April 3, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State softball team takes its four-game winning streak to the Sunshine State this weekend for a pair of crucial Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheaders. The Owls will first travel to Ft. Myers to take on the league-leading Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Friday at 4:00 p.m., before making the trip DeLand to square off against the Stetson Hatters on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

The Owls (27-9, 5-1 A-Sun) come into this weekend's play after recording sweeps of Jacksonville and North Florida last week at Bailey Park. Freshman Lyndsay McCurry led the Black and Gold offensively over the four games, going 5-for-12 (.417) with two RBI and three stolen bases. Sophomore Hollie Huffman and senior Amanda Malcom also hit well, as each went 4-of-11 (.364) from the plate.

Senior Brittany Matthews returned to her dominant ways en route to winning her fourth A-Sun Pitcher of the Week accolade. The southpaw was 3-0 last week, recording wins over Albany, JU and UNF, and notched a save in both finales with the Dolphins and Lady Ospreys. The Brooks, Ga., native recorded 27 strikeouts while allowing just one earned run in 24.2 innings of work.

Florida Gulf Coast (40-10, 8-0 A-Sun) enters Friday's double-dip after their seven-game win streak was snapped after being swept by Florida International on Wednesday afternoon. Despite hitting six homeruns, including three from Carmen Paez, FGCU gave up a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh to lose game one, before falling 14-11 in 11 innings in the second.

The Eagles lead the league in almost every offensive category including batting average (.316), hits (438), doubles (80), triples (13), homeruns (58) and stolen bases (69). Paez is well on her way to earning A-Sun Player of the Year honors as the senior is tops in the conference with 21 homers, 56 RBI, 63 runs scored and 125 total bases. Cheyenne Jenks has also been a monster at the plate having hit 11 homers while driving home 50 runs of her own.

Rachael Edinger has been the workhorse inside the circle for the Eagles and brings an 18-5 record and 1.75 ERA into this weekend's play. The senior right-hander is fifth in the conference with 145 strikeouts in 147.2 innings of work. Morgan Campen has also been strong for FGCU, recording a mark of 12-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 112.1 innings pitched.

Stetson currently finds itself sixth in the A-Sun with a league record of 3-3 and an overall mark of 29-15 after splitting doubleheaders with Belmont and Lipscomb last weekend. The Hatters have an identical batting average to KSU (.240), but are outscoring their opponents, 180-96.

The Hatters have been led at the plate by Andrea Migliori. The junior first baseman is hitting .363 with 11 doubles and 14 home runs. Third in the A-Sun with 49 runs batted in, Migliori has also been stellar in the field, committing just two errors all season.

Much like the Owls, Stetson has countered its poor hitting with an excellent pitching staff. Leading the Hatters in the circle has been Amanda Lindsey, who brings a record of 15-11 and a 1.16 ERA into this weekend's competition. She sits third in the conference with 176 strikeouts in 169.2 innings of work. An All A-Sun selection a year ago, Erica Demers has also thrown well for Stetson, posting a 14-4 record and 1.97 ERA in her junior season.

After this weekend's play, the Owls will return home for three straight conference series, beginning with Lipscomb on April 11.