Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of opening A-SUN Conference play as they swept Kennesaw State on the road winning 4-3 and 5-2 on Saturday before claiming the sweep with a 5-2 win on Sunday.
Senior Riley Randolph went 2-0 in the circle to lead the Eagles. With a win against Columbia earlier in the week prior to KSU, the lefty was named the A-SUN Pitcher of the Week for a third time this season as she posted an ERA of 1.33 in 21 innings, striking out 20 batters.
"Riley was at her best when things got really tough for us this past week," said head coach David Deiros. "She battled through a lot and definitely earned the award."
Within that four-game period, junior Mikenzie Vaughn had herself a week, posting a .414 batting average with three RBI along with one home run.
On offense senior Kate Kelly leads the team in hitting (.354) and is a threat on the bases going 13-for-16 in stolen base attempts. Freshman Reedy Davenport leads the team in RBI (21) while holding a .301 BA. Senior Racquel Fournet) is the Eagles' third .300 plus hitter, owning a .316 BA – second on the team.
In the circle, Randolph leads the bunch with 13 wins in 17 starts, holding opposing batters to a .176 BA. She is currently fourth in the nation in shutouts (six), fifth in ERA (0.84), ninth in strikeouts (141), and 13th in both victories and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.71).
The pitching staff as a whole has combined to post a 1.81 ERA.
National Polls:
In the latest installment of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, the Eagles received two votes to come in ranked at No. 37. FGCU began the season garnering votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' Poll.
A-SUN Preseason Poll:
The Eagles collected 56 points along with two first-place votes. Conference newcomer Liberty sat atop the poll with 61 points and five first-place votes while defending A-SUN regular-season and tournament champion Kennesaw State was picked third with 47 points, taking the final first-place vote.
Lipscomb (44) was slotted fourth as UNF (24), Jacksonville (22), North Alabama (20), the ASUN's second newcomer team this year, and Stetson (14) rounded out the eight teams.
Scouting the Flames:
Liberty is coming off a 10-6 win against Duke, where they scored four runs in the seventh to tie the game, then five more in the ninth. Junior Autumn Bishop leads the Flames with a .393 BA while posting 14 RBI. Meanwhile, her twin sister Amber Bishop is second on the squad with a .378 BA and leads the team in RBI with 19.
In the circle, senior Julia DiMartino is Liberty's ace as she is 10-6 (16 starts) with 26 appearances, boasting a 1.40 ERA. Senior Chase Cassady is 6-1 overall and owns a 1.83 ERA. The Flames have utilized five pitchers thus far, as they've combined for a 1.91 ERA.
Series History:
The Eagles are 2-0 against Liberty. The first time both teams played each other was on February 8 and 9, 2014 where the Eagles won 9-0 in game one and 8-7 in game two.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for all three games and will air on YouTube Live. Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_Softball
Liberty: @LiberySB
Livestats Links:
Game One- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=252261
Game Two- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=252262
Game Three- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=252263
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDY34tY3Efq3O0Oc4xxbY3g
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