Offense Guides Owls to Two Wins on Day 1 of Austin Peay Invite

Friday, February 28

Clarksville, Tenn.

11:30 a.m. EST

Florida Atlantic

16-3

Morehead State

1-14

Morehead State

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: Austin Peay

Offense Guides Owls to Two Wins on Day 1 of Austin Peay Invite

2/28/2025 8:57:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Ben Paul

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 22 Florida Atlantic softball team enjoyed plenty of offense Friday on the opening day of Austin Peay's Governor's Classic, defeating Morehead State 10-3 in the opener and then topping Northern Kentucky 11-2 in a game halted after five innings.

The Owls (17-3) batted .415 in the two games, with four home runs and 22 hits on the way to the pair of easy wins. Freshman Destiny Johns had a cycle for the day, going 4-for-7 with a home run, triple, double, and single in the two games, and driving in eight runs.

GAME 1

The Owls gave up a three-run home run in the top of the first, then got two runs back in the bottom of the first on third baseman's Jesiana Mora second home run of the season.

FAU remained down 3-2 until the bottom of the fifth, and that's when the bats woke up for the rest of the day.

Mora had a RBI single in the fifth to tie the game, and a two-run double from Johns brought home Mora and junior Chloe Yeatts for a 5-3 FAU lead.

And in the sixth, FAU blew the game open. Kylie Hammonds led off with a walk, her fourth time on base, and scored on a groundout from Mora. Johns had a two-run triple to right later in the inning. Sophomore catcher Corin Dammeier brought home Johns and freshman pinch runner Annika Segedi on a two-run single to make it 10-3.

The Owls tallied seven stolen bases during the outing, one shy of the single-game program record and most in a game since 2016, with six of them coming in their final two frames. Mora led the way with two, giving her a team-best nine on the season.

Autumn Courtney (8-1) struck out six in a complete-game win for the Owls, giving up four hits and three runs.

GAME 2

Sophomore Ciara Gibson gave the Owls a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, reaching and later scoring off multiple Northern Kentucky errors. Johns made it 2-0 with an RBI single to score Dammeier, and in the third Dammeier drove home Yeatts for a 3-1 edge.

A pair of three-run home runs in the fourth opened the floodgates for FAU. Johns hit her fourth of the season, and three batters later Gibson got another three-run shot to make it 9-1. Yeatts added a two-run shot over the scoreboard in the fifth to make it 11-1, and Northern Kentucky managed only one in the bottom of the fifth before the game was called.

Senior pitcher Gabby Sacco (4-0) got the start in Game 2 and tied her season high with five strikeouts, while scattering five hits and giving up two runs.

QUOTABLE

Coach @CoachJordanSB on today's wins pic.twitter.com/LDKaxWngrO
— Florida Atlantic Softball (@FAUSoftball) February 28, 2025

NOTES/NOTABLE

Johns is tied for second in the American Athletic Conference with four home runs.
Hammonds has safely reached base in 18 out of 20 games. She scored four runs on the day.
The Owls have hit 14 home runs in their seven games away from home this season.
Yeatts' two-run homer gave her 20 RBI on the season, now tied for the most in the AAC.
Courtney's eight wins are the most among AAC players, and she is now 5-0 in her last five decisions.

UP NEXT

Day 2 of the Governor's Classic will see the Owls take on Northern Kentucky for the second time, this time at 11:30 a.m. EST before a matchup against tournament host Austin Peay (13-3) at 2 p.m. EST. Game 2 on Saturday will be shown on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE OWLS

For the Owls' complete schedule, click HERE. To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball, or for the most up-to-date information go to www.fausports.com.