Friday, May 07, 2010

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Softball Series of the Week features two schools looking to secure spots in next week’s Atlantic Sun Championship as Camp¬bell hosts USC Upstate in a doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m. Saturday from the Eakes Athletic Complex in Buies Creek, N.C.

Campbell enters the final weekend of play on the outside looking in for qualifying for the A-Sun Softball Championships, after winning the title in both 2008 and 2009, while USC Upstate has hopes of securing its first A-Sun Championship appearance after completing its reclassification period. Last time the two squads met, the Lady Camels and Spartans split the series by marks of 1-0 and 6-2 in Spartanburg, S.C.

Campbell ranks 10th na¬tionally in double plays per game with 0.45. In the A-Sun, the Lady Camels rank fourth in batting average at .261, fourth in slugging percentage (.371), fifth with a .335 on base percentage, third in hits (345), second in triples with eight, and tie for fourth in stolen bases with the Spartans at 54. Campbell also ranks second in fielding double plays with 23, while its pitching staff’s leads the league in saves (six).

At the plate, Sarah Forgacs enters the final weekend of regular season play ranking ninth in the A-Sun with a .346 batting average and tied for second in triples with three behind ETSU’s Cheniece Cason. The top hitter has recorded 19 stolen bases on the season in 22 attempts. From the circle, Brittany Stanley ranks 61st in shutouts with five.

Morgan Childers leads the Spartans from inside the circle, as the junior ranks third nationally in hits allowed per seven innings with 2.74, third in strikeouts (372), fourth in shutouts with 14, fifth with a 0.96 ERA, sixth in wins (29) and seventh in strikeouts per seven innings with 11.5. Stanley and Childers have locked up in 1-0 games each of the last two years, each winning once. In 18 career innings against the Camels, Childers has fanned 35 hitters.

USC Upstate owns the second-best fielding percentage in the nation at 0.980 behind East Carolina (0.982) and ranks 15th with a 1.74 ERA and 32nd in doubles per game with 1.47. Crislyn Chewning paces USC Upstate from the plate with an A-Sun best .379 batting average and ranks fifth in on base percentage with .425. The senior also ranks nationally as the fifth-toughest to strike out.

Kim Brasil also leads USC Upstate as the junior ranks fifth nationally in doubles per game. In the A-Sun, Brasil paces the league in doubles with 18, ranks third in runs scored (41) and ranks fifth in stolen bases with 18.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.