Softball Returns Home for Furman Series
3/28/2013 9:52:04 PM | Softball
STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Softball returns home for the first time in over three weeks for the first SoCon series at Eagle Field this season. The Eagles face Furman in a three-game set that starts on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and concludes with a Saturday doubleheader which starts at 11 a.m.
All three games this weekend can be seen live on GSEagles.com/watch-listen or heard on the radio on 91.9-FM The Buzz in Statesboro. The audio can also be head on GSEagles.com. Georgia Southern’s Gametracker will provide live stats from every contest with live in-game updates on Twitter @GSScores and @GaSouSoftball.
The Eagles enter the weekend leading the Southern Conference with a 4-1 league record and a 15-18 overall mark. GSU split the Saturday doubleheader at College of Charleston before Sunday’s finale was rained out. Furman to two from UNCG last weekend before their final was also washed out. Paladins are 15-13 overall this season and 4-4 in the SoCon under first year Head Coach Kyle Jamieson.
Last time out, Georgia Southern dropped a single game to Georgia on Wednesday night. After six unanswered runs by Georgia, Brooke Red came on in the circle to retire the final five outs of the contest with three strikeouts without allowing a hit. Tabby Douberley’s three-run home run in the sixth inning cut the UGA advantage to 6-3 entering the final frame.
Shelby Morrill paces the team with a .351 average while Tabby Douberley ranks second on the team with a .290 average with 25 RBIs and five home runs. Kourtny Thomas leads the Eagles in the power department with seven home runs which ranks fourth in the SoCon. In league play, Kaitlyn Johnson and Morrill share the team lead in batting with a .412 mark.
The Eagles will wear special camouflage jerseys on Friday afternoon to honor the nation’s military members. There will be a “Blue Out” for Saturday’s doubleheader with Eagle fans asked to wear blue while they cheer on the Eagles.
GSU’s pitching staff ranks as one of the league leaders with a 2.95 team ERA and 236 strikeouts as a unit. Sarah Purvis holds a 2.43 ERA with 125 total strikeouts. She has a pair of league wins and a 1.11 ERA in four SoCon appearances. Brooke Red has a 3.07 season ERA with four victories this year. In league play, she has a 0.75 ERA with a 1-0 record in 9.1 innings of work.
Furman has won five-straight games and seven of their last nine while scoring eight or more runs in five consecutive contests. Ambree Muller has a .364 average to pace the Furman squad which is hitting .262 as a unit. Pitcher Lauren Collier has a 8-6 record and a 1.95 ERA to lead the Paladin stable which has a 2.62 ERA.
The Eagles continue their five-game homestand on Wednesday, April 3rd against Mercer. The day begins at 3 p.m. with the first of two games at Eagle Field.
Fans can follow their Eagles at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or receive short updates at facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics or on Google+ at gplus.to/GSAthletics.
