PREVIEW: GS Softball Opens Sun Belt Play This Weekend At Troy
3/8/2018 2:00:00 PM | Softball
Head coach Kim Dean and the Eagles begin conference play after a successful pre-conference slate
It will be the first taste of league play for new head coach Kim Dean and her coaching staff, as well as several new Eagle players, but if the pre-conference results are any indication, Georgia Southern is in position to outperform its preseason Sun Belt poll pick of seventh from the league's coaches back in February.
A walk-off two-run home run by Hannah Farrell yesterday sent the Eagles to a 7-5 win over Detroit Mercy, giving Georgia Southern a 13-6 overall record heading into the series. The walk-off home run was the first for the Eagles since Alesha Mann's 3-run walk-off HR in a 12-9 win over Boise State on March 19, 2016, in Lubbock, Texas.
Anticipated weather on Sunday forced the Trojans to alter the series, which now begins with a doubleheader on Friday at 3 p.m. ET. The series wraps up on Saturday with a single game at 1 p.m. Troy is also 13-6 this season, and the Trojans are coming off of an impressive showing at the D9 Classic in Orlando, going 5-0 with wins over Florida International (4-0) and UC Santa Barbara (9-1), among others.
The Eagles' successful start to the season has been keyed by an offense that ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in batting average (.287) and second in home runs (15), while the pitching ranks third in the league in ERA (2.25). The biggest improvement has come from the team fielding as the eagles are tied for fourth in fielding percentage (.972) - 27 points higher than last years .945 fielding that ranked ninth.
Individually, Alesha Mann leads the Eagles in batting average (.345) and slugging (.672), while Farrell's walk-off home run gives her four on the year, tying Mann for the team lead. In the circle, Kierra Camp (8-3, 2.30 ERA) has already matched her win total for all of last season and her eight wins are currently second in the Sun Belt.
Troy is led by junior Peyton Glover (5-0, 2.06 ERA), who has a league-high three saves while also limiting opposing hitters to just a .209 batting average. Katie Webb (.322, 3 HR, 14 RBI) ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in slugging percentage (.542) while Logan Calhoun (.344) leads the team in hits and runs scored (18).
Last year, the Eagles took two of three from Troy in Statesboro, winning the first game (3-2) and third game (8-3) of the series, while the Trojans took the middle game by an 11-3 score in six innings. Overall, Troy leads the series between the two teams, 20-11, which dates back to 1994.
Troy will have live stats of all three games as well as Facebook Live webcasts of the contests.
