Seahawks Close Out Regular Season At Georgia State
With its chances to qualify for the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association softball championship still alive, the UNC Wilmington softball team concludes its regular season schedule this weekend with a three-game series at Georgia State. The Panthers and Seahawks will take to the field Friday in a 3 p.m. doubleheader before closing out the series Saturday with a single game beginning at Noon.
Despite suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of James Madison last weekend, the Seahawks are still in the hunt for a spot in next week's championship as four teams vie for the final two spots.
Live Stats
Live stats for all three game are available through UNCWsports.com.
About UNC Wilmington
The UNC Wilmington softball team closed out the home portion of its 2009 schedule last weekend with a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series against James Madison at Boseman Field ... The Seahawks were swept by the Dukes in the three-game set as JMU took a one-and-a-half game lead over UNCW for the fourth spot in the CAA standings ... Junior Michelle Harrison paced the UNCW lineup as she hit .429 with two doubles and two RBI ... Sophomore Rachel Sawyer and freshman Kelsey Eddinger also had strong performances at the plate as both were 3-for-9 with a RBI ... In the circle, Freshman Jennifer Ladd had a strong relief appearance in the second game of the series as she did not allow a hit in 4 1/3 innings of work ... Ladd also made the first CAA start of her career on Sunday when she opened the final game of the series.
About Georgia State
One of two teams to have already clinched a spot in the upcoming CAA softball championship, Georgia State brings a 26-18 overall mark and a 12-5 league ledger into the weekend series with the Seahawks... Reigning CAA Rookie and Player-of-the-Year sophomore Catherine Lee leads the Panther attack with a .333 batting average while Rachel Cunningham has driven in a team-best 30 RBI ... Cunningham is one of five Georgia State players who has driven in 20 or more runs this season ... Alana Thomas and senior Madi Gore highlight the Panthers' pitching staff as both players have spent more than 100 innings in the circle ... Thomas has fashioned a 2.82 ERA in 22 appearances and Gore has turned in a 3.16 ERA in 23 appearances ... Both players have four shutouts to their credit this season ... the Panthers are coached by Bob Heck who is in his 22nd season with the program ... Heck has led the Panthers to a 654-558-2 mark in his time at the helm of the Georgia State program.
UNCW vs Georgia State Series Notes
Georgia State holds a 12-3 edge in the all-time series with UNC Wilmington, with 10 of those contests coming since the Panthers joined the CAA for the 2005-06 season ... The Panthers hold an 8-2 edge in games played against the Seahawks in that span ... The Panthers swept last season's series at Boseman Field, winning by margins of 5-0, 4-0 and 2-1 ... Morgan Walters paced the UNCW attack against the Panthers as she hit .556 and record the Seahawks' lone RBI in the series ... Meghan Murray was 5-for-12 at the plate and Carley Hughes was 3-for-8 ... In the circle, Amanda Aditays had a solid outing as she allowed one run on eight hits while striking out four in the series finale.
Student Versus Teacher
It's fitting that first-year Head Coach Kelly Van Houten closes out the regular season of her inaugural campaign by taking on the team that she left to become head coach of the Seahawks. Van Houten spent the three seasons prior to her move to the Port City as an associate head coach at Georgia State, where she helped guide one of the nation's most potent offensive attacks. In her final season with the program, the Panthers ranked among the nation's best in numerous offensive categories, including batting average (.323/6th), runs per game (5.8/14th) and slugging percentage (.475/17th). Van Houten also played a key role in the development of back-to-back CAA Rookie-of-the-Year winners (Danielle Roddy and Catherine Lee) as well as the circuit's first player to win both Player and Rookie-of-the-Year in the same season (Lee).
Youth Movement
The Seahawks feature one of the youngest lineups in the nation this season as 15 underclassmen, including 11 freshmen, make up the 2009 roster. According to research conducted by the University of Geogria Sports Information department, UNCW is the fourth youngest lineup in Division I softball as only Georgia (18), St. Bonaventure (17) and Tennessee Tech (17) feature more underclassmen on their rosters.
The Seahawks are also tied for second with Arkansas State, Boise State, San Jose State and St. Mary's (Ca.) for the most freshmen on a Division I roster as only Northern Iowa, with 12 freshmen, feature more first-year players this season.
The Drive For Five
The Seahawks are 39-9-1 since the start of the 2006 season when they score five or more runs in a game. UNCW went 7-1-1 last season when it plated five or more runs and is 7-0 this season when accomplishing the feat.
Road Woes No More
UNCW picked up its first road win in more than 21 months in early April when it defeated Delaware, 2-0, in the opening game of a Colonial Athletic Assocation series in Newark, Del. The Seahawks last true road victory (non neutral site) prior to the triumph over the Blue Hens came in an 8-2 victory at Georgia State on April 21, 2007. The Seahawks were 0-21-1 in 2008 and 0-6 this season on the road until the victory. The team has turned around its road fortunes since the shutout win as it has won five straight and seven of its last eight games away from the friendly confines of Boseman Field, including a doubleheader sweep of N.C. Central last week.
Rain, Rain Go Away
UNCW has seen significant portions of two of its early-season tournaments washed away due to rain. The Seahawks were limited to just two out of four scheduled games at its own Hughes Bros. Tires Seahawk Classic in late February and all four games at the Winthrop Adidas/Invitational in mid-March were cancelled due to inclement weather.
Call Her Ironwomen
Freshman Kelsey Eddinger is the only UNCW player to play in all 42 of the Seahawks games this season. Eddinger has not only played in all 42 games, she has started all 42 as the team's centerfielder and leads the team with a .327 batting average, 19 runs scored and six stolen bases. She is also second on the team in home runs (4).
The Century Club
With her base hit against Michigan State March 11, junior Morgan Walters became just the 27th player in school history to record 100 or more hits during their career. Walters joins senior teammate Carley Hughes on the list as Hughes ranks third all-time with 208 career base knocks.
A First Time For Everything
Junior Morgan Walters hit her first career home run when she belted a lead-off home run in the team's contest against Delaware State on Feb. 27. Walters had recorded 96 career hits, including 20 doubles, before connecting on her first career longball.
Three Times The Bases
After going the first 34 games of the season without a triple, the Seahawks have combined to record six triples in the past eight games. Freshman Kelsey Eddinger recorded the first triple of the season in the second game of UNCW's three-game series at George Mason on April 18 before freshman Jessie Gunter recorded taillied a three-bagger in the series finale on April 19. The next three UNCW triples came in the Seahawks doubleheader with N.C. Central on Wednesday as Eddinger recorded a three-base knock in the opener and sophomore Rachel Sawyer had a pair of triples in the nightcap. Eddinger also recorded the most recent triple, a three-base hit in the first inning of the series finale against James Madison last weekend.
Hughes Joins Exclusive Club
With her single against Hofstra on April 11, senior Carley Hughes became just the third player in program history to amass 200 or more hits during her Seahawk career, joining Yexenia Ugrate (215) and former teammate Krista Searle (224) as the only players in school history to accomplish the feat. Hughes enters the weekend needing just seven more hits to move into a tie for second with Ugrate.
Hughes Ready To Make Move Up RBI, Total Bases Charts
With her five RBI against N.C. Central last Wednesday, Carley Hughes moved into a tie for second place with Megan Watson (1994-97) on the school's career RBI chart with 140 runs batted in. Hughes also moved closer to tying former teammate Krista Searle for first place on the all-time total bases chart as her three bases hits (one double, two singles) against the Eagles moved just just six bases away from tying Searle for first with 369 total bases.
