2009 Softball Notes -April 13

	Armstrong Atlantic State (23-21, 9-7) -- The Pirates went 4-2 on the week, including a key PBC sweep of Francis Marion on Tuesday ... AASU defeated the Patriots, 4-2 and 6-3, ensuring that the Pirates will finish .500 or better in the league standings this year ... Nicole Huddleston launched a two-run home run in the second game to pace the Pirates over the Patriots ... AASU hosted a rare tripleheader on Friday. After the Pirates dropped two games to Flagler, AASU hosted Albany State for a single game, winning 10-2 in six innings ... Albany State returned on Saturday for Senior Day, and senior Stephanie Mattes' two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh gave the Pirates a 3-2 win over the Rams ... Prior to the game, AASU honored its four seniors - Mattes, Sam Floyd, Jessica Strong and Ashley Bain ... Bain was also inducted into the AASU Softball Wall of Honor. During the Flagler doubleheader, Bain became the all-time leader in games played at AASU ... The Pirates will wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader at UNC Pembroke on Tuesday, then travel to the PBC Championships in Florence next weekend.
	Augusta State (28-17, 9-7) -- Augusta State went 3-1 on the week and improved to 28-17 on the season and 9-7 in the conference… The Lady Jaguars hosted USC Aiken on Tuesday, April 7 in a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader… ASU split with the Lady Pacers taking game one 2-1 and dropping game two 4-3… The Lady Jags then travelled to Columbus, Ga. to take on Columbus State in a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader on April 10… ASU swept the Lady Cougars 1-0 and 3-1… Freshman Sara DeMuth (10-8) went 2-1 on the week and had wins against USC Aiken and Columbus State… DeMuth allowed only two earned runs on seven hits in 19.0 innings of work and booked 21 strikeouts… Freshman Emily Corish (3-1) also earned a win against Columbus State… Corish gave up three runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts in 6.1 innings… Freshman Kacee Camp led the team offensively hitting .538 (7-for-13) with a double and an RBI… Junior Alysha Krier went 5-for-13 (.385) with a double and an RBI… The Lady Jags are back in action Monday, April 13, when they take on Lander in a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader… First pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m.
	Columbus State (27-28, 9-9) -- The CSU softball team went 1-3 in four Peach Belt Conference games last week to finish 9-9 in league play...Split two games at GCSU last Tuesday; Won the first game 3-1; Kristi Bullard went five innings to get the win and Jennifer Isasi pitched the final two innings for her sixth save of the season; Christie Thompson went 3-for-4 with two-run scoring doubles; April Jowers, Brittany Leverett, and Amanda Wheeless each had two hits; Lost game two 7-3; Leverett homered, Thompson had another run-scoring double, and Carrie Jones had a double and a single...CSU suffered a home sweep to Augusta State last Friday; Lost 1-0 and 3-1; Bullard had a complete game in the opener, allowing seven hits, and a run in the sixth inning; CSU had only two hits in game one...In the nightcap, CSU totaled nine hits, but left 10 runners on base; Jordan Aszman (2-for-2) was the only CSU player with multiple hits; Isasi went seven innings, allowed five hits, and three runs...Jowers is sixth in PBC in batting at .382; Jowers (65), Thompson (59), and Sarah Moore (58) are one-two-three in total hits in the conference; Leverett is second in the league with 37 runs scored, tied for 5th with seven HR, and tied for 5th with 12 doubles; Jowers is tied for the league lead with 23 stolen bases...Doubleheader at West Georgia for Monday (April 13) was cancelled due to rain...CSU has lost a total of six games due to rain on the season...Home finale on Tuesday as Albany State visits Columbus for a doubleheader starting at 5 PM...PBC Tournament this weekend in Florence, SC.
	Francis Marion (28-17, 7-11) --FMU concluded its season with a 3-3 week, including a DH split with 12th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne......Senior 1B Tamela Bell beat LRC 5-3 with a walk-off 2-run homer in game one.....Junior LHP-DP Michaela Wolf and junior OF Jessica Birchmeier both his .526 (10-for-19) last week.....The team’s 10-0 season start was the best since the 2003 squad opened 18-0....Birchmeier and Wolf lead the FMU regulars with a .346 season average....Freshman 2B Ashley Jaramillo is hitting .312 average with team-leading 14 2Bs, 5 HRs, and 30 RBIs.....Wolf tossed a one-hitter against St. Andrews on April 10 with nine strikeouts. For the season, Wolf is 16-9 on the mound with a 1.66 ERA. Wolf is the only Patriot hurler to win 20 games twice in a career after posting marks of 29-13 and 21-10....Wolf is second on the team with 26 RBIs…. Freshman RHP Lauren Bubeck is 9-7 with a 2.21 ERA.....Senior OF Lakyn Bendle has broken the PBC record for career sacrifice hits with 60. Sophomore OF Maria Goode is hitting .452 coming off the Patriot bench, while senior UT Laura Hauff is batting .438 in PBC contests....Birchmeier and senior SS Shannan Tyson have 12 multi-hit games….Tyson has 250 career hits, tied for 6th best in the PBC, and is 14 at bats away from the PBC record.....FMU is 8-1 when scoring exactly 4 runs....FMU has won at least 30 games 10 of the last 12 campaigns……Over the past 14 seasons, FMU is 127-25 during the month of February….Dating back to the 2005 season, FMU is 120-22 when scoring first, and 120-9 when leading after 4 innings (23-0 this season)....FMU hosts the 2009 PBC Tournament at Freedom Florence, April 17-19.
	Georgia College & State University (30-18, 12-4) -- #4 in NCAA Region Poll, RV in NFCA National Poll … The Bobcats went 3-1 this week, splitting Columbus State Tuesday (1-3, 7-3) and shutting out Clark Atlanta Thursday (10-0, 18-0) … The shutouts gave the Bobcats 12 for the season with 11 belonging to pitcher Mandy Chandler … Thursday the senior tossed a two-hit six-inning run-ruled game with 15 strikeouts …The Bobcat ace’s 29 whiffs for the week gave her 372 for the season, beating the PBC single-season strikeout record … She now owns the strikeout category trifecta (game, season, career) in the conference record books … This is the third PBC pitching record she has broken this season, taking career wins, career strikeouts and now single-season strikeouts … This week the Bobcats had a .359 team average compared to their opponents’ .226 … They out-scored their opponents 36-6 … The Bobcats are back in action Tuesday hosting No. 3 North Georgia in the doubleheader starting at 5 p.m.
	Georgia Southwestern (12-35, 3-15) -- The Lady Hurricanes, 0-4 last week, were swept at No. 7 Valdosta State on Wednesday (10-0, 13-3) and at home against No. 3 North Georgia on Saturday (8-0, 6-2). The two shutouts against Southwestern mark the 15th & 16th time GSW has been held scoreless this season. Freshman Jessica Martin holds the low ERA on the GSW pitching staff with a 3.88 in 97.1 innings of work this spring. Freshman Gabby Buck continues to lead the Lady 'Canes at the plate with a .331 batting average. Buck belted her first collegiate home run in the second game of the North Georgia doubleheader. Junior Nichole Griffin, who had the only hit in game one against North Georgia, ranks 13th in the PBC with a .370 batting average in conference play. Southwestern cancelled the remaining date on the schedule, a Tuesday matchup with West Georgia, due to heavy rains in Americus on Monday. Next up for the Lady Hurricanes is the PBC Tournament starting Friday morning.
	Lander (13-27, 2-14) -- Lander struggled through an 0-4 week as the Bearcats dropped a PBC doubleheader on the road at No. 3 North Georgia on Wednesday, and another at home on Friday to UNC Pembroke. North Georgia defeated the Bearcats, 8-0 and 12-2, while UNCP scored 8-4, and 6-4 victories. Sara Senn continues to lead the Bearats at the plate as she is batting .333 with two triples, three doubles and nine RBI. Carrie Hudson is .322 with one homer, five doubles and 11 RBI. On the mound, freshman Hayley Leissner is 9-19 overall with a 2.24 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 165.2 innings pitched. Leissner needs just seven more strikeouts to tie Lander's single-season record of 180 set by Sarah Permenter in 2004.
	North Georgia (37-3, 15-1) -- The Saints went 4-0 last week, extending their current winning streak to 14 games while clinching their first ever Peach Belt Conference regular season championship. Against Lander to open the week, North Georgia run-ruled the Bearcats in both contests, taking game one 8-0 in five innings, before exploding for three runs in the sixth inning to take a 12-2 six-inning victory. Hilary Cox recorded four hits in the nightcap, while McGuire went a perfect 3-3 once again, this time adding a walk to the mix to reach base seven times in the doubleheader. Caroline Bower had a career day, adding a run-scoring triple to her three-run homer to drive in four runs. Pilar Harden tallied three hits in the nightcap, while Smith drove in a pair of runs. Sarah Phillips continued her impressive work on the mound, picking up her second win of the day in 6.0 innings of work. The sophomore allowed just two hits in game two, and three base hits on the day. Against Georgia Southwestern, the Saints saw much of the same, defeating the Hurricanes 8-0 in game one before claiming the conference championship with a 6-2 nightcap victory. Leslee Smith paced North Georgia in the opener with two hits, including a home run, and three runs batted in, while Pilar Harden and Kayla Martin added home runs. Game two saw a balanced North Georgia offense go to work and manufacture six runs. Six different players tallied one hit apiece, while four players added RBI’s in the 6-2 victory. Sarah Phillips battled through all seven innings to move to a league-leading 27-1 record, allowing five hits and striking out eight. The Saints remained the #3 team in the nation of the fourth straight week, and held the top spot in the NCAA Southeast Region Poll for the third straight week. North Georgia will close out the regular season with a doubleheader at GCSU before traveling to Francis Marion for the 2009 Peach Belt Conference Tournament later in the week.
	UNC Pembroke (18-26, 7-9) -- The Braves went 2-0 on the week sweeping PBC opponent Lander in a two-game set in Greenwood, S.C. With the two wins UNCP is now 18-26 on the season, with a 7-9 mark in the PBC. Pembroke is also now 5-9 at home, 9-12 on the road and 4-5 at neutral sites. Sophomore pitcher Martika Elmore picked up the two wins for the Braves as she continues to come back from a shoulder injury. The Braves are currently sixth in the conference in team batting and eighth in team pitching. UNCP’s Jelena Shaw is tied for first in the conference in stolen bases with 23, and is tied for 28th in the country in the category. The Braves will finish out the regular season with Armstrong Atlantic on Tuesday afternoon before heading to the Peach Belt Conference Tournament on Friday.
	USC Aiken (31-12, 11-7) -- The Pacers reached the 30 win mark this past week after posting a 3-1 record. USCA is now 31-12 overall and 11-7 in the Peach Belt Conference. Lauren Locklear, Jessica Strickland and Megan Lakes all led the Pacers with five hits as Locklear and Strickland both hit home runs. jennifer Day recorded two home runs in the week, as she also picked up a double. The Pacers will head into the PBC Tournament in a possible three-way tie for third place, depending on how ASU and AASU do this week.