FORT MYERS, Fla. - North Florida softball (21-5, 2-0) put together back-to-back late rallies in both games of a twin bill against Florida Gulf Coast (7-18, 0-2) to win their first two games of ASUN play on Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Softball Complex.
The Ospreys have now won a DI-era program-record 13-straight games, dating back to their 10-7 win against Rutgers at The Spring Games on Feb. 26. It is also their first regular-season victory at FGCU since Mar. 27, 2010, and their first series win against the Eagles since the 2017 season.
Both games were scoreless through the first five innings before the Ospreys took a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning in their 4-2 win during the first game. They later took a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning of the second game to close out the doubleheader sweep.
GAME 1 | UNF 4, FGCU 2
An explosive sixth inning for the Ospreys gives the cushion needed for
Halle Arends to finish another gem in the circle to secure her 10th win of the season.
Pitchers of Record
Win:
Halle Arends (10-1)
Loss: Angelina Bonilla (1-2)
Save:
Morgan Clausen (2)
Line Scores
UNF | 4 R, 8 H, 0 E, 7 LOB
FGCU | 2 R, 6 H, 0 E, 6 LOB
Behind the Line Score
- The defense came out in full force early, as both teams had two batters go down swinging in the first inning.
- Arends was consistently dealing for the Ospreys after striking out the side swinging in the second.
-
Shannon Glover and
Regan Hermeling both clubbed doubles down the line to start the second and third innings, but nothing came out of either opportunity.
- The defensive struggle continued in the fifth after
Savannah Channell singled to put two runners on base with only one away, but two quick outs for the Eagles ended the inning.
- The Ospreys finally cashed in on the scoreboard after a single from
Paige Pfent sets up
Hayley Bejarano to score a runner in the sixth.
- Hermeling put another one into play to score another run, which was followed by a double steal score to go up 3-0.
- Arends kept dealing after three straight up and down innings from the fourth through sixth.
-The Ospreys added one more run in the seventh when
Kayla McGory scored on an error to build on the lead.
- FGCU rallied late in the seventh after a triple brought the difference to two runs, but
Morgan Clausen finished things out in relief to close out a 4-2 victory.
Statistical Leaders
UNF
FGCU
- Kacie Huber | 1-3, 2 RBI
- Hope Hernandez | 2-4
- Emily Estroff | 1-3, R
- Riley Oakes | 4.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 K, 66 pitches
Notes
- First regular season win against FGCU in Fort Myers since Mar. 27, 2010.
- Clausen secured her second save of the season.
- Glover recorded her third consecutive game with multiple hits, as well as her fourth in five games.
- McGory made her first start since the first game of the UNF-JU Spring Break Challenge on Mar. 4.
GAME 2 | UNF 2, FGCU 0
Another late rally for the Ospreys who scored two runs in the seventh inning helped
Erin Kyle and Arends finish the combined shutout in their second doubleheader game against the Eagles.
Pitchers of Record
Win:
Halle Arends (11-1)
Loss: Emily Estroff (1-4)
Line Scores
UNF | 2 R, 4 H, 1 E, 6 LOB
FGCU | 0 R, 3 H, 2 E, 4 LOB
Behind the Line Score
- Much like the first game, this one started with minimal offense with both teams going hitless through the first two innings.
-
Kayla Harper and McGory made their way on base in the third, but a pop-out left the runners behind.
- Three straight groundouts forced by Kyle kept the Ospreys rolling on defense through the third.
- Arends made her second appearance of the day coming in relief for Kyle in the fifth to shut down back-to-back batters.
- Arends found herself in a jam with runners in scoring position in the sixth, but caught an Eagle swinging to end the inning.
- A single and a walk for the Ospreys led to a sac-fly from Channell to bring in the first run of the game to go up 1-0.
- Harper shot a double into left field to bring Bejarano home to solidify a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.
- Arends finished strong with two strikeouts to close out a 2-0 day for the Ospreys in Fort Myers.
Statistical Leaders
UNF
FGCU
- Cana Davis | 1-2
- Avery Viancos | 1-2
- Neely Peterson | 1-3
- Ally Hulme | 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 83 pitches
Notes
- The Ospreys 13-game winning streak is the most wins consecutive wins in their D-I history and the most all-time since their win streak of 14 games in 2005.
- This is the 10th shutout during the winning streak, as well as their 12th total shutout this season.
- Arends picked up her ASUN-best 10th and 11th wins of the year this afternoon.
- Hermeling has recorded a hit in six of her last seven games.
UP NEXT
The Ospreys return for the final game of their ASUN opening-weekend series against FGCU on Monday afternoon at 2 p.m.
