Softball | 3/24/2016 2:00:00 PM

GAME NOTES
 
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Georgia Southern softball team returns home to play the next five games at Eagle Field including a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against UT Arlington this coming weekend which will include Friday's Military Appreciation Day. GS will play a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 25 starting at 4 p.m. and will conclude the series against the Mavericks with a single game at 12 p.m. on Saturday. The Eagles will then welcome Jacksonville University to Eagle Field for a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday, Mar. 30.
 
MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY
Friday's doubleheader against the Mavericks will serve as the Eagles' annual Military Appreciation Day. The Georgia Southern ROTC will be present throughout the day and the Color Guard will present the colors prior to the twinbill. Also during the event, all active and retired military will be recognized for their service.
 
FACILITY INFO
This weekend's three-game, Sun Belt Conference series with UT Arlington will take place at Eagle Field in Statesboro. The address is 615 Fair Rd., Statesboro, GA 30458. Admission is free.
 
Live stats will be available through Georgia Southern and live video of the game will also be available via GS All-Access.
 
SCOUTING UT ARLINGTON
UT Arlington enters this weekend's Sun Belt Conference series having won three of their last five games, including taking a game from No. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette. In the other two games against the Ragin' Cajuns the Mavericks fell 13-0 and 16-0, both in five innings. The Mavs also took a doubleheader from Cleveland State, winning 4-3 in eight innings and 9-7 in the second game. UTA started the season with a streak of 19 wins.
 
At the plate, the Mavericks are second in the conference with a .325 team batting average having hit 206 total hits including 36 doubles and seven home runs. Sandra Mendoza leads the way individually with a .488 batting average, fourth in the conference. The sophomore leads the team with 41 hits, seven doubles, 29 runs batted in and 54 total bases. She boasts a .643 slugging percentage, has scored 20 runs and has started all 26 games thus far. Behind Mendoza, Krista Rude is the other Maverick currently batting over .400 with a .439 batting average through 25 games. She is also second on the team with 29 hits but leads the squad with nine stolen bases in 10 attempts. Laura Curry (.351) is tops on the team with 23 runs scored. Seven Mavericks have started all 26 games.
 
In the circle, UTA is fourth in the conference with a 3.38 earned run average led by Samantha Clakley's 1.98, a mark that has her fourth in the league in the category. Clakley is currently 12-2 on the season through 18 total appearances, including 14 starts, and has tossed 11 complete games and made three saves. In her 88.1 innings of work, the freshman has tallied 59 strikeouts while allowing her opponents to bat .250 against her. Sam Montes (3.92) and Brooklynne Simbeck (6.46) are the other two regular pitchers for the Mavs. Montes is 5-1 in 11 appearances while Simbeck with 3-1 in the same number of appearances. The two have combined for 65.1 innings of work and both have struck out 17 batters.
 
UTA ROSTER
UTA SCHEDULE
UTA STATS
 
UP NEXT
After this weekend's series, the Eagles will host Jacksonville University in a 5 p.m. doubleheader next Wednesday, Mar. 30 before hitting the road to open the month of April in Monroe, La next weekend.
 
WEEKLY AWARD FOR WITKOWSKI
Georgia Southern softball player Lydia Witkowski was named the Sun Belt Conference Community Coffee Student-Athlete of the Week as released by the conference office on Tuesday, Mar. 15.
 
A redshirt freshman from Alpharetta, Ga., Witkowski led Georgia Southern on offense in the Eagles' Sun Belt Conference opening series at Texas State as the Eagles went 2-1 in San Marcos. The Eagles' starting left fielder went 6-for-11 (.545) at the plate with a triple and an RBI and scored a pair of runs herself. She slugged .727 with eight total bases and finished the three games with a .545 on-base percentage.
 
In the field, she recorded four putouts and had an assist in the first game when she gunned down a runner tagging up at third, trying to make it home. The throw out at home from left field completed one of the Eagles' two double plays on the weekend.
 
In the first game of the series, Witkowksi went 4-for-4 at the plate with three singles and a triple for a 1.500 slugging percentage. She also batted in a runner and scored a pair of runs herself as the Eagles defeated Texas State 6-1. Witkowksi followed that up by going 2-for-4 at the plate in the Eagles' 5-4 win over the Bobcats in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader, sealing the series victory for the Eagles. The win also pushed the Eagles' longest winning streak of the season to eight games.
 
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 137-124. 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: 199 total - 199 C
Emily Snider: 136 total - 136 OF
Morgan Robinson: 133 total - 133 1B
Taylor Rogers: 105 total - 77 OF; 28 DP
Alesha Mann: 80 total - 31 2B; 42 SS; 7 DP
Michelle Mazur: 45 total - 42 3B; 3 DP
Kierra Camp: 34 total - 34 P
Rowan McGuire: 27 total - 27 DP
Heather Felt: 15 total - 15 P
Hannah Farrell: 29 total - 29 3B
Lydia Witkowski: 29 total - 26 OF; 3 INF
India Davis: 26 total - 25 2B; 1 SS
Dixie Raley: 15 total - 15 P
Macy Weeks: 13 total - 10 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)

 
 
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