Eagles Visit Elon for SoCon Series
4/8/2011 6:52:00 PM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Softball resumes Southern Conference play on the road this weekend against Elon. The three-game league series begins on Saturday, April 9th, with a 1 p.m. doubleheader and concludes with a single game on Sunday. The Eagles (21-21, 9-3 SoCon) are 6-2 against Elon (17-14, 2-7 SoCon) at East Field and lead the all-time series, 19-9.
Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) was named SoCon Player of the Month for March after hitting .441 with seven home runs in the month. Overall, the junior outfielder leads the Eagles with a .382 batting average and the league with 13 home runs and 52 hits.
Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week Allie Miles (Dacula, Ga.) picked up her 10th win of the season on Tuesday (April 5th) against Kennesaw State. She went all seven innings and struck out seven batters to raise her season total to 112, which ranks second in the SoCon. In league games, she has a perfect 5-0 record with a 2.22 ERA and 34 strikeouts to lead the league in that category.
In SoCon play, four Eagles own batting averages above .300 with Fogle and Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) at .432 and .425, respectively against league opposition. Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) has 20 RBI this season and seven home runs. She needs six more to tie Robyne Siliga for the all-time home run crown at Georgia Southern with 35.
Elon, the defending SoCon Champions, lost one starter from a year ago and rank eighth in the SoCon with a 2-7 record. Last season, Georgia Southern swept Elon in the Eagles' home finale. In the first round of the SoCon Tournament, Elon defeated GSU 3-2 and went on to win the tournament over UNC Greensboro.
The Phoenix has three batters hitting over the .350 mark. Carleigh Nester (.358), Camille Hill (.357) and Tomeka Watson (.355) are vying for the batting crown at Elon while Emerald Graham has eight home runs to lead the team. Elon's Lauren Taylor is 9-6 in the circle with a 3.32 ERA and 70 strikeouts while Erin O'Shay has fanned 85 batters and won seven games.
Georgia Southern's next home series opens on April 16th against Furman.
Fans may follow all the action of the 2011 Georgia Southern Softball season by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/softball or check in for scores at twitter.com/GSScores or facebook.com/GSAthletics for updates.
