Delaware Softball Returns Home To Host Georgia State in Three-Game Weekend Conference Series
April 20, 2012
• Live Stats
Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware softball team returns home for the first time in two weeks as the Blue Hens will host Georgia State in a three-game Colonial Athletic Association weekend series at the UD Softball Stadium.
The Blue Hens and Panthers will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday, with action on both days beginning at 12 noon.
Delaware enters the weekend with a 10-35-1 overall record, and the Blue Hens are seventh in the CAA standings with a 3-9 league mark. However UD is just two games out of the fourth spot in the conference which earns a bid to the league tournament, with nine CAA games to play.
Georgia State is 32-12 overall, and the Panthers sit in third place in the conference with a 9-3 record. GSU opened league play with three losses to Hofstra, but has rebounded to win nine straight CAA games with sweeps over Towson, UNCW and Drexel. The Panthers are coming off a 5-1 win at No. 2 Alabama on Tuesday, the highest ranked opponent Georgia State has defeated in school history.
Delaware has not played since a 7-4 win at James Madison on Sunday, when the Blue Hens erupted for four runs in the first inning and three in the sixth to earn the victory over the Dukes. Morgan Culver put Delaware on the board wtih an RBI single in the top of the first, and after Lara Andrews legged out a bunt single to drive home Jessica Grisler, Marisa Newman delivered a two-run double to give the Blue Hens an early four-run lead.
James Madison eventually pulled within 4-2, but Alicea Coy worked a bases loaded walk in the sixth before Grisler doubled home a pair to increase the margin to five. UD relief pitcher Chenxi Jiao then allowed two runs in the bottom of the seventh before closing out the win to earn her third victory of the season.
Grisler contines to lead the Blue Hens with a .303 batting average, 43 hits and nine doubles, while Michelle McKinnon is hitting .279 and is tied for the team lead with Grisler with 19 runs scored.
Lauren Coleman paces the Georgia State attack with a .316 average, 36 hits and eight doubles, while Callie Alford is hitting .281 with a team-high 34 RBI. McCall Langford is 8-5 with a 1.89 earned run average in the circle for the Panthers, while Kaitlyn Medlam is 13-3 with a 2.11 ERA.
Georgia State leads the all-time series with Delaware, 13-6, and the Panthers swept a three-games series in Georgia last season by a combined score of 30-2.
On Saturday, Delaware will be partnering with the National Brain Tumor Society for a “Get Your Head in the Game” doubleheader. The Blue Hens will be wearing orange awareness bracelets and orange initiative awareness stickers on their uniforms, while a table will also be set up with wristband giveaways and awareness literature.
