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5/7/2009 - SOFTBALL
Softball Teams Ready for the Trek to A-Sun Title
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ASun.TVMACON, Ga. - For the third straight year, Stetson's Patricia Wilson Field in DeLand, Fla. serves as the site for the Atlantic Sun Conference Softball Championship, kicking off with third-seeded Mercer facing off with fourth-seeded Jacksonville on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Fans can catch all of the action on ASun.TV.
Of the six teams participating in the 2009 Atlantic Sun Softball Championship, only two have won a Championship title: Campbell and Stetson. Lipscomb, Mercer, ETSU and Jacksonville have never won an A-Sun tournament title, and only the Lady Bisons own a regular-season championship, sharing the 2008 title. Stetson is a four-time Champion (1986-1988, 2007) and Campbell won twice (1995 and 2008).
The Campbell Camels, picked seventh in the preseason polls, used big bats and stellar pitching to capture their first No. 1 seed in an A-Sun Softball Championship since divisional conference play in 1996. Campbell took the tournament last year as the No. 5 seed beating the host team Stetson to claim the 2008 title. Taylor McGee set a Campbell school freshman record with nine home runs. Brittany Stanley won 10 of the Camels’ 16 conference games setting a Campbell single-season league play record.
Second-seeded Lipscomb, owner of an NCAA-era record, 16 shutouts, seeks its first A-Sun Championship win in this, its fourth appearance. In the previous three seasons (2006, 2007, 2008) the Lady Bisons combined to throw 20 shutouts. Coach Kristin Peck won her 100th game April 18 against Kennesaw State, on Peck's 28th birthday. The Lady Bisons have won 30 or more games for the first time in the NCAA era and lost fewer than 20 games during the regular season for the first time in the NCAA era. Junior pitcher Christen Campbell threw a 1-0 no-hitter against Louisiana Tech Feb. 14 at the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, La.
Mercer's 37-17 record is the best mark through 54 games in program history, and their 14 conference wins set a program record. The Bears enter the A-Sun Championship in grand fashion as senior Cassy Neilson closed out her career in Macon, Ga., by hitting a grand slam in the Bears’ last home game of the regular season to secure a win against Samford.
The Jacksonville softball team gets its first taste of postseason play in four years, sitting in the fourth seed, its highest seed since entering the conference. Sophomore Katie Kelly paced the Dolphins' offense with a .327 batting average (54-165) and a .406 on-base percentage. She hit a team-best 10 doubles and 30 runs scored to go along with 14 RBI. Freshman Sarah Sigrest anchored the pitching staff with 12 wins, a 2.23 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 178.2 innings of works.
No. 5 ETSU Coach Andrea Mangrum notched her 100th win when the Lady Bucs defeated Belmont on April 12. The Lady Bucs picked up the 200th win in program history with their victory against Akron on Feb. 14. Hardy broke her sixth record in the last two seasons after tossing her seventh shutout of the year against Western Carolina. The ETSU pitching staff smashed the season shutout record by pitching 16 shutouts.
Stetson senior first baseman Andrea Migliori had a sampling of milestone home runs in 2009. On Feb. 6 vs. Texas State, her first of season set the Stetson career record with 43. On March 13 vs. Iowa, her game-tying blast in bottom of the sevent set Stetson career RBI record and marked the 50th home run of her career. On April 21, at FGCU, she became first Hatter ever to hit 10 homers in a season three times and finally on April 25, versu Belmont. She smashed her 54th career homer to tie FAU alumna Nikki Myers for second all-time in A-Sun history.
Stetson served as the host school on three other occasions, from 1986 to 1988.The Stetson University Board of Trustees officially dedicated the field on Sept. 18, 2008, after the completion of all of the phases of the facility in honor of long time booster Patricia Wilson. Of the five previous visits to DeLand, Stetson has won twice. This year marks the 13th time the event takes place in the state of Florida, which is more than any other host-states combined.
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.
