Softball | 3/22/2016 3:02:00 PM

GAME NOTES


ONE MORE TIME ON THE ROAD
The Georgia Southern softball team wraps up a stretch of 10-straight road games Wednesday at No. 12 Georgia with a single game at 6 p.m. The stretch is the second longest road swing for the Eagles this season after opening the season with 15 games away from Eagle Field. Wednesday's game will be on the SEC Network+ and it will be the third time this season the Eagles will have been on the network after games at Mississippi State and Texas A&M. Following the game at UGA, the Eagles will have five games at home including a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against UT Arlington this coming weekend which will include Friday's Military Appreciation Day.
 
FACILITY INFO
Wednesday's game will take place at Jack Turner Softball Stadium (1,400 capacity). The address is 2330 Milledge Ave., Athens, GA 30605.
 
Live stats will be available through UGA and live video of the game will also be available via the SEC Network+.
 
SCOUTING GEORGIA
Last week, Georgia opened their Southeastern Conference schedule on the road at South Carolina and dropped 2 of 3 games to the Gamecocks. Prior to the three-game series in Columbia, S.C., the Bulldogs were in Charleston, S.C. where they went 4-1 in the College of Charleston's Holy City Showdown with wins over Chattanooga, Charleston Southern, Michigan State and Columbia. Their one loss in the tournament was to the host Cougars of C of C. Overall, the Dawgs are 25-5 on the season which has them nationally-ranked by both polls.
 
On offense, the Bulldogs are batting .373 which has them tops in the SEC. UGA is also second in the SEC in hits (288), fourth in runs scored (233) and doubles (49), seventh in home runs (27) and eighth in stolen bases (41). Leading the way for UGA is a quartet of players batting over .400 for the season highlighted by Cortni Emanuel who is batting .505 through 30 games. She is one of five Bulldogs to have started all 30 games and she also leads the team in runs scored (38), hits (49) and stolen bases (17). Behind her, older sister Sydni Emanuel is batting .441 having played in 21 games. The other two Bulldogs batting over .400 are Brea Dickey and Maeve McGuire. Dickey has appeared in just 17 games, making four starts, while McGuire has started all 30 games for UGA. Tina Iosefa boasts an .805 slugging percentage with six doubles, one triple and a team-high eight home runs while batting in 30 runs, second on the team.
 
The Bulldogs' pitching staff boasts a 2.28 earned run average entering this week. UGA is led by Kylie Bass (5-0) with a 0.88 ERA and Chelsea Wilkinson's 2.22. Both Wilkinson (13-2) and Brittany Gray (7-3) have made 19 appearances with Gray holding a 2.52 ERA thus far in 58.1 innings of work. Wilkinson has pitched 85.0 innings and boasts a team-best 96 strikeouts this season, good enough for fifth in the SEC. All three UGA pitchers have held opposing batters to a .250 or lower batting average.
 
UGA ROSTER
UGA SCHEDULE
UGA STATISTICS
 
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles return home this weekend to begin a five game homestand. Starting the stretch off for GS will be a three-game, Sun Belt Conference series against the Mavericks of UT Arlington, including Friday's Military Appreciation Day. The Mavs are currently 22-4 on the season, but are 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play. After this weekend's series, the Eagles will then host Jacksonville University in a 5 p.m. doubleheader next Wednesday, Mar. 30.
 
 
WEEKLY AWARD FOR WITKOWSKI
Georgia Southern softball player Lydia Witkowski was named the Sun Belt Conference Community Coffee Student-Athlete of the Week as released by the conference office on Tuesday, Mar. 15.
 
A redshirt freshman from Alpharetta, Ga., Witkowski led Georgia Southern on offense in the Eagles' Sun Belt Conference opening series at Texas State as the Eagles went 2-1 in San Marcos. The Eagles' starting left fielder went 6-for-11 (.545) at the plate with a triple and an RBI and scored a pair of runs herself. She slugged .727 with eight total bases and finished the three games with a .545 on-base percentage.
 
In the field, she recorded four putouts and had an assist in the first game when she gunned down a runner tagging up at third, trying to make it home. The throw out at home from left field completed one of the Eagles' two double plays on the weekend.
 
In the first game of the series, Witkowksi went 4-for-4 at the plate with three singles and a triple for a 1.500 slugging percentage. She also batted in a runner and scored a pair of runs herself as the Eagles defeated Texas State 6-1. Witkowksi followed that up by going 2-for-4 at the plate in the Eagles' 5-4 win over the Bobcats in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader, sealing the series victory for the Eagles. The win also pushed the Eagles' longest winning streak of the season to eight games.
 
 
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 137-123. 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.
 
 
RANDOM STATS AND NOTES
Career Games Started - by position (active)
A.J. Hamilton: 198 total - 198 C
Emily Snider: 135 total - 135 OF
Morgan Robinson: 132 total - 132 1B
Taylor Rogers: 104 total - 76 OF; 28 DP
Alesha Mann: 79 total - 31 2B; 41 SS; 7 DP
Michelle Mazur: 45 total - 42 3B; 3 DP
Kierra Camp: 34 total - 34 P
Rowan McGuire: 27 total - 27 DP
Heather Felt: 15 total - 15 P
Hannah Farrell: 28 total - 28 3B
Lydia Witkowski: 28 total - 25 OF; 3 INF
India Davis: 25 total - 24 2B; 1 SS
Dixie Raley: 14 total - 14 P
Macy Weeks: 12 total - 9 DP; 3 OF
Haley Carter: 3 total - 3 DP
 
 
EAGLES BY STATE (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 Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.