Softball Opens SoCon Play at Samford
3/9/2012 4:58:00 PM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Softball opens Southern Conference play this weekend with a three-game set at Samford. The trio of games opens a six-day road trip for the Eagles which takes GSU north for a doubleheader against Tennessee on Tuesday and Mercer on Wednesday afternoon. The weekend series begins with a Saturday doubleheader from 2 p.m. (ET).
In their last outing the Eagles swept a doubleheader over La Salle 6-0 and 8-0. In the opener, Sarah Purvis (Warner Robins, Ga.) tossed the first no hitter for the Eagles since 2008. She fanned 16 batters, coming up one shy of the school record. Georgia Southern slugged four home runs on the day, taking advantage of favorable conditions to push past the Explorers.
Georgia Southern is 10-7 this year behind strong pitching. Freshman Brooke Red (Warner Robins, Ga.) is 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA in over 35 innings of work. Purvis is 5-3 in the circle with a 1.31 ERA and 60 strikeouts, the most for any SoCon pitcher. As a staff, the Eagles are holding opponents to a .188 batting average while posting a 1.29 ERA.
The offense has gotten the job done, averaging 4.11 runs per game while allowing just 2.00 total runs per game. Preseason SoCon Player of the Year Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) is hitting .397 on the year with a .586 slugging percentage. Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga.) and Kourtny Thomas (Warner Robins, Ga.) each have three home runs to lead the Eagles power game while Williams has gone deep in the last two games.
Samford is on a four-game skid to enter league play including a 7-3 loss to top-ranked Alabama on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs are 4-13 overall and are in search of their first win at home. Shelby Scot leads the Samford bats with a .424 average. The pitching staff is anchored by Misha Aldridge's 2.86 ERA and 2-7 record. Opponents have gotten ahead of the Bulldogs early, outscoring Samford 28-8 in the first inning.
The Eagles take on Tennessee in a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. GSU then heads back South with a pair of games at Mercer on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
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