The FGCU softball team (28-16, 13-3 A-SUN) took sole possession of first place in the A-SUN with a pair of wins over Stetson (15-28, 4-12 A-SUN) Saturday afternoon. In game one the Eagles defeated the Hatters, 2-1, in walk-off fashion before snagging game two, 3-0.
"Riley [Randolph], Marissa [Mesiemore] and the defense were outstanding. We did just enough on offense – especially in game one – to get the sweep," head coach David Deiros said. "Now we turn our attention in celebrating Bri [Bennett], Kate [Kelly], Racquel [Fournet], Brooke [Clemens] and Randolph tomorrow."
FGCU 2 | Stetson 1
The Eagles struggled early on leaving a total of four runners on the bags through three frames as Stetson took the 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth using one hit and one error.
FGCU threatened in the sixth but would strand two as they rallied in the final inning facing one out. Sophomore Farley Callaghan commenced the inning with a leadoff single through the left-side. Freshman McKenna Batterton then got onboard getting plunked on her right elbow. Senior Kate Kelly executed a perfect sac bunt to move both runners into scoring position. This allowed sophomore Haley Morrell to dig in the box and drive a 1-1 pitch to right-center, clearing the bags for the walk-off win.
Starting senior pitcher Riley Randolph moves to 17-7, scattering five hits while giving up just one run. She fanned seven batters in the process.
FGCU 3 | Stetson 0
Game two saw the Eagles jump on the board in back-to-back innings. In the bottom of the fourth, freshman Reedy Davenport led off with a knock to up the middle. After a grounder moved her to second, Callaghan brought her in hitting a bloop single down the right-field line. In the fifth, the Green and Blue produced a pair of runs using three hits and one error.
Batterton singled to start the inning as freshman Ashley Hayes was called into run for her, who then raced to second off a sac bunt from Kelly. Morrell then reached on an error and stole second to put runners at second and third. Senior Racquel Fournet stepped in and laced an RBI single to center. Davenport matched it with a base hit of her own to make it 3-0 FGCU.
Over the final two frames, starting sophomore pitcher Marissa Mesiemore gave up just one hit with a pair of strikeouts to secure the shutout for the Eagles. She is now 10-4 in the circle, limiting the Hatters to just two hits. In the process, the Bushnell native now matches her win-total from her freshman season.
At the plate, Davenport capped off game two going 2-for-3 with one RBI. In both games combined, Batterton finished the day going 3-for-4.
With both wins, FGCU now sets a program-record for most consecutive A-SUN victories at 10 (previously eight on two occasions, 2008, 2012).
Scores in the A-SUN:
Lipscomb (34-13-1, 12-4 A-SUN) swept Kennesaw State (26-26, 11-10 A-SUN) 7-2 and 6-4
North Alabama (22-18, 7-10 A-SUN) split with Liberty (35-17, 16-4). North Alabama won game one by a score of 1-0 before Liberty secured game two winning 3-1.
Up Next:
FGCU will look for the series sweep tomorrow Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Eagles will also honor its five seniors with a pre-game ceremony beginning at 12:40 p.m.
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