CLEVELAND, Mississippi – Battling for the final spot in the Gulf South Conference Tournament and sitting one game out of an eighth place berth, the Delta State University softball team hits the road for its final and most crucial GSC series of the season in Clinton, Miss., against in-state rival, Mississippi College. The Lady Statesmen and Lady Choctaws will square off in a doubleheader on Friday, April 28, at 4 p.m. and will conclude the series with a single game at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.
LADY STATESMEN SOFTBALL GAME DAY INFO
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME |
April 28, 2017 | MC | 4:00 p.m. (DH)
April 29, 2017 | MC | 3:00 p.m. |
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INSIDE THE SERIES: PREVIEWING THE FIRST PITCH
- The Lady Statesmen enter the series coming off the program's first ever series sweep of Valdosta State University.
- The Lady Statesmen are currently batting .276 with 315 hits, 44 doubles, five triples, 19 home runs and 167 RBIs.
- Mississippi College is currently fourth in GSC standings and enters the series on a loss after splitting with Lee University.
- The Lady Choctaws are eighth in the league in batting average (.299), runs (239), hits (378) and 10th in RBIs (198). In the circle, MC's pitching staff has combined for a 3.17 ERA, fourth lowest in the conference, and ranks seventh in most hits allowed (333) and fifth in most earned runs allowed (139).
- In 2016, DSU swept MC taking all three games in Cleveland, Miss. DSU defeated MC 6-4 in game one, 11-6 in game two and 3-2 in game three. The Lady Statesmen tallied 25 hits and allowed only nine earned runs over the series. The 11 runs in game one were the most DSU has scored against MC in series history.
- The last meeting between the two teams before the 2015 season was a 9-3 victory for DSU in 1996. Since then, Delta State has held a 6-1 advantage over the Lady Choctaws.
QUICK HITS
- DSU is currently ninth in GSC standings—one game out of an eighth place berth to the 2017 GSC Softball Tournament.
- The Lady Statesmen enter the series riding a four-game winning streak—the longest of the season.
- The Lady Statesmen recorded their third GSC series sweep of the season and first walk-off win of the season after rallying back from a five-run deficit in the series finale against VSU.
- The eight runs are the most Delta State has scored against Valdosta State in head coach Casey Bourgoyne-Charles' tenure.
- Delta State recorded a season-high 40 at bats against Valdosta State and tied its season high in putouts with 30.
- DSU's three doubles in game three tied the second most in a single game this season.
- Jordan Jones recorded her 14th double of the season and is tied for second in the GSC for most doubles this season.
- Carlie Vice has reached base safely in the past eight games—her longest on base streak of the season.
- Colben Patin drove in a career-high four runs in game three and recorded her first career home run.
- Delta State is 6-5 in one run games and 2-1 in extra-inning games.
IN THE CIRCLE
The Lady Statesmen pitching staff has combined for a 3.34 ERA—seventh lowest in the league—and holds opponents to .254 batting average, which ranks fourth in the conference. Delta State has struck out 134 batters, and the 281 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 53. She boasts a 2.14 ERA—the seventh lowest in the GSC.
EARLY AND OFTEN
The Lady Statesmen are 13-3 when scoring the first run of the game and 9-3 when scoring in the first inning. Delta State is 17-3 when out-hitting opponents. The Lady Statesmen have scored a combined 184 runs so far this season, 114 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 19 home runs this season are the fourth most the Lady Statesmen have recorded within the past five seasons. DSU is 8-5 when hitting a home run and 2-0 when hitting at least two.
WALK THIS WAY
Delta State has drawn 107 walks this season (75 in conference-only games, which ranks seventh among GSC schools). The Lady Statesmen drew eight walks against Union earlier this season—tying the season high.
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 seventh lowest ERA of the conference and holds opponents to a .218 batting average—fifth lowest in the GSC. At the plate, she leads the team in home runs (seven), RBIs (28), slugging percentage (.556) and on base percentage (.410).
Patin drove in a career-high four runs in Delta State's 8-7 walk-off victory over Valdosta State on Monday, April 24. The Lady Statesmen faced a five-run deficit in the series finale, but Patin's three-run home run and RBI single allowed Delta State to pull within one run and overtake the Blazers in extra innings for the program's first three-game sweep over Valdosta State University in school history. For her efforts, she was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Week for the week ending April 24.
Dick, Newsom and Vice have each collected hits and their first RBIs as Lady Statesmen. On March 12, Newsom recorded her first career home run. 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 14 games away from her 250th career win. Last season, she eclipsed most wins in a season with 34. Under Charles, the Lady Statesmen are 107-80 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.
