Softball | 2/18/2016 3:30:00 PM

ON THE DIAMOND
The Georgia Southern softball team travels to Madeira Beach, Florida, to participate in the Madeira Beach Invitational, hosted by Eastern Michigan University. The Eagles open the event on Friday at 4 p.m. against North Florida and then turn right around to play Providence at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, GS takes on Marist at 1:30 p.m., and then Villanova at 4 p.m. On Sunday, the Eagles wrap up the weekend with a game against UMass-Lowell at 11:30 a.m.

LAST WEEKEND
The Eagles opened up 2016 at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Mississippi. The young squad posted an impressive 7-2 win over Alabama A&M, but dropped its other four contests. GS opened with a 6-0 loss to the host MSU Bulldogs in a game that was closer than the score looks. The Eagles also dropped a close one-run contest to Tennessee Tech and lost its other two games to TTU and Houston. Transfer India Davis sparked the offense, hitting .600 for the weekend. 

FACILITY INFO
This weekend's tournament will take place at Madeira Beach Recreation Center complex. The address is 200 Rex Place Madeira Beach, FL 33708

Here's the tournament site, which has the schedule and directions. 

Live stats will be run through GSEagles.com's StatBroadcast site.

THE WEEKEND FORECAST
Here's the forecast for Madeira Beach, Florida. Be sure to follow Georgia Southern softball on Twitter (@GSAthletics_SB) for any potential schedule changes this weekend due to the weather.

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 123-114. 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.

SCOUTING MARIST
Marist, which went 28-26 a year ago, returns three second-team All-MAAC selections in seniors Maureen Duddy (.349 BA), Kyrsten Van Natta (.308 BA, 22 SBs) and Colleen McWilliams (.320 BA), in addition to MAAC All-Rookie Team selection Gabrielle Kelliher (.300 BA, 10 HRs). The Red Foxes also welcome seven freshmen into the fold. 

The Eagles and Marist have never met on the diamond.

MU's 2015 stats 
MU's 2016 roster 

SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
North Florida is 0-5 on the young season after dropping all five contests in Baton Rouge, Lousiana, last weekend. The Ospreys scored just one run last weekend and hit .180 as a team. Navia Penrod led the team in hitting, putting up a .462 average while Shelby Duncan hit .300. 

Logan Green and Janet Snippe saw all the action in the circle last weekend. Green posted a 2.69 ERA and two strikeouts in 13.0 innings while Snipe posted a 6.56 and a strikeouts in 10.2 innings

The Eagles and Ospreys have met 20 previous times with UNF holding a 13-7 lead. The two last met in 2012.

UNF's 2016 stats 
UNF's 2016 roster 

SCOUTING PROVIDENCE
Providence opens its season this weekend after going 16-23 in 2015. Junior Nicole Lundstrom and senior Kiki Baldassari were named to College Sports Madness 2016 BIG EAST Preseason All-Conference Teams.  Lundstrom was named to the first team and Baldassari was named to the second team.

Lundstrom finished 2015 with a .318 batting average in 36 games in her first season for the Friars, after transferring from Syracuse. She put together 34 hits, 28 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, and 20 RBI. Baldassari posted a team-high batting average of .386 in 26 games played and had 32 hits.

GS is 1-0 all-time against the Friars, beating them 3-2 in 2010 in Orlando.

PC's 2015 stats 
PC's 2016 roster 

SCOUTING UMASS-LOWELL
UMass-Lowell opens its 2016 season this weekend as well. The River Hawks, who finished 17-30 overall last season and 5-11 in America East play, are picked sixth in the preseason America East Conference poll. UML returns 13 veterans from the 2015 squad, and has added seven newcomers to bolster the roster.

Alisha Welch led the team in batting last year with a .299 clip and returns for 2016. The River Hawks lost their top pitcher from a year ago, but Marielle Handley (9-11, 4.68 ERA) returns in the circle.

Georgia Southern and UMass-Lowell have never met in softball.

UML's 2015 stats 
UML's 2016 roster 

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
The Wildcats will be opening their 2016 season this weekend in Florida and are coming off a 24-30 campaign in 2015. Villanova returns its top two hitters in Brittany Husk (.328 BA, 12 SB) and Lauren Herschberg (.309, 4 HR) as well as its top two pitchers in Brette Lawrence (11-7, 2.41 ERA) and Kate Poppe (12-20, 2.68 ERA).

GS is 1-0 all-time against the Wildcats, beating them 3-2 in 2010 in Ft. Myers, Florida.

VU 2015 stats 
VU's 2016 roster 

UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will open its home slate on Tuesday with a single game against Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. Next weekend, the Eagles will head north to Conway, South Carolina, to participate in a tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina. GS is scheduled to take on Iowa three times and Coastal Carolina twice.

RANDOM STATS AND NOTES
Career Games Started - by position (active)
A.J. Hamilton: 175 total - 175 C
E. Snider: 112 total - 112 OF
M. Robinson: 109 total - 109 1B
T. Rogers: 81 total - 53 OF; 28 DP
A. Mann: 56 total - 31 2B; 18 SS; 7 DP
M. Mazur: 44 total - 42 3B; 2 DP
K. Camp: 25 total - 25 P
R. McGuire: 15 total - 15 DP
H. Felt: 13 total - 13 P
H. Farrell: 5 total - 5 3B
L. Witkowski: 5 total - 4 OF; 1 OF
I. Davis: 4 total - 3 2B; 1 SS
D. Raley: 2 total - 2 P
M. Weeks: 2 total - 2 DP
H. Carter: 1 total - 1 DP

Eagles by States (18)
Georgia: 13
Florida: 2
Illinois: 2
Tennessee: 1

Eagles by Class (18)
Seniors: 1
Juniors: 6
Sophomores: 6
Freshmen: 5 freshmen (3 redshirt)