Inclement weather forces changes to this weekend’s schedule

ATHENS, Ga. (Feb. 22, 2018) – For the second time in three weeks, the ETSU softball team returns to the Peach State as the Buccaneers gear up for the Georgia Classic, which gets underway Friday morning at University of Georgia’s Turner Softball Stadium.

Due to inclement weather expected to hit the region on Sunday, changes have been made to the weekend schedule. The Bucs will now play two games on Friday and Saturday. Below is the updated schedule.

SCHEDULE

ETSU vs. Gardner-Webb, 10:30 a.m. – Friday – LIVE STATS

ETSU vs. College of Charleston, 1 p.m. – Friday  – LIVE STATS

ETSU vs. Gardner-Webb, 1 p.m. – Saturday – LIVE STATS

ETSU at #14 Georgia, 6 p.m. – Saturday – LIVE STATS

ABOUT THE BUCS

ETSU has won three of its last four games and enters the weekend with an overall record of 3-4. 

As a team, the Blue and Gold are hitting .296 (55-for-186) with five players hitting over .300 and four above .400. ETSU’s top three hitters are newcomers as freshman infielder Julia Fritz (Glen Allen, Va.) – who belted her first collegiate home run and drove in five runs in the 10-0 win over Colgate on Sunday – is 4-for-8 with four runs scored in her first three games, while fellow freshman infielder Lauren Lee (Cleveland, Tenn.) is hitting .478 and leads the team in hits. Five of Lee’s 11 hits are bunt singles, while she’s 2-for-2 in stolen bases. Local products Vanessa Elliott (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Taylor Wright (Erwin, Tenn.) are hitting .478 and .474, respectively. 

Sophomore Nikki Grupp (Jacksonville, Fla.) missed the Bucs’ two games in Spartanburg, S.C. last weekend and carries her 15-game on-base streak into play. Grupp is hitting .333 (5-for-15) with one double, one home run, two walks, four runs and four RBI in five games this season. 

The Bucs are a perfect 7-of-7 in stolen bases. The seven stolen bases have already eclipsed last year’s total of six (11 attempts). 

Sophomore Kelly Schmidt (Norcross, Ga.) recorded her first collegiate complete game shutout last Sunday against Colgate. Schmidt – who is holding opponents to a .179 batting average – held the Raiders to one hit in five innings. 

Senior Madison Ogle (Maryville, Tenn.) is tied for third in the SoCon in wins (2), ranks fourth in in innings pitched (25.0), is tied for fourth in strikeouts (18) and starts (4), ranks sixth in ERA (2.80) and eighth in opposing batting average (.245). 

Head coach Brad Irwin is one win shy of becoming the all-time wins leader in program history. 

ABOUT GARDNER-WEBB

Gardner-Webb has won four straight games and enters the weekend at 9-4 on the season. 

The Runnin’ Bulldogs are coming off a sweep over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, while sweeping Western Carolina last Sunday. Gardner-Webb has scored 48 runs during this four-game run. 

Overall, the Runnin’ Bulldogs are averaging seven runs per game, while hitting .331 with 15 doubles, six triples and 11 home runs in their first 13 games. Gardner-Webb has also stolen 33 bases (35 attempts). 

Three Gardner-Webb hitters are batting over .400 with freshman infielder/outfielder Katie Prebble leading the pack with a .455 clip (15-for-33). Prebble also leads the team in doubles (3), home runs (6) and RBI (18).

Senior pitcher Ashley Wark leads the team with six wins, while freshman Laken Myers is 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA (10 ER/24.2 IP) in six starts. 

ETSU leads the all-time series, 13-9, with the Bucs winning five of the last six meetings. 

ABOUT GEORIGA  

Georgia has won eight consecutive games and enters the weekend ranked No. 14 in the country at 9-1 overall. The Bulldogs’ lone loss was an8-3 decision to then-No. 3 Oregon on Feb. 8. 

The Bulldogs have made 16 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament with nine resulting into trips to the Super Regionals and three to the Women’s College World Series. 

Georgia features one of the top offensive teams in the country as the Bulldogs rank second in slugging percentage (.705) and doubles per game (2.3), third in home runs per game (1.90), fourth in scoring (9.00), sixth in batting average (.396) and ninth in on-base percentage (.460). 

Senior outfielder Kendall Burton ranks fifth nationally in hits (20), ninth in batting average (.625) and 23rd in on-base percentage (.636). 

In the circle, senior right-hander Brittany Gray has not allowed an earned run in 26 innings as she’s 4-0 with two shutouts in five starts. Opponents are hitting .126 against Gray, while she has 36 strikeouts to four walks. 

Saturday marks the third-ever meeting between ETSU and Georgia with UGA winning the previous two meetings in 2002. 

ABOUT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

College of Charleston has won five of its first eight games to start the 2018 season. 

The Cougars were picked to finish third in the preseason Colonial Athletic Association Coaches Poll. 

College of Charleston – who won 33 games last season – returns seven position players that started at least 34 games, including All-CAA selections Taylor DuPree, Taylor Belfiore, Jordin Jones, Sara Garcia and Kelly Sinclair. 

DuPree leads the team with a .467 batting average (14-of-30), while also posting a team-best five stolen bases. 

The Cougars are led by Izzy Berouty and Summer Jenkins in the circle … Berouty leads the team in appearances (5), IP (33.1), and wins (3), while Jenkis is 1-2 with a 2.02 ERA (5 ER/17.1 IP) in four appearances (two starts).

College of Charleston leads the all-time series 15-11, but the Bucs won the last meeting – a 10-9 decision back on Feb. 16, 2013.

COVERAGE

Live stats will be available for all four games this weekend, courtesy of GeorgiaBulldogs.com. Click the links above or click here to access the tournament central page. 

Twitter updates will also be provided via @ETSUSoftball.

For more information on Buccaneer softball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the softball page.