B-CU Softball at FGCU Four Points by Sheraton Invitational
TOURNAMENT: FGCU Four Points by Sheraton Invitational
DATES: Friday, Feb. 20 – Sunday, Feb. 22
TEAMS: Bethune-Cookman, FGCU, Oakland, Purdue, Stony Brook
LOCATION: FGCU Softball Complex. • Fort Myers, Fla.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Bethune-Cookman University softball team remains on the road as the Wildcats participate in their third-straight tournament this season, traveling south to the FGCU Four Points by Sheraton Invitational hosted by Florida Gulf Coast (Feb. 20-22) in Fort Myers, Fla.
The tournament field in includes B-CU, the host Eagles, Oakland, Purdue and Stony Brook.
The Cats open play with Stony Brook Friday at 4:30 p.m. Saturday's first match-up against FGCU is slated for 10 a.m., followed by a meeting with Oakland at 2:30p.m., while wrapping-up tournament action Sunday at 9 a.m., against Purdue.
All games will be played at the Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats went 2-3 at the Jacksonville University Invitational last weekend, topping Akron (8-5) and Jacksonville (6-3) to start the tournament, but falling to Syracuse (5-4), Akron (8-0) and Jacksonville (3-2) to wrap up the weekend.
Wildcat Facts
Junior Sophia Ortega is batting a team-high .382 with 13 hits including four doubles, one homer and seven RBIs.
Sophomore Sabrina Anguiano has seen action on the mound during nine of the Wildcat's 10 games, pitching 46.0 innings. She has totaled 30 strike outs while giving up 36 earned runs for an ERA of 5.48.
Rookie Nereyda Gutierrez and Ortega earning All-Tournament Honors at the Charleston Challenge.
Ortega was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week while Anguiano earned MEAC Pitcher of the Week and Gutierrez Rookie of the Week (Feb. 9).
Scouting the Opponents
FGCU: Offensively, The Green and Blue are led by junior Makensie McAvoy who is hitting .448 through 10 games. McAvoy also has six runs, 13 total bases and three walks. The outfielder is holding a slugging percentage of .448 through the first 10 games with a fielding percentage of 1.000. Freshman Chandler Middlebrook leads the team with two homeruns and seven RBI while the pitching staff is led by junior Ashley Dobson who is 1-1 on the season. Dobson has pitched 10 innings with 11 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.90.
Oakland: Oakland posted a 2-3 record at the Pirate Classic in Greenville, North Carolina (Feb. 6-8). The Grizzlies topped Delaware State twice (5-4 (10), 12-0), and fell to East Carolina State twice (7-3, 9-1) and Longwood (5-0). Outfielder Courtnee Johnson (.417), shortstop Sarah Hartley (.412), first baseman Sara Cupp (.400) and outfielder Rae Beadlescomb (.375) led the Oakland bats on opening weekend. B-CU and the Golden Grizzlies are knotted at 1-1 overall all-time.
Purdue: The Boilermakers went 5-0 en route to the FIU Invitational title in Miami last weekend. Purdue topped Long Island 7-6 and 12-0, Memphis 10-2 and Florida International 8-1 and 8-0 to extend their win streak to six games. First baseman Ashley Burkhardt, catcher Kaylah Hampton and outfielder Maya Hughes lead the team at the plate with better than .400 averages. Burkhardt (.469) has driven in a team-best 15 RBI, scored nine runs, swiped seven bases and launched five home runs. Hampton (.423) has nine RBI, six runs, four homers and seven walks. Hughes is batting .419 with a double, five runs and seven stolen bases. Purdue holds a 3-1 advantage over B-CU, but most recently the Wildcats edged the Boilers 3-2 in eight innings on March 15, 2009, at the Florida Atlantic Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla.
Stony Brook: The Stony Brook Seawolves kick off their 2015 campaign in Fort Myers, Fla., this weekend. Stony Brook returns 10 letterwinners, including six starters and two pitchers, from the 2014 team, which posted a 34-18 record and won the America East Conference regular season title. The Seawolves are coached by Megan Bryant, who is in her 15th year with the team.
Coverage
Live stats will be available on FGCUathletics.com and fans can follow @BCUSoftball on Twitter for all game day information, including score updates.
