Softball | 4/26/2016 2:04:00 PM

GAME NOTES
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Georgia Southern wraps up their six-game road swing that has taken the Eagles through South Carolina, into Alabama and back into Georgia. The Eagles, who are 7-11 in true road games this season, started the trek by knocking off Southeastern Conference opponent South Carolina 6-4 on Tuesday, April 19 in a game that was televised on the SEC Network+. The win over the Gamecocks came in the Eagles' fifth game against an SEC opponent this season. It was the fourth time in program history that a GS team has defeated an SEC team but was the first time Georgia Southern had won a game against the SEC on the road.
 
Georgia Southern then traveled to Troy, Ala. this past weekend for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Troy University, taking game-one 8-1. The Eagles will close out the six games on the road with a midweek doubleheader at Savannah State on Wednesday, April 27. The twinbill in Savannah is slated to start at 5 p.m.
 
RECORD CLIMBING
• This past weekend, junior outfielder Emily Snider climbed into the top-10 in program history for career runs scored. She scored four runs on the weekend at Troy and now has 90 for her career, ranking 9th all-time.
• Junior first baseman Morgan Robinson currently has 105 runs batted in for her career and ranks fifth all-time for RBI. Her 47 RBI this season ranks tied for third for most RBI in a single season.
• Senior catcher A.J. Hamilton ranks sixth all-time with 21 career home runs.
• Redshirt freshman outfielder Lydia Witkowski is currently tied for third in program history with five triples this season and is tied for eighth all-time with 38 runs scored in a single season.
• Freshman pitcher Dixie Raley recorded her 20th win of the season on Saturday against Troy. The 20 wins marks the most by a freshman pitcher in program history and also has her tied for second all-time for most wins in a single season. Raley is also currently tied for sixth in the single season record book with two saves, eighth with 164 strikeouts on the season, tied for ninth with 28 starts and is also tied for 10th with 36 appearances on the year.
 
FACILITY INFO
Wednesday's doubleheader at Savannah State will take place at Tiger Softball Field.
 
Live stats will be available.
 
SCOUTING SAVANNAH STATE
The Tigers of Savannah State (21-20) enter Wednesday's doubleheader having won three of their last five games and 11 of their last 14 including a stretch of six-straight wins in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play. SSU is 9-12 at home this season and has played their last eight games at Tiger Softball Field. Georgia Southern is 5-0 all-time against Savannah State with the two programs last meeting in 2008 for three games, two in Savannah and one in Statesboro. Last season, the two were scheduled to play in Savannah but the games were cancelled due to weather.
 
As a team, the Tigers are batting .319 with six players batting above .300. They are led at the plate by Alexis Singleton's .414 batting average through 41 games. Singleton is one of just two SSU players to have played in all 41 games so far this season along with Briana Harris. Singleton leads the team with 140 official at-bats, 58 hits and six sacrifice hits. Torrian Wright is second on the team with a .403 batting average in 34 games as well as a .687 slugging percentage. Cortni Jones is currently batting .381 and leads the team with eight home runs, 33 RBI and 77 total bases for the year. She is also tied with Chasney Jenkins for tops on the team with 30 runs scored. On the base paths, Harris leads the way with 10 stolen bases on 11 attempts. The team has stolen 39 bases on 48 attempts this season.
 
On the mound, the Tigers have utilized four pitchers this season and have a collective earned run average of 4.24. Amanda Hallman (12-9) has made the most appearances with 25, including 19 starts, and boasts a 3.89 ERA, second on the team. She has pitched 13 complete games and has struck out 106 batters in 133 innings of work. Opponents have batted .266 against her so far this season. Behind Hallman, Ashley Eichenlaub (4-7) has made 17 appearances, including 12 starts and holds a 5.51 ERA while pitching 67.1 innings. Kasie Johnson(4-2) has made 11 appearances with eight starts and boasts the team's top ERA of 2.89 through 43.2 innings of work. Faith Dickerson (1-2) is the final pitcher in the rotation and she has made 11 appearances, including two starts and pitched 28.1 innings.

SSU ROSTER
SSU SCHEDULE
SSU STATISTICS
 
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern returns home this weekend to close out the home portion of their 2016 schedule with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against No. 8 UL Lafayette. The Eagles and Ragin' Cajuns will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 30 with the first game beginning at 1 p.m. The two teams will then close out the series on Sunday, May 1 with a single game at 1 p.m. Sunday's game will serve as the Eagles' Senior Day for lone senior A.J. Hamilton.
 
WEEKLY AWARD FOR RALEY (4/12/16)
Georgia Southern softball player Dixie Raley was named the Madness Sun Belt Softball Player of the Week by College Sports Madness.
 
Raley, a freshman from Milledgeville, Ga., had a stellar weekend on the mound for Georgia Southern, securing two of the Eagles' three wins over longtime rival Appalachian State – including a shutout in game-3 – while setting a new career-high for strikeouts. She was so effective on the mound, that her opponents hit just .146 against her over the 14 innings she pitched and she finished the weekend with a 1.00 earned run average and 18 strikeouts, six looking. Raley is now tied for second in the conference with 16 wins and she is third in strikeouts (139) as well as strikeouts looking (48), fourth in innings pitched (135.2) and fifth in opposing batting average (.228).
 
In Raley's first appearance of the weekend, a 6-2 win in game-1 on Saturday, Raley pitched the complete game and surrendered just four hits and a pair of runs while striking out four batters. In that game, she did not surrender a hit through the first two innings and gave up just two hits over the final four frames.
 
The next day, Raley was outstanding in the circle as she guided the Eagles to a 3-0 victory to secure the weekend sweep over the Mountaineers. Raley pitched the complete game in her third shutout of the season and allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out a career-high 14 batters, four looking. She led off the game by securing the Eagles' first 6 outs via strikeout and then proceeded to strike out two batters in each of the next three innings. Over the final four innings of the game, Raley gave up just one hit and did not walk a single batter.
 
WEEKLY AWARD FOR WITKOWSKI (3/15/16)
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 149-131. 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: 218 total - 218 C
Emily Snider: 155 total - 155 OF
Morgan Robinson: 152 total - 152 1B
Taylor Rogers: 120 total - 85 OF; 35 DP
Alesha Mann: 99 total - 61 SS; 31 2B; 7 DP
Michelle Mazur: 52 total - 42 3B; 5 OF; 3 DP; 2 2B
Kierra Camp: 40 total - 40 P
Rowan McGuire: 32 total - 31 DP; 1 OF
Heather Felt: 15 total - 15 P
Hannah Farrell: 48 total - 48 3B
Lydia Witkowski: 48 total - 45 OF; 3 INF
India Davis: 43 total - 42 2B; 1 SS
Dixie Raley: 28 total - 28 P
Macy Weeks: 21 total - 13 DP; 8 OF
Haley Carter: 8 total - 5 DP; 3 OF
 
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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