Gardner-Webb Softball Week Ten Game Notes (Games 44-46); Senior Day on Sunday, April 25
April 19, 2010 | Softball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - Gardner-Webb will host the Charleston Southern Buccaneers this weekend, April 24-25, with Senior Day being held on prior to the first-pitch of Sunday afternoon's contest at 1 p.m.
The Lady Bulldogs (15-28, 5-9 Big South) will play its final
conference weekend series this weekend, as Gardner-Webb will host
Charleston Southern at Varsity Field on Saturday and Sunday in a
pivotal Big South Conference series in regards to the regular
season standings.
The two teams' will play a double header on Saturday, April 24,
starting at 1 p.m. and will then play the third and final game of
the series on Sunday, April 25, at 1 p.m.
GWU will host its 2010 Senior Day on Sunday, April 25, at 1 p.m.
Gardner-Webb will recognize its six seniors - Melody Harrell,
Ashley Whitlock, Christine Murray, Alison Coffey, Christa Fullwood
and Mandy Ward - prior to the first-pitch of the contest against
Charleston Southern.
Last week, Gardner-Webb senior catcher and designated player Mandy
Ward powered her way into GWU's Division I history, as the
right-hander blasted two home runs on the week of April 13-19, to
become the Lady Bulldogs Division I leader in career home runs with
23 bombs. Ward tied the former leader, Jessi Williams, with 22
career home runs with a home run in on April 13 at Winthrop. Then
in game two of a double header at Liberty on Friday, April 16, Ward
blasted the record-setting home run, a three-run shot in the first
inning.
The Lady Bulldogs have not faired well in extra inning contests, as
GWU is 1-6 in games that go the extra frames. In fact, in the week
of April 13-19, the Lady Bulldogs lost three games in the eighth
inning, in the other team's final at bat.
Heading into play this week, the Charleston Southern Buccaneers are
23-23-1 overall this season and are 7-8 in conference play, sitting
just ahead of Gardner-Webb in the regular season standings. The
Buccaneers will be in action midweek, as CSU will take on local
rival and Southern Conference foe College of Charleston in a
non-conference double header on Wednesday, April 21.
The Buccaneers will be playing only its second series in the state
of North Carolina this season, having slit a non-conference double
header with Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C. back on March 23.
Charleston Southern is coming off an 11-0 loss at home to Winthrop,
a loss that spoiled the series sweep for the Buccaneers.
CSU, who is 11-9 on the road this season, is led offensively by
Megan Hall and Megan Lombard. Hall leads the team with a .382
average and with 14 stolen bases. Lombard, who is hitting .366 on
the season, leads the team with 30 RBIs and a slugging percentage
of .627. While both Hall and Lombard each have five triples
apiece, Jana Matthews leads the way with 10 home runs, while Shayla
Cullum is hitting .323 and leads the team with 15 doubles. In the
circle, both Sondra Vetter and Kimberly Hobbs have eight wins
apiece and have 39 starts between them; however, Caitlin Allen has
a team-low ERA of 3.50 with five wins and three complete games.
GWU is 11-6 overall against Charleston Southern since moving to
Division I in 2000-01, including two five-game winning streaks
since 2003. Since 2007, GWU is 6-3 versus the Buccaneers,
including going 4-0 against CSU in 2007. Last year, GWU's first as
a Big South Conference member, the Lady Bulldogs went 2-3 overall,
including a 5-3 win in the opening game of the 2009 Big South
Softball Championship Tournament. However, it was the Buccaneers
who eventually ended Gardner-Webb's season, as Charleston Southern
defeated Gardner-Webb 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Big
South Softball Championship Tournament, handing the Lady Bulldogs
its second in final loss in the tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs have a number of common foes with the Charleston
Southern Buccaneers this season, as the two teams have each faced
off with USC Upstate, Furman, Presbyterian College, UNC Wilmington,
South Carolina State, Radford, Coastal Carolina, Liberty and
Winthrop. Against these nine common opponents, Gardner-Webb has
posted a 9-16 overall record, while the Buccaneers have gone 12-12
overall.
Every week throughout the 2010 softball season, the Gardner-Webb
athletic media relations' office will produce game notes featuring
the upcoming contests and reviewing the previous games.
Click on the pdf link below on the game notes you would like to
view.
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| Week 10 Softball Game Notes (Games 44-46) |
