this will not be the last game they play in (Alico Arena). We're happy about the win obviously and happy we got a win on Senior Night. But we want to make sure we stay locked in and prepare for Jacksonville."
Once Mahoney made his electric exit, the rest of the Eagles went to work. Six different members of the home side chipped in for the first 14 points, and the Green and Blue quickly found a 22-9 advantage. KSU knocked down a jumper at the 8:16 mark to pull within eight at 22-14, but FGCU erupted on a 20-1 run across the next seven minutes to seemingly put the game out of reach.
The Eagles led 42-20 at halftime and stretched their advantage to as many as 32 points in the second half. KSU was never able to get closer than the final 22-point margin the rest of the way.
Also honored on Senior Night were Dinero Mercurius, Schadrac Casimir and Ricky Doyle. Doyle ended his career due to injury earlier this season, but Mercurius (14 points) scored in double figures for the seventh-straight game. Casimir ended his own streak of scoring in double figures at six, but he stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six assists, five steals and two rebounds.
True freshman Zach Scott had a game-high 16 points, and junior Christian Carlyle and sophomore Troy Baxter Jr. both chipped in 12. In total, 10 different Eagles got their name in the scoring book.
FGCU shot 47.6 percent (30-for-63) from the field, 34.3 percent (12-for-35) from behind the 3-point line and 66.7 percent (6-for-9) at the free-throw line. Kennesaw State shot 29.2 percent (19-for-65) overall, 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from distance and 68.4 percent (13-for-19) at the charity stripe.
The Eagles led the night in rebounding (42-41), assists (22-9), blocks (7-5), steals (11-10), points in the paint (34-22, fast-break points (10-6), and bench production (37-13).
Bryson Lockley finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Owls. Danny Lewis added 13 points, and Tyler Hooker chipped in 11.
Up Next:
FGCU hits the road for the final game of the regular season in a 7 p.m. tilt March 1 against Jacksonville. The rare Friday bout will be contested inside Historic Swisher Gymnasium in Jacksonville, Florida.
Raining 3s vs Kennesaw Recap
Junior Nasrin Ulel netted a game-high 24 points, while redshirt senior Destiny Washington produced a double-double in historic fashion as the FGCU women's basketball team (23-4, 14-0 A-SUN) clinched an outright A-SUN regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the A-SUN tournament with a 79-48 win over Kennesaw State (8-18, 4-9 A-SUN) in Alico Arena on Saturday. With the win, the Eagles are now 24-2 all-time against Kennesaw State.
The Eagles are now just two wins shy of the program's ninth-straight 25-win season. They previously captured its 15th-straight 20-win season.
The Eagles remain one of just seven among 351 teams across 32 conferences in NCAA Division-I play to have an undefeated record in league play. The others include: UConn, NC A&T, Baylor, Mercer, Rice and Quinnipiac.
It represents the program's ninth A-SUN regular season title. The Eagles have now won 14 straight overall, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in the nation, and they have tallied wins in 21 straight and 27 of the past 28 A-SUN regular season games dating back to last season.
"I thought we've had a couple really good days of practice," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We came out and executed great for the first 10 minutes. We had a 20-point lead at the end of the first quarter. I was really happy with the way we came out of the gate. Destiny had an exceptional game - 8-for-8 from the field, 19 and 11. She just keeps getting better and better. It's nice to see. And Nas had a big offensive night."
Prior to the game, the team's four seniors - Keri Jewett-Giles, Lisa Zderadicka, Washington and Brittany Johnson - were honored as part of senior night.
Ulel finished 9-for-16 from the field, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range, while adding four assists and a game-high four steals. She ran her career scoring total to 862 points, which ties Rosemarie Julien (2016-18) for the 10th-most points in the program's Division-I era. She has also tallied 10 consecutive double-digit scoring performances, including three 20-plus efforts. Ulel has now produced 221 points in 14 A-SUN games this season - 101 more than she did all of last year in the same number of games. Her 16.9 PPG average at home this season is tied with Sarah Hansen (2012-13) for the third-best in program history. She also moved into eighth-place in career 3-point field goals made in Alico Arena with 75. Her 15.6 PPG average overall this year is the second-best in the Division-I era behind Hansen, who averaged 16.3 over 34 games in 2012-13.
Washington, meanwhile, had 19 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, a game-high four blocks, two steals and two assists. In the first quarter alone, the graduate transfer had 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Overall, she finished 8-for-8 from the field (career-best 3-for-3 from 3-point range), which allowed her to become one of just two players in program history, including the first in Alico Arena, to finish perfect from the field with at least eight attempts (Joyce Iamstrong, 03-08-13, 9-for-9 vs UNF).
As a team, the Eagles scored the game's first six points, went on an 8-0 run moments later and later compiled a 15-0 run that pushed their lead to 17 with 8:35 left in the half. Ulel then scored 12 points in the first four minutes of the second half to spearhead a 17-2 run that gave the Green and Blue a 60-21 lead - the largest of the game.
Jewett-Giles added 11 points, a game-high five assists, four rebounds and three steals. redshirt junior Davion Wingate chipped in eight points off the bench.
The Eagles, who were playing without starting point guard Zderadicka, finished 31-for-61 (.508) from the field, including 10-for-20 from 3-point range. It was the 15th time the team has made double-digits from long range - the 11th-straight season the team has reached that benchmark.
FGCU has held opponents to single-digit quarters 19 times in conference play, including an eight-point first quarter against Kennesaw State.
The Green and Blue are now tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in the program's Division-I era.
Junior Tytionia Adderly finished with six points and five rebounds. With her five rebounds, Adderly now has 785 career rebounds and remains second all-time behind Hansen (887). Four of Adderly's boards were on the defensive end, which puts her at 470 while her one offensive board puts her at 315 and is now 15 shy of passing Hansen (329) as the all-time leader in career offensive rebounds.
Alexis Poole had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Kennesaw State, while Kamiyah Street added 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. Both players played all 40 minutes. Conversely, Ulel scored her 24 points in 23 minutes.
Next Up:
FGCU will return to action in one week when it travels north to Jacksonville for a 2 p.m. matchup against the Dolphins on March 2. They will then close the regular season at home against Stetson on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
The Eagles are now just two wins shy of the program's ninth-straight 25-win season. They previously captured its 15th-straight 20-win season.
The Eagles remain one of just seven among 351 teams across 32 conferences in NCAA Division-I play to have an undefeated record in league play. The others include: UConn, NC A&T, Baylor, Mercer, Rice and Quinnipiac.
It represents the program's ninth A-SUN regular season title. The Eagles have now won 14 straight overall, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in the nation, and they have tallied wins in 21 straight and 27 of the past 28 A-SUN regular season games dating back to last season.
"I thought we've had a couple really good days of practice," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We came out and executed great for the first 10 minutes. We had a 20-point lead at the end of the first quarter. I was really happy with the way we came out of the gate. Destiny had an exceptional game - 8-for-8 from the field, 19 and 11. She just keeps getting better and better. It's nice to see. And Nas had a big offensive night."
Prior to the game, the team's four seniors - Keri Jewett-Giles, Lisa Zderadicka, Washington and Brittany Johnson - were honored as part of senior night.
Ulel finished 9-for-16 from the field, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range, while adding four assists and a game-high four steals. She ran her career scoring total to 862 points, which ties Rosemarie Julien (2016-18) for the 10th-most points in the program's Division-I era. She has also tallied 10 consecutive double-digit scoring performances, including three 20-plus efforts. Ulel has now produced 221 points in 14 A-SUN games this season - 101 more than she did all of last year in the same number of games. Her 16.9 PPG average at home this season is tied with Sarah Hansen (2012-13) for the third-best in program history. She also moved into eighth-place in career 3-point field goals made in Alico Arena with 75. Her 15.6 PPG average overall this year is the second-best in the Division-I era behind Hansen, who averaged 16.3 over 34 games in 2012-13.
Washington, meanwhile, had 19 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, a game-high four blocks, two steals and two assists. In the first quarter alone, the graduate transfer had 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Overall, she finished 8-for-8 from the field (career-best 3-for-3 from 3-point range), which allowed her to become one of just two players in program history, including the first in Alico Arena, to finish perfect from the field with at least eight attempts (Joyce Iamstrong, 03-08-13, 9-for-9 vs UNF).
As a team, the Eagles scored the game's first six points, went on an 8-0 run moments later and later compiled a 15-0 run that pushed their lead to 17 with 8:35 left in the half. Ulel then scored 12 points in the first four minutes of the second half to spearhead a 17-2 run that gave the Green and Blue a 60-21 lead - the largest of the game.
Jewett-Giles added 11 points, a game-high five assists, four rebounds and three steals. redshirt junior Davion Wingate chipped in eight points off the bench.
The Eagles, who were playing without starting point guard Zderadicka, finished 31-for-61 (.508) from the field, including 10-for-20 from 3-point range. It was the 15th time the team has made double-digits from long range - the 11th-straight season the team has reached that benchmark.
FGCU has held opponents to single-digit quarters 19 times in conference play, including an eight-point first quarter against Kennesaw State.
The Green and Blue are now tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in the program's Division-I era.
Junior Tytionia Adderly finished with six points and five rebounds. With her five rebounds, Adderly now has 785 career rebounds and remains second all-time behind Hansen (887). Four of Adderly's boards were on the defensive end, which puts her at 470 while her one offensive board puts her at 315 and is now 15 shy of passing Hansen (329) as the all-time leader in career offensive rebounds.
Alexis Poole had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Kennesaw State, while Kamiyah Street added 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. Both players played all 40 minutes. Conversely, Ulel scored her 24 points in 23 minutes.
Next Up:
FGCU will return to action in one week when it travels north to Jacksonville for a 2 p.m. matchup against the Dolphins on March 2. They will then close the regular season at home against Stetson on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
FGCU Softball: Strikeout Cancer Tournament Day One Recap
The FGCU softball team (6-5) split a pair of games on the first day of the FAU Strike Out Cancer Tournament Saturday afternoon at the FAU Softball Stadium.
"Riley was dominant and we were able to score in a variety of ways," head coach David Deiros said. "I really think we swung the bats better in the FAU game but we were atypically generous to our opponents on the other side of the ball. I look for us to be better tomorrow."
The first game of the morning saw FGCU accumulate 13 hits on offense as the Eagles shutout UConn in a 7-0 final. Midway through three innings, the Eagles and Owls were tied 2-2 but the hosts would post crooked numbers in the fifth and sixth to eventually pull away 8-3.
FGCU 7 | UCONN 0
Right from the start, FGCU was able to take a 1-0 lead. A trio of base hits from juniors Sammi Poehlman and Mikenzie Vaughn and senior Racquel Fournet loaded the bags. This allowed freshman Reedy Davenport to lay down a bunt to bring in Poehlman for the score.
In the very next frame, Poehlman was once again in the mix, this time lining a two-out single. Following a walk from Vaughn, Fournet drilled a single up the middle for the 2-0 advantage.
The bats remained alive for the Eagles, this time with a three-run fourth inning. A bunt single from senior Kate Kelly turned into the first run as Vaughn brought her home with a double. Now with runners on first and second after Fournet drew a walk, Brooke Clemens (West Rotunda, FL./Florida) laced the frame's second double as Vaughn tacked on FGCU's fourth run. The final run of the inning came off the bat of Davenport, a chopper that allowed pinch runner freshman Ashley Hayes to score.
FGCU bumped its lead to 7-0 manufacturing three hits into a pair of runs. Singles from Fournet and Hayes got things started for the offense. Facing one out, Davenport collected her third RBI of the afternoon on a double to right field, scoring pinch runner junior Diane Servideo. After a strikeout made it two outs, Hayes scored the Green and Blue's final run on a wild pitch.
Meanwhile starting pitcher senior Riley Randolph retired the first eight batters she faced, recording six strikeouts before UConn produced its first hit in the third. With a comfortable lead, Randolph yielded just one runner to get on in the sixth as she struck out the side in the seventh, moving to 4-2 this season.
The lefty finished the game with a season-high 13 strikeouts (10 plus strikeouts in four-straight games).
At the plate, Davenport went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Vaughn, Fournet and Clemens record one RBI apiece.
FGCU 3 | FAU 8
The Owls quickly jumped out in front 2-0 in the bottom of the first but the Eagles responded with two runs in the top of the third. Looking at one out, freshman McKenna Betterton reached on a throwing error, as a double to center from Poehlman scored her in. Two batters later, Fournet singled to right to tie the game.
The hosts responded with a run in the bottom half then added two more in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead.
The Eagles inched closer in the top of the sixth as Davenport launched her first collegiate home run over the right-field wall. FAU pulled away in its half of the sixth, scoring three runs on four hits along with two FGCU errors in the eventual 8-3 final.
Starting pitcher junior Morgan White gets tagged with the loss, giving up three runs in her two innings of work.
Up Next:
FGCU ends the final day of the tournament tomorrow at 10:30 am facing UConn.
"Riley was dominant and we were able to score in a variety of ways," head coach David Deiros said. "I really think we swung the bats better in the FAU game but we were atypically generous to our opponents on the other side of the ball. I look for us to be better tomorrow."
The first game of the morning saw FGCU accumulate 13 hits on offense as the Eagles shutout UConn in a 7-0 final. Midway through three innings, the Eagles and Owls were tied 2-2 but the hosts would post crooked numbers in the fifth and sixth to eventually pull away 8-3.
FGCU 7 | UCONN 0
Right from the start, FGCU was able to take a 1-0 lead. A trio of base hits from juniors Sammi Poehlman and Mikenzie Vaughn and senior Racquel Fournet loaded the bags. This allowed freshman Reedy Davenport to lay down a bunt to bring in Poehlman for the score.
In the very next frame, Poehlman was once again in the mix, this time lining a two-out single. Following a walk from Vaughn, Fournet drilled a single up the middle for the 2-0 advantage.
The bats remained alive for the Eagles, this time with a three-run fourth inning. A bunt single from senior Kate Kelly turned into the first run as Vaughn brought her home with a double. Now with runners on first and second after Fournet drew a walk, Brooke Clemens (West Rotunda, FL./Florida) laced the frame's second double as Vaughn tacked on FGCU's fourth run. The final run of the inning came off the bat of Davenport, a chopper that allowed pinch runner freshman Ashley Hayes to score.
FGCU bumped its lead to 7-0 manufacturing three hits into a pair of runs. Singles from Fournet and Hayes got things started for the offense. Facing one out, Davenport collected her third RBI of the afternoon on a double to right field, scoring pinch runner junior Diane Servideo. After a strikeout made it two outs, Hayes scored the Green and Blue's final run on a wild pitch.
Meanwhile starting pitcher senior Riley Randolph retired the first eight batters she faced, recording six strikeouts before UConn produced its first hit in the third. With a comfortable lead, Randolph yielded just one runner to get on in the sixth as she struck out the side in the seventh, moving to 4-2 this season.
The lefty finished the game with a season-high 13 strikeouts (10 plus strikeouts in four-straight games).
At the plate, Davenport went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Vaughn, Fournet and Clemens record one RBI apiece.
FGCU 3 | FAU 8
The Owls quickly jumped out in front 2-0 in the bottom of the first but the Eagles responded with two runs in the top of the third. Looking at one out, freshman McKenna Betterton reached on a throwing error, as a double to center from Poehlman scored her in. Two batters later, Fournet singled to right to tie the game.
The hosts responded with a run in the bottom half then added two more in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead.
The Eagles inched closer in the top of the sixth as Davenport launched her first collegiate home run over the right-field wall. FAU pulled away in its half of the sixth, scoring three runs on four hits along with two FGCU errors in the eventual 8-3 final.
Starting pitcher junior Morgan White gets tagged with the loss, giving up three runs in her two innings of work.
Up Next:
FGCU ends the final day of the tournament tomorrow at 10:30 am facing UConn.
FGCU S&D: CCSA Championship Day Three Recap
The FGCU swimming and diving team battled through the final events, collecting 542 points on day three of the CCSA Championships as the Eagles remain in second place behind Liberty.
"The team keeps battling which is what you love to see," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Starting the night off with a win is always huge for the team and to be able to carry that momentum throughout the night was incredible. Congratulations to Gracie and Petra on their wins tonight. We continue to accumulate new lifetime bests marks and season times which is incredible given the circumstances. With one more day of racing, it should prove to be just as or if not more exciting than today!"
FGCU shined in the A Final of the 100 fly, scoring a quartet Eagles in the top-8. Senior Gracie Redding captured her second event of the week, placing first with an NCAA 'B' time of 53.12*. Senior Christina Kaas Elmgreen (54.06) and freshman Wiktoria Czarnecka (54.42*) finished third and fourth, respectively, as junior Cassidy Fry (54.93) rounded out the scoring placing eighth.
Junior Madison Jean (55.80*) and senior Kiley Eble (56.60*) finished 11th and 13th, respectively, to score valuable points for FGCU in the B Final.
In the 400 IM A Final, junior Elizabeth Zeiger gave a valiant effort and rallied to take third overall as she touched out with a mark of 4:21.19*.
The Eagles continued to score crucial points, this time in the A Final of the 200 free where they once again placed four swimmers in the top-8. Senior Linda Shaw placed second overall with a swim of 1:48.81* to score 31 points. Shaw has now placed in the top-3 of the 200 free in all her four years as an Eagle.
Meanwhile, senior Antonia Baeren (1:50.53*), sophomore Rebecca Moynihan (1:51.30), and senior Hannah Burdge (1:51.99) finished 6-7-8, respectively, to cap off the scoring.
In the 100 breast, sophomore Petra Halmai claimed FGCU's second overall event win of the night. The Hungary native produced a swim of 1:00.62* to take home the title. Her time was just .34 tenths of a second off from breaking a new school record. Junior Emily Glinecke was the other Eagle to score in the A Final, placing sixth with a time of 1:03.35.
Transitioning into the 100 back finals, senior Doris Eichhorn was edged out of first place by one-tenth of a second as she touched out with a time of 53.96*. Freshman Kellie Fischer was the second Eagle in the A Final, placing seventh (56.54*).
The final event of the night was a nail biter as the Eagles placed second in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Eichhorn, Halmai, Elmgreen, and Moynihan combined for a time of 3:38.29*, just three-tenths of a second shy from first place. In the process, it became the fourth-fastest time in program history, surpassing last year's runner-up team by eight-tenths of a second.
Notables
-Redding and Halmai are now the second-fastest performers in their respective events in school history.
- Czarnecka now sits ninth in program history in the 100 fly.
- Glinecke moved into eighth all-time in program history with her time in the 100 breast.
*Denotes season-best time
Standings
1. Liberty-1,366.5
2. FGCU-1190
3. Incarnate Word-773
4. Georgia Southern-698
5. Campbell-598.5
6. UNC Asheville-571
7. UNF-475
8. Gardner-Webb-464
9. Howard-335
Up Next:
The final day of the CCSA Championships will continue tomorrow with the prelims starting at 10 am and the final events at 6 pm (1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay).
"The team keeps battling which is what you love to see," head coach Dave Rollins said. "Starting the night off with a win is always huge for the team and to be able to carry that momentum throughout the night was incredible. Congratulations to Gracie and Petra on their wins tonight. We continue to accumulate new lifetime bests marks and season times which is incredible given the circumstances. With one more day of racing, it should prove to be just as or if not more exciting than today!"
FGCU shined in the A Final of the 100 fly, scoring a quartet Eagles in the top-8. Senior Gracie Redding captured her second event of the week, placing first with an NCAA 'B' time of 53.12*. Senior Christina Kaas Elmgreen (54.06) and freshman Wiktoria Czarnecka (54.42*) finished third and fourth, respectively, as junior Cassidy Fry (54.93) rounded out the scoring placing eighth.
Junior Madison Jean (55.80*) and senior Kiley Eble (56.60*) finished 11th and 13th, respectively, to score valuable points for FGCU in the B Final.
In the 400 IM A Final, junior Elizabeth Zeiger gave a valiant effort and rallied to take third overall as she touched out with a mark of 4:21.19*.
The Eagles continued to score crucial points, this time in the A Final of the 200 free where they once again placed four swimmers in the top-8. Senior Linda Shaw placed second overall with a swim of 1:48.81* to score 31 points. Shaw has now placed in the top-3 of the 200 free in all her four years as an Eagle.
Meanwhile, senior Antonia Baeren (1:50.53*), sophomore Rebecca Moynihan (1:51.30), and senior Hannah Burdge (1:51.99) finished 6-7-8, respectively, to cap off the scoring.
In the 100 breast, sophomore Petra Halmai claimed FGCU's second overall event win of the night. The Hungary native produced a swim of 1:00.62* to take home the title. Her time was just .34 tenths of a second off from breaking a new school record. Junior Emily Glinecke was the other Eagle to score in the A Final, placing sixth with a time of 1:03.35.
Transitioning into the 100 back finals, senior Doris Eichhorn was edged out of first place by one-tenth of a second as she touched out with a time of 53.96*. Freshman Kellie Fischer was the second Eagle in the A Final, placing seventh (56.54*).
The final event of the night was a nail biter as the Eagles placed second in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Eichhorn, Halmai, Elmgreen, and Moynihan combined for a time of 3:38.29*, just three-tenths of a second shy from first place. In the process, it became the fourth-fastest time in program history, surpassing last year's runner-up team by eight-tenths of a second.
Notables
-Redding and Halmai are now the second-fastest performers in their respective events in school history.
- Czarnecka now sits ninth in program history in the 100 fly.
- Glinecke moved into eighth all-time in program history with her time in the 100 breast.
*Denotes season-best time
Standings
1. Liberty-1,366.5
2. FGCU-1190
3. Incarnate Word-773
4. Georgia Southern-698
5. Campbell-598.5
6. UNC Asheville-571
7. UNF-475
8. Gardner-Webb-464
9. Howard-335
Up Next:
The final day of the CCSA Championships will continue tomorrow with the prelims starting at 10 am and the final events at 6 pm (1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay).
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