CLEVELAND, Mississippi – The Delta State University softball team is scheduled to host Valdosta State University for its final home series of the season on Sunday, April 23, and Monday, April 24. First pitch for Sunday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., while Monday's single game is set for 10:30 a.m. DSU will honor its six seniors before first pitch on Sunday at 1:10 p.m.
Sunday will also be Girl Scout/Boy Scout Day and Youth Little League Day. All boy and girl scouts in uniform get free admission to Sunday's game, and children pay $1 admission fee if they wear their little league jerseys. Before the start of Sunday's doubleheader, all children 12 and under can line up with the Lady Statesmen for the playing of the National Anthem, and at the end of the second game, kids can run the bases. Fans can enjoy free snow cones all day Sunday. Admission to Monday's game will be free.
LADY STATESMEN SOFTBALL GAME DAY INFO
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME |
April 23, 2017 | VSU | 1:30 p.m. (DH)
April 24, 2017 | VSU | 10:30 a.m. |
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INSIDE THE SERIES: PREVIEWING THE FIRST PITCH
- The Lady Statesmen enter the series on a high note after winning game, 7-3, three to finish the weekend 1-of-3 against the top team in the GSC, West Florida.
- The win in game three marks Delta State's first win over UWF since winning 1-0 in 2015 and largest margin of victory over the Argos since the Lady Statesmen won 17-0 in the first round of the 2014 GSC Softball Tournament.
- The Lady Statesmen are currently batting .270 with 283 hits, 37 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs and 149 RBIs.
- Valdosta State enters the series riding a three-game winning streak and sitting second in GSC standings.
- The Blazers lead the league in batting average (.334), runs (319), hits (420) and RBIs (231). In the circle, VSU's pitching staff has combined for a 3.50 ERA, fifth highest in the conference, and ranks fourth in most hits allowed (353) and fifth in most earned runs allowed (151).
- In 2016, VSU swept Delta State taking all three games in Cleveland, Miss. Valdosta State shut out DSU 1-0 in the first game, won game two 9-1 in six innings via the mercy rule and clinched the finale, 11-3. The Blazers held Delta State to just 16 hits during the series. Kara Lane Nowell, Madison Zoeller, Jordan Jones, Abi Gibson and Carah Nunez each recorded hits. Pitchers Taylor Johnson and Taylor Tucker both saw action in the circle.
QUICK HITS
IN THE CIRCLE
The Lady Statesmen pitching staff has combined for a 3.44 ERA—seventh lowest in the league—and holds opponents to .259 batting average, which ranks fourth in the conference. Delta State has struck out 125 batters, and the 263 hits the Lady Statesmen pitching staff have sacrificed are fourth lowest in the GSC. Freshman LHP
Mari Alex Sandridge leads the team in batters struck out with 46. She boasts a 2.06 ERA—the fifth lowest in the GSC. The 31 runs Sandridge has allowed are the third lowest in the GSC, while the 57 hits Sandridge has given up are sixth lowest in the GSC.
EARLY AND OFTEN
The Lady Statesmen are 12-3 when scoring the first run of the game and 8-3 when scoring in the first inning. Delta State is 14-3 when out-hitting opponents. The Lady Statesmen have scored a combined 165 runs so far this season, 102 of which came within the first four innings. Delta State pounded a season-high 15 hits in their 8-2 win against Christian Brothers on April 2. Delta State's season-high 16 runs scored against Union ranks fourth in the league in conference-only games.
BOMBS AWAY
The Lady Statesmen belted a season-high four runs en route to a 6-3 comeback win against Shorter on April 9. In GSC standings, Delta State's four home runs in game three of the series against Shorter rank seventh overall and third in conference-only games. DSU's 16 home runs this season tie the fifth most the Lady Statesmen have recorded within the past five seasons.
WALK THIS WAY
Delta State has drawn 103 walks this season (71 in conference-only games, which ranks sixth among GSC schools). The Lady Statesmen drew eight walks against Union earlier this season—tying the season high—which is the 10
th most in a conference game this season.
Mari Alex Sandridge leads the team in walks with 14.
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).
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. On Tuesday, March 21, Springfield earned her first career shutout, sacrificing only two hits in Delta State's 1-0 victory at Arkansas-Monticello. She recorded a career-high five strikeouts in Delta State's 13-2 victory over CBU on April 1.
Sandridge leads the pitching staff in shutout victories and strikeouts. On April 2, she struck out a career-high nine batters in Delta State's 3-1 win against Christian Brothers and earned her first career save in game three of the series. She has the fifth lowest ERA of the conference and holds opponents to a .216 batting average—fourth lowest in the GSC. At the plate, she leads the team in home runs (six), RBIs (26), slugging percentage (.562), on base percentage (.426) and runs scored (24).
Dick, Newsom, Vice, and Patin have each collected hits and their first RBIs as Lady Statesmen. On March 12, Newsom recorded her first career home run in Delta State's 6-3 loss to West Georgia. Dick recorded her first career home run and multi-RBI game with a two-run home run in Delta State's 6-3 win against Shorter on April 9.
WHERE THEY'RE FROM
The 2017 Delta State softball team features 19 players from six different states. Thirteen players are Mississippi natives. Two players call Louisiana their home, while four states are home to one player (Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee).
DSU UNDER CHARLES
Head coach
Casey Bourgoyne-Charles is only 17 games away from her 250th career win. Last season, she eclipsed most wins in a season with 34. Under Charles, the Lady Statesmen are 104-80 at University Field, 69-101 on the road, and 60-66 at neutral sites.
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 nine newcomers. The Lady Statesmen also return 10 letterwinners from last year's squad.
UP NEXT
DSU will wrap up regular season play with its last GSC road trip of the season against in-state rival Mississippi College on April 29-30 with a doubleheader at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, and a single game at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
