Fort Myers, Fla. ? Senior first baseman Andrea Migliori (Winter Garden, Fla.) broke out of a long slump with a two-run home run and an RBI double, but it was not enough Tuesday evening as the Stetson softball team (20-27, 3-13 Atlantic Sun) was swept in a doubleheader by 23rd-ranked A-Sun rival Florida Gulf Coast (44-8, 12-4 A-Sun) 6-1 and 7-3 at the FGCU Softball Complex. The Hatters have now lost 13 consecutive games and are sadly assured of their first sub-.500 regular season since 1999. Migliori's blast in the nightcap was her team-high 10th of the season and makes her the only player in Stetson history to hit 10 or more home runs in a season three times.
Stetson took a 1-0 lead in the first game on Migliori's fourth inning RBI double. The smash down the left field line scored junior center fielder Amy Joyce (Lake Mary, Fla.), who had reached on an error to lead off the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch.
Senior pitcher Erica Demers (Miami, Fla.) seemed poised to make that single run stand up, no-hitting one of the nation's most powerful offenses for five and a third innings. In the end though, the Eagles showed why they are ranked 23rd in this week's UltimateCollegeSoftball.com coaches' poll and 26th in the USA Softball poll. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, shortstop Jessica Paez singled for FGCU's first base hit of the night and immediately got to trot home when A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year Cheyenne Jenks launched her league-leading 23rd home run over the right field wall to put her team ahead 2-1.
FGCU didn't stop there, piling on Demers for four more runs, including a Samantha Waldron RBI triple, Jessica Carter RBI single and Jessica Gary two-run single to make it a 6-1 ballgame. Catherine McDaniel shut down the Hatters in the seventh to improve to 20-1 on the season; Demers fell to 9-14.
The Eagles jumped on junior Game 2 pitcher Amanda Lindsey (Byhalia, Miss.) for five runs in the bottom of the second to put themselves ahead to stay. Paez tripled with the bases loaded to highlight the frame for the home team. The Hatters made a game of it in the fourth as freshman shortstop Chelsey Trotto (Lantana, Fla.) led off with a single and was followed by Migliori connecting to dead center for a two-run home run. Senior left fielder Amanda Bailey (Destin, Fla.) later doubled in the inning and was singled in by junior catcher Jessica Lokeinsky (Cooper City, Fla.).
Florida Gulf Coast added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings for the final margin of victory. Lindsey fell to 10-12 with the loss; Morgan Campen picked up her third win of the year for the Eagles and Dana Frantz was credited with her fourth save after finishing the night with three scoreless innings.
The Hatters are now finally done with road games for the year; the team hosts Lipscomb at 4 p.m. Thursday and Belmont at 1 p.m. Saturday for its final two conference doubleheaders of the season. Stetson still needs a good showing in the final week to qualify for the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships, which it will host May 7-9 at Patricia Wilson Field.
Live Stats and Jamie Bataille's Hatter Vision webcast are available for all games this week at www.GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics.
