LAKELAND, Fla. – Southeastern softball has fifty games behind them; 38 wins that helped claim a second consecutive league title and the top seed in the postseason, but the ultimate test begins tomorrow.
TSC CHAMPIONSHIPS: May 5-7 | National Training Center in Clermont, Florida | 6 Teams | Double Elimination |
Tournament Headquarters
GAME ONE: No. 1 Southeastern (38-12, 12-2 TSC) vs. Winner of No. 5 Warner (21-22, 6-8 TSC) & No 4. Thomas (19-20, 7-7 TSC)
HIGH RISK HIGH REWARD: It's the motto of Coach
Anna Welsh's base running philosophy. The Fire lead the conference in all five base running categories, including the 21 times they were caught stealing. On the contrary, they were successful 128 times blowing the second ranked figure (75) out of the water. If you do the math, or just check out the stats, that comes out to 2.98 steal attempts per game, 2.56 successful attempts per game, and 0.42 caught stealing per game; it works.
WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: Of the 26 weekly TSC awards, Southeastern claimed 12.
Lindsie Scholwinski was a six-time Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week award winner and
Anna Martin was named Sun Conference Player of the Week three times.
Cat Maldonado,
Bri Girardin, and
Taylor Stoltz were also Sun Conference Players of the Week after stellar performances.
NO. 4 THOMAS: The Nighthawks finished 7-7 in regular season conference play to secure the fourth seed. Their slow start in league play put them at 2-6, but winning five of their last six gave them new life. The Fire handed the Nighthawks their second and third conference losses on April 4
th in Thomasville. Both games lasted eight innings but the Fire came out on top 4-3, then 6-3. Senior infielder Rachel Hoeft leads the offense with a .350 average and 11 doubles. Four Nighthawks pitchers combine for a 3.53 ERA with Katie Lopes sitting at a 2.66 with a 7-6 record.
NO. 5 WARNER: The Royals snapped a seven game TSC losing streak with a sweep of Keiser on April 17
th to go 6-8 and secure a spot in the postseason. Southeastern contributed to the downward spiral on April 9th by sweeping them 6-0 then 9-7 in Lake Wales. Junior infielder Jessica Adams leads the Royals' offense hitting a .339 with 10 doubles, four homers and 22 RBI's. Chelsie Valentine is 10-11 from the mound, but her 1.55 ERA is good for fourth in the conference.
Stay up to date with Fire softball action in The Sun Conference Tournament by following @SEUFireSoftball on Twitter.
