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4/5/2023 | 5 PM / WHITE OUT

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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Senior Neely Peterson(Wesley Chapel, Fla./Cypress Creek HS/Colorado State & Santa Fe College)and FGCU softball walked-off Austin Peay 5-4 for the series win Sunday at the FGCU Softball Complex.

Peterson's two-out, seventh-inning solo shot -- her third home run of the year -- lifted the Eagles to their third consecutive series win to begin the ASUN Conference slate. It also marked the fifth victory in walk-off fashion this season for the Green & Blue.

With Sunday's thrilling come-from-behindwin, FGCU improved to 24-15 and 6-3 in the ASUN. Austin Peay fell to 17-13 and 5-4 in league play.

"We couldn't have had a worse top of the first inning," said FGCU softball head coach David Deiros. "We made too many mistakes and extended the inning. They are too good for us to do that. My only thought process after that was to win every pitch,and let's go ahead and get after them. So, I was really proud of how our players battled back. That is what I really appreciate about my team. That's been our mantra all year. Let's move onto the next, and not dwell on the past."

Austin Peay exploded with a four-run first to put the Eagles on their heels early.Enter senior Ally Hulme(Safety Harbor, Fla./Sickles HSState College of Florida)to the rescue.

Hulme came in to relieve FGCU starter juniorAngelina Bonilla(Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS)in the second, and pitched six scoreless frames. Hulme(9-6) did not allow a singlebaserunner until the top of the seventh inning via a leadoff single. The Eagles defense played a major role in helping to stifle the Governors' offensive attack, as Hulme would record only one strikeout in the19 batters she faced.

At 160 career strikeouts, Hulme is now just two strikeouts away from moving into eighth all-time in FGCU history.

The Eagles forced an Austin Peay pitching change in the fifth, chasing ASUN Pitcher of the Week and league-leader in strikeouts Jordan Benefiel out of the game.

Benefiel held the Eagles to just three hits in a 6-0, game-one win Saturday, but FGCUgot the better of Governors' ace Sunday byslashing nine hits and scoring four runs.

Seven different Eagles recorded a hit Sunday. Freshman Tiffany Meek (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./William T. Dwyer HS), graduate Tayli Filla(Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot HS/USF), and Peterson each ledthe charge byproducing two apiece. Filla extended her currentreached basestreak to 15 games, and Meek has gone5-for-8 with six RBIs in the last two games.

Meek put the Eagles on the board in the third inningwith an RBI single. Freshman Nikki Gibson's (Yorktown, Va./Grafton HS)fourth-inning sacrifice bunt pushed across an Eagles runto cut the deficit to two, 4-2.

FGCU would then tie it in the fifth courtesy of an Austin Peay error and a wild pitch to knot it at 4-4 setting the stage for Peterson in the seventh to send the Eagles bench into a frenzy and send the Green & Blue faithful home happy.

Peterson finished 2-for-3 with a double to accompanyher walk-off blast.

The Eagles were previously 2-0on the season when tiedheading into the final inning of play, now improve to3-0 in such situations.

FGCU returns to action Wednesday, hosting in-state foe UCF in the last midweek battle of the season. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

For up-to-the-minute information on the FGCU softball program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_Softball, Instagram at fgcusoftball, Facebook, and stay tuned at FGCUAthletics.com.

COACH DEIROSThe founding father of FGCU softball,David Deirosenters his 21st season as head coach in 2023. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the ground up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 730-412-3 (.637) record, gone 182-112(.619) in the ASUN, had 16 seasons with a winning record and nine campaigns of 35+ wins. Deiros has also led the Eagles to three ASUN regular season championships (2008, 2012, and 2016) and one ASUN Tournament title (2012). In 2012, FGCU defeated No. 5 Florida in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Last season (2022), FGCU took down both No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Florida once again. Deiros is a former head coach at the 1998 Florida State Runner-Up Lely High School in Naples and is the founding head coach of the 1999 District Champion/2001 Regional Runner-Up Gulf Coast High School in Naples.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGNIT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow.

#FEEDFGCUFGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCUCampus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCUFGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 96 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 48 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 16 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.67 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.

---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---

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Peterson Walks-Off Austin Peay for Third Straight ASUN Series Win - FGCU Athletics