FIN FACTS
»» The USCB softball team continues Sun Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against No. 15 Southeastern at Richard Gray Sports Complex. The Fire won both regular-season meetings last season, but the Sand Sharks eliminated Southeastern from the Sun Conference Tournament for the third straight year.
»» The Sand Sharks received votes in the first NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll of the regular season released March 21. USCB also received votes in the preseason poll. USCB is fifth in the Sun Conference standings entering the weekend. The top five teams qualify for the Sun Conference Tournament in Clermont, Fla.
»» USCB has faced a difficult early-season schedule. The Sand Sharks are 3-7 against current Top-25 opponents with wins over No. 2 William Carey and No. 6 Campbellsville, a doubleheader split with No. 24 Rio Grande, and losses to No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett (twice), No. 11 Lindsey Wilson, No. 12 Reinhardt and No. 21 Mobile (twice).
»» Sophomore OF Kayla Boyle is riding a 20-game hitting streak – the longest in program history – and has 12 multi-hit games this season, trailing senior 2B Marissa Becker (13) by one for the team lead.
»» USCB is 108-23 all-time at home, including a 12-5 mark this season.
»» Senior INF Marissa Becker has a team-high 12 stolen bases this season and 45 in her career, surpassing Sammi Shaffren (43) for USCB's all-time lead. Becker also holds the USCB records for triples in a season (5) and career (8).
»» Sophomore P Abby Pac surpassed 100 strikeouts this season Tuesday at Coastal Georgia and has 199 in her career, third-most in program history.
»» USCB has a young squad again in 2017 with nine sophomores and eight freshmen on the roster. Only three of the Sand Sharks' 20 players are upperclassmen.
»» The Sand Sharks have collected 33 stolen bases in 33 games after swiping 53 in 55 games a year ago. Becker (11) and freshman OF Brittany Olean (9) lead USCB on the bases.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Fire are having another strong season after reaching the NAIA Softball World Series a year ago. Southeastern has won nine of its last 10 and is second in the Sun Conference standings, one game behind Warner. The Fire split a doubleheader with No. 3 Columbia (Mo.) on Tuesday. Slapper Taylor Stoltz (.337 BA, 19 SBs) and run-producer Cheyenne Blaha (.491 BA, 4 HR, 19 RBIs) lead a potent offense. Reigning Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year Lindsie Scholwinski (13-5, 2.11 ERA) and freshman Stef Guercio (12-5, 1.53 ERA) anchor a strong pitching staff.
RELATED LINKS
USCB Schedule and Results
USCB Season Statistics
Sand Shark Softball Record Book
Sun Conference Softball Standings
