Taking on five different teams in six games, the FGCU softball team went 4-2 at the Battle at the Beach at the FGCU Softball Complex.
Taking on Iowa State twice, IUPUI, Canisius, Drexel and Cleveland State, the Eagles defeated Iowa State, Canisius, Drexel and Cleveland State. Facing IUPUI on the back end of a doubleheader on Thursday, FGCU fell to IUPUI 2-1 before falling to Iowa State on the back end of a double header on Saturday, 5-2.
Knocking in 22 runs over the six-game series, Raquel Fournet’s four doubles, Bri Innamorato’s four RBI’s and Bree Tourtillott’s four RBI’s propelled the Eagles to a 7-4 win, 8-0 win, 4-3 win and 2-0 victory over Iowa State, Canisius, Drexel, and Cleveland State respectively.
Leading the charge in the circle, Riley Randolph went 2-0 at the Battle at the Beach, picking up wins against Iowa State and Canisius. Allowing six hits to the Cyclones and four hits to Canisius, Randolph fanned a total 17 batters in her two victories over the weekend.
Fresh off of a doubleheader on Wednesday against No. 1 FSU and Canisius, the Eagles defeated Iowa State 7-4 behind nine strikeouts from Randolph and a 2-3 performance at the plate by Fournet.
Despite leaving the bases loaded with a 2-0 lead, the Eagles tallied runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings to give Randolph some run security when she headed to the circle
Defeating the Cyclones in its matchup just hours before, FGCU fell to IUPUI 2-1. After Fournet put the Eagles up 1-0 thanks to one of her nation-leading 13 doubles, FGCU’s bats went silent the rest of the way due to Erica Tharp’s 11 strikeouts.
“There really is no excuse for our performance in the second game,” FGCU head coach David Deiros said in a recent FGCU Athletics press release. “We made too many mistakes on defense, especially in the inning where they scored their two runs because both runs were preventable. We just didn’t make plays when we needed them, and you can’t give teams extra opportunities. We played really well in the first game, even after they came back to tie the game.”
Playing in their third doubleheader in four days, the Eagles defeated Canisius 8-0 in five innings. Propelled by two RBI’s Fournet, FGCU tallied four runs in the first, one in the second, one in the fifth and two in the sixth to secure its sixteenth win of the season.
Following an eight-strikeout performance by Randolph in game one of their doubleheader, the Eagles were defeated by Iowa State 5-2.
Despite grabbing an early one-run lead, FGCU was unable to overcome seven errors that lead to five unearned runs in their loss to the Cyclones.
“We put together two energetic efforts but came up short in the second one just because we stepped on our own feet,” Deiros said in a recent FGCU Athletics press release. “There aren’t many teams in America who can win a game after committing seven errors but you have to give our kids credit because we had the winning run at the plate for our hottest hitter, we just couldn’t pull it off.”
In the final day of the Battle at the Beach, the Eagles were able to complete their first doubleheader sweep since Tuesday, March 7 with a 4-3 victory over Drexel and a 2-0 win over Cleveland State.
Fueled by two RBI’s respectively by Bri Innamorato and Bree Tourtillott, FGCU relied on strong play from its bullpen to secure its victory in the top of the seventh.
With the Eagles trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Tourtillott hit a two-run homerun to left field to give the Eagles a 4-3 lead.
Following Tourtillott’s heroics in game one, the Eagles rode a ten-strikeout performance by Morgan White to keep Cleveland State off the board and secure a 2-0 victory.
“When runs are at a premium, then you’re asking the other two sides of the ball to play better,” Deiros said in a recent FGCU Athletics press release. “I thought our pitching today was really good for the most part and with the exception of one inning, we were able to make plays. That’s a testament to the whole softball team, not just relying on one aspect of it but making sure all three phases are getting better.”
With 31 games in its rearview mirror, FGCU will kick off ASUN play with a three-game series against Jacksonville on Saturday, March 25 at 2 p.m. at the FGCU Softball Soccer Complex.