Softball | 3/14/2016 12:30:00 PM

Game Notes

THE LONE STAR LONG HAUL
The Georgia Southern softball team is in the midst of a stretch of nine games over an eight day span on a tour that will take them through the state of Texas. The Eagles opened the trip by traveling to San Marcos where they claimed a 2-1 series victory over the Texas State Bobcats with wins of 6-1 and 5-4. The series against the Bobcats was the Sun Belt Conference opening series for both programs.

The Eagles next head off to College Station for a Tuesday doubleheader at No. 12/10 Texas A&M. The twinbill against the Aggies will get started at 2:30 p.m. ET. Georgia Southern will close out the Lone Star long haul by participating in the 2016 Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic hosted by Texas Tech in Lubbock. To start the tournament, the Eagles are scheduled to play the host Red Raiders on Thursday, Mar. 17 at 7 p.m. ET and Boise State on Friday, Mar. 18 at 6:30 p.m. ET. GS will close out its time in the tourney on Saturday, Mar. 19 by playing the Broncos again at 1:30 p.m. ET and Texas Tech at 4 p.m. ET.


FACILITY INFO
Tuesday's doubleheader will take place at Aggie Softball Complex (1,750 capacity). The address is Olsen Blvd and Tom Chandler Rd, College Station, TX, 77840.

Live stats will be available through Texas A&M and live video of the games will be available on the SEC Network+.


SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M enters the weekend boasting a 23-2 record which has them ranked 12th in the USA Coaches Poll and 10th in the USA Softball Poll. The Aggies have won five-straight games including sweeping three from Texas Tech at home on Saturday and Sunday.

Tuesday's doubleheader between the Eagles and Aggies will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Tori Vidales leads the Aggies at the plate with a .420 batting average in her 25 starts. She leads the team with 26 runs scored and 17 walks. She is also second on the team in hits with 29 and home runs, six. She is currently slugging .754 for the year with five doubles and her six round trippers. Behind her, April Ryan is batting .412 in 16 games played while Keeli Milligan, Cali Lanphear and Kristen Cuyos are the next-best hitters who have played in all 25 games. Milligan is batting .398, Lanphear .391 and Cuyos is batting .350. Milligan leads the team with 83 at-bats, 33 hits and 30 stolen bases while Cuyos leads the team with 33 RBI, 10 homers and an astounding .917 slugging percentage.

In the circle, Katie Marks and Samantha Show have been the two go-to pitchers for Texas A&M so far this season, combining for 28 appearances, 128.1 innings pitched 19 starts, 19 wins and 13 complete games. Marks boasts a 0.95 ERA to go along with a 6-0 record. She has made 11 appearances and pitched 37.0 innings, striking out 22 batters and holding her opponents to a .193 batting average. Show enters Tuesday with a 2.53 ERA and a 13-2 record in 91.1 innings of work. She has made 17 appearances, including 14 starts, and pitched 10 complete games for 91.1 innings of work while striking out 83 batters. Show's opponents have hit .234 against her so far this season.


UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will continue the Lone Star long haul by traveling to Lubbock for the the 2016 Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic hosted by Texas Tech to close out their road trip through the Lone Star State. While in Lubbock, the Eagles will take on host Texas Tech as well as Boise State.
 
 
YEAR NO. 5
Georgia Southern head coach Annie Smith is in her fifth season at the helm of the Eagles. Her tenure in Statesboro has taken the Eagles to new heights with two SoCon Regular Season Championships and two SoCon Tournament Championships as well as overseeing the transition to the Sun Belt Conference in Smith's four previous seasons. During her tenure, Smith has advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice (2012 and 2013) as the Eagles have quickly made a name for themselves within the regional and national landscape.
 
Smith has an overall career record of 134-117. In 2014, she became the fastest coach in Georgia Southern history to reach 100 career wins when her team posted a 4-0 victory over Appalachian State on April 5.
 
Smith joined Georgia Southern with 16 years of experience as a collegiate assistant coach, serving at Missouri for six seasons before heading to Mississippi State for nine years, handling all aspects of the program. In 2006, Smith was promoted to associate head coach of the Bulldogs.
 
 
RANDOM STATS AND NOTES
Career Games Started - by position (active)
A.J. Hamilton: 192 total - 192 C
Emily Snider: 129 total - 129 OF
Morgan Robinson: 126 total - 126 1B
Taylor Rogers: 98 total - 70 OF; 28 DP
Alesha Mann: 73 total - 31 2B; 35 SS; 7 DP
Michelle Mazur: 44 total - 42 3B; 2 DP
Kierra Camp: 31 total - 31 P
Rowan McGuire: 26 total - 26 DP
Heather Felt: 14 total - 14 P
Hannah Farrell: 22 total - 22 3B
Lydia Witkowski: 22 total - 19 OF; 3 INF
India Davis: 19 total - 18 2B; 1 SS
Dixie Raley: 12 total - 12 P
Macy Weeks: 8 total - 5 DP; 3 OF
Haley Carter: 3 total - 3 DP
 
 
EAGLES BY STATE (18)
Georgia: 13
Florida: 2
Illinois: 2
Tennessee: 1
 
 
EAGLES BY CLASS (18)
Seniors: 1
Juniors: 6
Sophomores: 6
Freshmen: 5 freshmen (3 redshirt)
 
 
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.