Softball Faces USF in NCAA Tournament Opener
5/16/2013 3:40:00 PM | Softball
GAINESVILLE, FLA. – Georgia Southern's second-straight trip to the NCAA Softball Tournament will commence on Friday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. contest against USF in the Gainesville Regional. The Eagles look for their first opening round NCAA Tournament win in their third chance, falling to North Carolina in extra innings a year ago.
Live video from the Gainesville Regional can be seen for free on GatorZone.com with live stats available at GSEagles.com. Live updates from the contest are available on twitter by accessing @GSscores and @GaSouSoftball.
The Eagles clinched their fourth SoCon Softball Tournament Championship last Saturday with a 1-0 win in the Championship Game over UNCG in 11 innings. It was the second-straight 11 inning contest for the Eagles after taking a 3-2 win over College of Charleston to book spot in the finale.
Kourtny Thomas scored the game-winning run with a walk-off solo home run with two outs in the frame. She launched the ball over the fence in centerfield for the team's only walk-off home run of the season. She now has 12 home runs this season and 19 for her career. The All-SoCon selection is one of the SoCon's most feared hitters with 34 walks on the year.
SoCon Pitcher of the Year Sarah Purvis had an outstanding SoCon Tournament run, winning three games including the title game on Saturday. She set a new career high with 11 innings against the Spartans and ranks second in the SoCon with 194 strikeouts. With the extended performance, Purvis dropped her season ERA to 1.96 on the year.
In the five games at the SoCon Tournament, Shelby Morrill hit .500, pounding 10 hits in 20 at bats including a pair of home runs on the opening two days to claim a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Brooke Red delivered a clutch pitching performance in an elimination game against College of Charleston, going 11 innings allowing just two unearned runs with 10 strikeouts.
South Florida enters the postseason on the heels of the program's first Big East Championship as the Bulls exit the league for the newly-formed American Athletic Conference next season. Sara Nevins is the top pitcher for the Bulls with a 0.94 ERA and a 25-7 record in the circle. She has struck out 255 batters in 201.0 innings while the Bulls' other pitcher, Lindsey Richardson, has a 1.18 ERA in 130.0 innings with 188 strikeouts.
The USF offense has hit 44 home runs while conceding just 14 long balls. As a team, South Florida is hitting .255 and is buoyed by its best hitter, Kourtney Salvarola, who is hitting .346 on the year. Salvarola has 13 home runs and 42 RBIs. Lee Ann Spivey is hitting just under the .300 mark with a .299 season average with 35 RBIs and a team-best 13 doubles.
The Eagles will continue play in the Gainesville Regional on Saturday. With a win, GSU would advance to the winners' bracket game at 1 p.m. while a loss would relegate the Eagles to an elimination game against the loser of Florida vs. Hampton at 3:30 p.m.
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 and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
