The FGCU softball team (28-21) fell in its opening game of the ASUN Tournament to UNF (27-22), 3-2, Wednesday afternoon at the FGCU Softball Complex.
“We have to be disappointed in the way the game turned out. I don’t think we took advantage of our opportunities when we had them,” said head coach David Deiros. “We kind of imploded in one inning that at worse could’ve of been one run instead of two and that was the difference. It just means that our road to the championship just got a little bit longer but until they take the bats out of our hands, we still have a chance.”
Without a score through three frames, FGCU got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth. First Team All-Conference selection Kate Kelly (Cape Coral, FL./Seminole State College) began the bottom half with a single to third. After swiping her 19th bag of the season, Kelly scored as the throw from the third baseman sailed on Haley Morrell’s (Tampa, FL./Academy of Holy Names) sac bunt.
UNF though, responded in its next top two innings scoring one in the fifth and used two runs on one hit and three FGCU errors in the top of the sixth to jump ahead 3-1.
Facing two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, FL./Atlantic Coast HS) reached after getting hit on the elbow. Marcella Parrado (Tampa, FL./College of Central Florida) would enter and run for her. McKenna Batterton (Norco, CA./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) then dug in and laced a double to center field, scoring Parrado to make it a one run game. Batterton raced to third after the throw home skipped past the catcher.
Despite the rally, a grounder to right back to the pitcher in the next at-bat ended the contest for FGCU in the 3-2 final.
Starting pitcher and ASUN Second Team selection Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, FL./Northeast HS) suffered the loss moving her record to 17-9. She pitch 6.0 innings and struck out three batters.
FGCU produced four hits on offense and stranded five on the bags.
Up Next
FGCU will face the winner of No. 4 UNA/No. 5 Kennesaw State Thursday afternoon at 1:30 pm.
FOLLOW ALONG
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