Softball 3/16/2023 10:19:00 AM

No. 25 Mariners Will Look to Clip Speedy Eagles on Friday

Softball 3/16/2023 10:19:00 AM

No. 25 Mariners Will Look to Clip Speedy Eagles on Friday

BRUNSWICK, Ga.- The No. 25 Coastal Georgia softball team (13-5, 2-1) will host Avila University (13-8) on Friday, Mar. 17 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Brunswick High Softball Field.

This marks the first games of 10 straight at home before going on the road again.

Avila comes in having gone 3-2 against Sun Conference opponents over the last week. The Eagles split its series with Keiser University and beat Webber International in their lone match up all after falling in a close 2-0 loss to No. 16 Southeastern.

The Mariners are coming off its first Sun Conference series last week. Coastal Georgia beat Thomas 2-1 after taking the first and third games of the series. Hayley Dickerson was awarded the Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week for her performances.

Storylines:
Home Run Derby-

The Mariners have hit 15 home runs this season which leads the Sun Conference by a wide margin and is tied 11th in the NAIA. Transfer Aniston Johnson has led the charge in that respect hitting five over the fence, which leads the Sun Conference and is tied for 15th in the NAIA.
MacKenzie Kagee is right behind Johnson after hitting two homers against Thomas and now sits at three followed by Melani Jones, Kayla Rowell and Malarie Peacock who each has two home runs while Zoe Johnston-Hadaway has one.

Chasing History-

Melani Jones is now the all-time stolen base leader in school history. Jones recorded her 42nd stolen base against Wesleyan College and currently sits at 48. Bryce Peacock is right behind her at 42 stolen bases which broke the previous record set by Savannah Money.
Kayla Rowell has driven in 14 runs this season which puts her at 92 RBIs for her career. She sits just 10 RBIs away from breaking Paige Alt's career record of 101.
Jones is in line for another record, as she sits at 151 career hits which is 13 behind Paige Alt's career record of 164.
Hayley Dickerson is now at 331 career strikeouts which set the new school history. She is also sits at 45 career wins which is just four away from Alt's career record.

Defense Wins Championships-

In game one against Brewton-Parker, the Mariners tied a school record for double plays in a game with three.
Coastal Georgia has six double plays already this season which is third in the Sun Conference and tied for 27th in the NAIA.
The Mariner's fielding percentage of .970 is also first among Sun Conference schools.

Scouting Avila-

The Eagles are second in the NAIA in stolen bases this season with 84. Their speed is led by Chelsea Kurtz who has an NAIA leading 32 stolen bags and has only been caught stealing once.
They do a good job of getting on base as well boasting a .383 on-base percentage and a .325 hitting percentage.
In the circle, the team is allowing 3.48 earned runs per game which middle of the pack in terms of NAIA rankings.
If the Mariners can limit Avila's on-base percentage they should be able to put up runs.

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