Softball | 4/1/2016 3:54:00 PM

GAME NOTES
 
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Georgia Southern softball team will play seven of their next 10 games at Eagle Field. This weekend, the Eagles will be on the road at UL Monroe for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series before returning home for seven straight home games. GS will open the stretch with a weekend Sun Belt series against Appalachian State on Saturday, Apr. 9 and Sunday, Spr. 10 before Kennesaw State comes to town for a midweek game on Wednesday, Apr. 13. The Eagles will then close out the homestand with another weekend conference series, this one against South Alabama on Saturday, Apr. 16 and Sunday, Apr. 17. So far this season, the Eagles are 7-2 at home.
 
FACILITY INFO
This weekend's three-game series at UL Monroe will take place at the ULM Softball Complex in Monroe, LA. The address is 308 Warhawk Way, Monroe, LA 71209.
 
Live stats will be available through UL Monroe and live video of the game will also be available via ULM's All-Access.
 
SCOUTING UL MONROE
UL Monroe enters the weekend with an overall record of 17-18, but the Warhawks have played just 1 home game since opening the season with six-straight, including their own Mardi Gras Classic. Since their February 14th home win over Seton Hall, the 'Hawks have played 28 games on the road, and the single game last Wednesday at home. In that stretch, they went 13-16, including games at No. 2 Alabama and opened their first three weekends of Sun Belt Play on the road. In SBC play, the Warhawks are 3-6, including a 2-1 series win over Appalachian State to kick SBC play off and then series at South Alabama (0-3) and Texas State (1-2). ULM is currently 5-2 at home this season.
 
The Warhawks as a team are batting .297 through the first 35 games of the season. They have been led by Rochelle Roberts' blistering .523. She also leads the team with 58 hits, eight doubles, five triples, 91 total bases, 28 stolen bases and an .820 slugging percentage. Behind Roberts, Faith Bohack is batting .373 and joins Roberts, Amye Barre, Sydney McKay and Cheyanne Lyon as the only players to have started all 35 games for ULM. Bohack leads the team with six home runs and 26 runs batted in, just one ahead of Barre's 25 RBI. As a team, the Warhawks have swiped 90 bases in 108 attempts.
 
In the circle, ULM enters the week with a 4.23 team earned run average. The Warhawks have utilized four pitchers led by Paige Porter's team-best 3.96 ERA. Porter is 3-2 on the season in 15 appearances, including five starts and two complete games. Melanie Coyne has carried the largest load in the circle as she has pitched 129 innings while going 11-13 in 28 appearances. Coyne has made 23 starts, pitched 14 complete games and been a part of three shutouts. She holds a 4.07 ERA and has held her opposition to a .265 batting average. The other two pitchers for the Warhawks are Katlynn Kaminski and Casey Waterman. Kaminski has made 13 appearances, including five starts, and pitched 34 innings while Waterman has made eight appearances, two starts and pitched 15 innings.
 
ULM ROSTER
ULM SCHEDULE
ULM STATS
 
UP NEXT
Following the road trip to Louisiana, the Eagles will return home for their next seven games, including a pair of Sun Belt Conference series and one midweek game. GS will first take on long-time rival Appalachian State in a three-game series next weekend beginning with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 9 followed by a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 10.
 
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 140-126. 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: 204 total - 204 C
Emily Snider: 141 total - 141 OF
Morgan Robinson: 138 total - 138 1B
Taylor Rogers: 108 total - 80 OF; 28 DP
Alesha Mann: 85 total - 31 2B; 47 SS; 7 DP
Michelle Mazur: 45 total - 42 3B; 3 DP
Kierra Camp: 36 total - 36 P
Rowan McGuire: 27 total - 27 DP
Heather Felt: 15 total - 15 P
Hannah Farrell: 34 total - 34 3B
Lydia Witkowski: 34 total - 31 OF; 3 INF
India Davis: 32 total - 31 2B; 1 SS
Dixie Raley: 18 total - 18 P
Macy Weeks: 18 total - 13 DP; 5 OF
Haley Carter: 5 total - 5 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)
 

 
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