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Elisabetta Zengaro

Softball Elisabetta Zengaro

Delta State Softball Travels to Lee for Gulf South Conference Series

CLEVELAND, Mississippi – The Delta State softball team will continue its 17-game road stance with a three-game series against Lee University beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. CST.
 
LADY STATESMEN SOFTBALL GAME DAY INFO
DATE | OPPONENT | TIME Feb. 25, 2017 | LEE | 1:00 p.m. CST (DH)
Feb. 26, 2017 | LEE | 1:00 p.m. CST
LIVE STATS Click Here
GAME NOTES DSU@LEE NOTES
SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATES @DeltaStateSB
 
INSIDE THE SERIES: PREVIEWING THE FIRST PITCH
  • The Lady Statesmen are seeking their first Gulf South Conference series win of the season.
  • The Lady Flames enter the series having taken one of three from Alabama Huntsville and are seeking their first GSC series win of the season.
  • The Lady Flames are currently third in the GSC in batting average and second in hits, tallying 135.
  • Lee finished the 2016 season 25-24-1 overall and 11-20-1 in the GSC.
  • Casey Charles is 6-3 against the Lady Flames since the teams' first meeting in 2014.
  • Last season, the Lady Statesmen swept the Lady Flames taking all three games in Cleveland, Miss. Delta State opened the series winning game one 5-4, game two 8-2 and game three 7-2. 
  • In their last trip to Livingston, Delta State took one of three from the Lady Flames.  
 
QUICK HITS
  • Delta State enters the series taking one from three against West Alabama.
  • The Lady Statesmen took a season-high 38 at bats and hit a season high five doubles against West Alabama in game two of the series on Feb. 18. Delta State's 30 putouts in game two also mark a season high.
  • DSU won its first extra-inning contest, defeating the Tigers 7-5 in 10 innings during the second game of Saturday's doubleheader to clinch its first GSC win of the season.
 
TUCKER LEADING THE WAY IN THE CIRCLE
  • Senior starting pitcher Taylor Tucker will anchor the Lady Statesmen's pitching staff this season. In 2016, she pitched in 30 games, making 19 starts. She posted a 13-7 record with 40 strikeouts, a 3.18 ERA and nine complete games in 127.2 innings. Tucker finished the season with a team-best three saves. Tucker currently boasts a 1-2 record with 1.98 ERA, which is the eighth lowest in the GSC. Overall, Tucker currently ranks ninth in school history in career wins (29) and 10th in games pitched (80).
 
GIBSON LEADING AT THE PLATE
  • Sophomore Abi Gibson has reached base safely in all 14 contests and enters this weekend's series on a nine-game hitting streak. Gibson is batting .432 with 19 hits and nine RBIs.  
 
EARLY AND OFTEN
  • The Lady Statesmen are 7-1 when scoring the first run of the game. Delta State has scored a combined 59 runs so far this season, 36 of which came within the first four innings.  
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
  • The Lady Statesmen are tied for fifth in the GSC in doubles with 17 to date. Sophomore Jordan Jones leads the team in doubles with six and ranks third in the GSC in doubles.
 
WE'RE ONLY FRESHMEN
  • The 2017 DSU roster includes eight incoming freshmen (P/OF Mari Alex Sandridge, INF Hannah Salmon, INF Colben Patin, INF Shelby Newsom, C Carlie Vice, INF Miranda Smith, INF/P Bailie Springfield and OF Olivia Dick) and two transfers (P Brittany Taylor and OF Austin Pruitt).
  • In her first start in the circle, Springfield led the Lady Statesmen to their first win over a nationally ranked opponent this season on Friday, Feb. 10, when Delta State defeated No. 16 the University of Indianapolis 3-1 at the Montevallo Falcon Frenzy Tournament. The freshman right-handed pitcher from Mantee, Miss., pitched the entire seven innings, sacrificing only one run on one hit. Springfield currently boasts an ERA of 1.85—the sixth lowest in the GSC.
  • Sandridge pitched the 7-0 shutout against Tuskegee on Feb. 11, tying junior LHP Taylor Johnson for the team lead in strikeouts with eight. She ranks third in the GSC with an ERA of 1.68 and second in fewest hits allowed with 12. At the plate, Sandridge leads the team in batting average (.452), home runs (two) and slugging percentage (.677).
  • Dick, Newsom, and Vice have all collected hits.
 
WHERE THEY'RE FROM
  • The 2017 Delta State softball team features 22 players from six different states. Fourteen players are Mississippi natives. Four players call Louisiana their home, while four states are home to one player (Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee).  
 
CHASING 250
  • Head coach Casey Bourgoyne-Charles is only 28 games away from her 250th career win. Last season, she elcipsed most wins in a season with  34. Under Charles, the Lady Statesmen are 98-74 at University Field, 64-92 on the road, and 60-66 at neutral sites.
 
DELTA STATE PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN GSC
  • For the first time since 2011, the Delta State University softball team has been picked to finish in the top five of the Gulf South Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
  • Jumping one spot from last year, the Lady Statesmen were picked to finish fifth in the conference with 72 points.
  • Defending GSC and national champion, the University of North Alabama was picked unanimously to finish first with 121 points. Alabama Huntsville was picked second with 105 points, followed by Valdosta State (98) and West Florida (92). 
  • Delta State received three fourth place votes, five fifth place votes, one sixth place vote, one seventh place vote and one 10th place vote. Mississippi College (68 points), Shorter (64), West Georgia (54), Lee (51), West Alabama (32), Union (21) and Christian Brothers (14) rounded out the poll.
  • The GSC Preseason Coaches' Poll is voted on by League's head coaches.
 
TWO LADY STATESMEN TAPPED 2017 GSC TOP NEWCOMERS
  • Freshmen Olivia Dick and Mari Alex Sandridge were named to the GSC 2017 Top Newcomers list.
  • Dick is an outfielder from Brandon, Miss. She played at Northwest Rankin High School under the direction of Britt Bennett and Taylor Hughes. She was named The Clarion-Ledger 's Best of MS Preps in 2015. She holds the season record for most hits (54) and stolen bases (51).
  • Sandridge is a pitcher/outfielder from Hernando, Miss. She lettered in softball and basketball at Magnolia Heights High School.
  • Dick and Sandridge highlight Delta State's 10 newcomers. The Lady Statesmen also return 12 letterwinners from last year's squad. 
 
UP NEXT
  • DSU begins home slate versus Gulf South Conference rival Union University for a three-game series beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 4.
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Players Mentioned

Abi Gibson

#4 Abi Gibson

INF
5' 3"
Sophomore
Right
Taylor Johnson

#25 Taylor Johnson

P
5' 7"
Junior
Left
Jordan Jones

#8 Jordan Jones

OF
5' 5"
Sophomore
Left
Taylor Tucker

#23 Taylor Tucker

P
5' 6"
Senior
Right
Miranda Smith

#19 Miranda Smith

INF
5' 8"
Freshman
Left
Brittany Taylor

#11 Brittany Taylor

P
5' 8"
Junior
Right
Olivia Dick

#22 Olivia Dick

OF
5' 6"
Freshman
Left
Colben Patin

#7 Colben Patin

INF
5' 4"
Freshman
Right
Mari Alex Sandridge

#2 Mari Alex Sandridge

P/OF
5' 4"
Freshman
Left
Carlie Vice

#14 Carlie Vice

C
5' 4"
Freshman
Right

Players Mentioned

Abi Gibson

#4 Abi Gibson

5' 3"
Sophomore
Right
INF
Taylor Johnson

#25 Taylor Johnson

5' 7"
Junior
Left
P
Jordan Jones

#8 Jordan Jones

5' 5"
Sophomore
Left
OF
Taylor Tucker

#23 Taylor Tucker

5' 6"
Senior
Right
P
Miranda Smith

#19 Miranda Smith

5' 8"
Freshman
Left
INF
Brittany Taylor

#11 Brittany Taylor

5' 8"
Junior
Right
P
Olivia Dick

#22 Olivia Dick

5' 6"
Freshman
Left
OF
Colben Patin

#7 Colben Patin

5' 4"
Freshman
Right
INF
Mari Alex Sandridge

#2 Mari Alex Sandridge

5' 4"
Freshman
Left
P/OF
Carlie Vice

#14 Carlie Vice

5' 4"
Freshman
Right
C