Feb. 21, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After a mid-week doubleheader against Florida State, the Dolphins will take part in the Georgia Southern Eagle  Classic this weekend in Statesboro, Ga.

Besides host Georgia Southern, JU will also square off against Minnesota and Oakland.

The Dolphins will be looking to get their hands on some hardware, as this will be the first tournament of the season that ends with a championship game.

Familiar Foes

The Dolphins will face-off against some familiar foes this weekend at the Georgia Southern Eagle Classic.

The Dolphins opened the 2008 regular season on Feb. 7 with a 6-4 over Minnesota, before falling to Minnesota the next day 5-2 in the first game of the JU/Best Western Invitational.

The Dolphins swept their two games against Georgia Southern on Feb. 13 at the JU Softball Complex, (8-6, 5-2).

This will be the first ever meeting between JU and Oakland.

Base-path Thievery

The Dolphins have been stealing bases at a record pace so far in this young season.

Senior outfielder Jillian Mirante, already the school's career leader in stolen bases entering the season, is a perfect 12-for-12 on her attempts, breaking her own record of 10 last season.

Freshman outfielder Kayla Ouellet is right on her heals, stealing 10 bases of her own, including a school-record three in the second game of the double header against Georgia Southern on Feb. 13.

As a team, the Dolphins have stolen 33 bases, 22 shy of the JU single-season record of 55 set in 2005.

Individual leaders

After a good start to the season, several Dolphins find themselves at or near the top of the Atlantic Sun leaderboard in several statistical categories.

Senior outfielder Jillian Mirante leads the conference in hits (16), stolen bases (12), and is second in runs scored (10).

Senior designated player Patricia Melo has drawn 13 walks so far this season, the most in the conference, and is tied for the conference lead with three sacrifice bunts.

Freshman outfielder Kayla Ouellet is second in steals with 10.

The Dolphins have also seen success in the circle, with senior pitcher Shannon Jensen leading the conference with three saves and 12 appearances.