Gardner-Webb Earns Trip To A-Sun Tournament
April 20, 2008 | Softball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – On a day that the Gardner-Webb softball team did not play a game, the squad clinched a spot in the last-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament it is eligible to compete in since the Bulldogs move into the Big South Conference next year.
Head coach Tom Cole's team currently stands at 5-13 against conference competition. However, by virtue of Jacksonville's two losses to league leader Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday afternoon, the Bulldogs clinched a spot in the six-team tournament. The Dolphins of JU finish its A-Sun slate with a 5-17 mark.
Despite the same win totals by the two teams, GWU clinches a share because it defeated a team higher in the conference standings than JU did during the regular season (the teams split in Jacksonville, Fla., this season, which caused the league to look at the second part of the tiebreaker).
The Bulldogs' split with USC Upstate at Varsity Field was the tiebreaker the team needed to make the postseason. Although GWU currently stands in sixth, the team can move up substantially depending on how it does over the last four conference games. The Bulldogs host Kennesaw State on Thursday at 2 p.m., marking the last time that five student-ahtletes (Taryn Beck, Lindsay Cox, Kelly Linsley, Haley Scism and Jessi Williams) will play in front of their fans at home since all will be graduating after the season. GWU will complete its A-Sun slate at Campbell on Friday, April 25. First pitch of the doubleheader is at 4 p.m.
Lipscomb has already clinched the No. 1 seed, having compiled a 16-6 league mark.
Last season, GWU went into the tournament as the No. 2 seed and not only won its first-ever postseason game, but advanced to the finals of the tournament before falling to Stetson.
