The FGCU softball team kicked off its season, splitting its opening weekend 3-3 against four schools for the FGCU Kickoff Classic. The Eagles returned to the diamond as the reigning Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Conference Tournament Champion and is fresh off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. The Eagles’ first game was against ACC foe Boston College.
Prior to Thursday, Feb. 6, the Eagles softball team had played Boston College on 11 occasions. The last meeting between the two schools was in 2024 when FGCU won 3-1 at the Owl Classic in Boca Raton. FGCU is 8-3 all-time against Boston College.
Boston College jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. A second base steal, followed by a single hit by catcher Hannah Slike, allowed infielder Gator Robinson to reach home to give Boston College its first score of the night. They added to their lead following an FGCU error, allowing Slike to come in for an unearned run.
FGCU posed a scoring threat in the third inning. A stolen second base from pinch-runner Kalista Birkenstock, followed by a sacrifice bunt from infielder Maria Angelino, allowed Birkenstock to advance to third base with one out. However, Birkenstock would find herself stranded at third.
FGCU finally capitalized in the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk from first baseman Ana Richiez loaded the bases for the green and blue. Then, catcher Maddox Thomas, who was serving as a pinch hitter for Kalista Birkenstock, drew another walk to bring outfielder Camryn Feast home for the Eagles’ first and only score.
. All Boston College needed was two runs to defeat FGCU 2-1. However, the FGCU Eagles earned their redemption the following day with a 6-4 victory, powered by a four-run first inning off the bats of infielder Nikki Gibson and outfielder Avery Viancos. FGCU swept both its games on Friday, Feb. 7, ending the day with a 3-2 win over Indiana State.
The Eagles’ best performance and final win of the weekend came on Saturday, Feb. 9, when mercy-ruled LIU 9-0 to end the game in five innings. The rest of the weekend was not as successful as FGCU lost their final two games of the tournament against Boston 8-0 (6 Innings) and 6-4, respectively, across Feb. 8-9.
FGCU will return to the FGCU Softball Complex for the FGCU Invitational from Feb. 14-16. During the tournament, the Eagles will face Wisconsin, Seton Hall, and Omaha.
