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