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Photo by: Bryan Johnston
Softball Ready To Host Eagle Classic
3/3/2016 8:30:00 AM | Softball
Nine games over three days to be played at Eagle Field
ON THE DIAMOND
The Georgia Southern softball team opens home play this weekend by hosting the Eagle Classic in Statesboro. The Eagles welcome Eastern Kentucky, Harvard and North Dakota to town for the three-day event. GS opens the weekend on Friday at 4:30 p.m. with a game against North Dakota. On Saturday, the Eagles take on North Dakota at 2:30 p.m., and then Harvard at 4:45 p.m. On Sunday, GS wraps up the weekend with a single game against EKU at 2:30 p.m.
All games featuring Georgia Southern will be streamed live via the GS All-Access premium site, which requires a subscription.
FACILITY AND TICKET INFO
The Eagle Classic will take place at Eagle Field in Statesboro. The address is 615 Fair Rd, Statesboro, GA 30458. Admission is free.
Here's the tournament site, which has the schedule and live stat links.
THE WEEKEND FORECAST
Here's the forecast for Statesboro. 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 130-117. 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 EASTERN KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky is off to a hot 10-2 start after winning all four games at the Alabama A&M tournament last weekend and has won seven in a row.
Kayla Joyce leads an offense that is hitting .329 with seven home runs. Joyce is batting .452 while Paige Murphy is hitting .389 with eight stolen bases. Four other Colonels are hitting over .300, including Hannah Clark who also has three home runs.
Alex Sallberg (1-1, 1.26 ERA, 39 Ks, 33.1 IP) and Hayley Flynn (8-1, 3.25 ERA, 50 Ks, 36.2 IP) have thrown all but seven innings thus far.
The Eagles and EKU have met one previous time with the Colonels downing GS 6-3 in nine innings last year in this same event.
EKU's 2016 stats
EKU's 2016 roster
SCOUTING HARVARD
Harvard opened up its season last weekend, going 3-1 at the Jacksonville University Green and Gold Classic. Early on, Rhianna Rich is leading the offense with a .563 batting average while Maddy Kaplan is hitting .429. The Crimson hit .308 as a team with 12 doubles and five stolen bases last weekend.
Four pitchers saw action last weekend with Taylor Cabe and Morgan Groom splitting the four starts. Cabe threw 9.0 innings, picking up two wins. She has a 4.67 ERA and six strikeouts while Groom is 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA and eight strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched.
The Eagles and Crimson have met one previous times with Harvard downing GS 1-0 in eight innings in 2010 at a tournament in Orlando, Florida.
Harvard's 2016 stats
Harvard's 2016 roster
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
The Fighting Hawks sit at 3-10 heading into this weekend's action after going 1-3 in California last weekend.
Kaylin VanDomelen leads the offense, hitting .343 while Shelby Hard is second on the team with a .308 average and two home runs. As a team, UND is hitting .206 with five home runs and 12 stolen bases.
In the circle, VanDomelen is leading the way there, as well. She is 2-5 with a 3.80 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. Four other pitchers have seen action.
The Eagles and Fighting Hawks have never met in softball.
UND's 2016 stats
UND's 2016 roster
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will head to the Lone Star State for its Spring Break trip. The Eagles will open Sun Belt Conference play next weekend at Texas State, will then head to College Station for a doubleheader at Texas A&M on Tuesday and will then finish up in Lubbock with a tournament at Texas Tech.
RANDOM STATS AND NOTES
Career Games Started - by position (active)
A.J. Hamilton: 185 total - 185 C
E. Snider: 122 total - 122 OF
M. Robinson: 119 total - 119 1B
T. Rogers: 91 total - 63 OF; 28 DP
A. Mann: 66 total - 31 2B; 28 SS; 7 DP
M. Mazur: 44 total - 42 3B; 2 DP
K. Camp: 28 total - 28 P
R. McGuire: 22 total - 22 DP
H. Farrell: 15 total - 15 3B
L. Witkowski: 15 total - 12 OF; 3 2B
H. Felt: 14 total - 14 P
I. Davis: 12 total - 11 2B; 1 SS
D. Raley: 8 total - 8 P
M. Weeks: 5 total - 3 OF; 2 DP
H. Carter: 3 total - 3 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)
The Georgia Southern softball team opens home play this weekend by hosting the Eagle Classic in Statesboro. The Eagles welcome Eastern Kentucky, Harvard and North Dakota to town for the three-day event. GS opens the weekend on Friday at 4:30 p.m. with a game against North Dakota. On Saturday, the Eagles take on North Dakota at 2:30 p.m., and then Harvard at 4:45 p.m. On Sunday, GS wraps up the weekend with a single game against EKU at 2:30 p.m.
All games featuring Georgia Southern will be streamed live via the GS All-Access premium site, which requires a subscription.
FACILITY AND TICKET INFO
The Eagle Classic will take place at Eagle Field in Statesboro. The address is 615 Fair Rd, Statesboro, GA 30458. Admission is free.
Here's the tournament site, which has the schedule and live stat links.
THE WEEKEND FORECAST
Here's the forecast for Statesboro. 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 130-117. 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 EASTERN KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky is off to a hot 10-2 start after winning all four games at the Alabama A&M tournament last weekend and has won seven in a row.
Kayla Joyce leads an offense that is hitting .329 with seven home runs. Joyce is batting .452 while Paige Murphy is hitting .389 with eight stolen bases. Four other Colonels are hitting over .300, including Hannah Clark who also has three home runs.
Alex Sallberg (1-1, 1.26 ERA, 39 Ks, 33.1 IP) and Hayley Flynn (8-1, 3.25 ERA, 50 Ks, 36.2 IP) have thrown all but seven innings thus far.
The Eagles and EKU have met one previous time with the Colonels downing GS 6-3 in nine innings last year in this same event.
EKU's 2016 stats
EKU's 2016 roster
SCOUTING HARVARD
Harvard opened up its season last weekend, going 3-1 at the Jacksonville University Green and Gold Classic. Early on, Rhianna Rich is leading the offense with a .563 batting average while Maddy Kaplan is hitting .429. The Crimson hit .308 as a team with 12 doubles and five stolen bases last weekend.
Four pitchers saw action last weekend with Taylor Cabe and Morgan Groom splitting the four starts. Cabe threw 9.0 innings, picking up two wins. She has a 4.67 ERA and six strikeouts while Groom is 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA and eight strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched.
The Eagles and Crimson have met one previous times with Harvard downing GS 1-0 in eight innings in 2010 at a tournament in Orlando, Florida.
Harvard's 2016 stats
Harvard's 2016 roster
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
The Fighting Hawks sit at 3-10 heading into this weekend's action after going 1-3 in California last weekend.
Kaylin VanDomelen leads the offense, hitting .343 while Shelby Hard is second on the team with a .308 average and two home runs. As a team, UND is hitting .206 with five home runs and 12 stolen bases.
In the circle, VanDomelen is leading the way there, as well. She is 2-5 with a 3.80 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. Four other pitchers have seen action.
The Eagles and Fighting Hawks have never met in softball.
UND's 2016 stats
UND's 2016 roster
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will head to the Lone Star State for its Spring Break trip. The Eagles will open Sun Belt Conference play next weekend at Texas State, will then head to College Station for a doubleheader at Texas A&M on Tuesday and will then finish up in Lubbock with a tournament at Texas Tech.
RANDOM STATS AND NOTES
Career Games Started - by position (active)
A.J. Hamilton: 185 total - 185 C
E. Snider: 122 total - 122 OF
M. Robinson: 119 total - 119 1B
T. Rogers: 91 total - 63 OF; 28 DP
A. Mann: 66 total - 31 2B; 28 SS; 7 DP
M. Mazur: 44 total - 42 3B; 2 DP
K. Camp: 28 total - 28 P
R. McGuire: 22 total - 22 DP
H. Farrell: 15 total - 15 3B
L. Witkowski: 15 total - 12 OF; 3 2B
H. Felt: 14 total - 14 P
I. Davis: 12 total - 11 2B; 1 SS
D. Raley: 8 total - 8 P
M. Weeks: 5 total - 3 OF; 2 DP
H. Carter: 3 total - 3 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)
Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State Highlights: JLab Birmingham Bowl (12/29/25)
Tuesday, December 30
Georgia Southern Football Media Availability (12/29/25)
Tuesday, December 30
Georgia Southern Football Media Availability (12/28/25)
Sunday, December 28
Georgia Southern Football Media Availability (12/15/25)
Monday, December 15
