LAKELAND, Fla. - Accompanied by a pair of midweek twin bills, the Fire will kick off conference action this weekend. The Fire are coming off a 2-2 performance at the Gulf Coast Invitational where they squared off against top ranked opponents. With conference play commencing, the defending regular season champions must flashback and try to duplicate and improve upon last year's results.
Game 20-21: Southeastern University (13-6, The Sun Conference 0-0) vs. Chestnut Hill College (0-2 CACC 0-0)
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Game 22-23: Southeastern University (13-6, The Sun Conference 0-0) vs. West Virginia Tech (1-10, River-States Conference 0-0)
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Game 24-27: Southeastern University (13-6, The Sun Conference 0-0) vs. Warner University (3-5, The Sun Conference 0-0)
The Freshman:
- The acquisition of Stef Guercio has paid off in the early going of the 2017 season. The Park Ridge, Illinois native's numbers are staggering as she leads the Sun Conference with a 1.24 ERA.
- In ten starts Guercio tallied 68 strikeouts and is holding opposing hitters to just a .220 average.
- Her last start came against #14 Martin Methodist where she carved the Redhawk hitters striking out 10 in a complete game.
- The right hander ranks 6th in all of the NAIA in wins with eight.
- For the first time in her young career, Guercio was named Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week for her efforts in Alabama
Fire Offense:
- The Fire are able to generate run support for their pitchers as they have scored 105 runs which is good for 17th in all of the NAIA.
- One of the toughest things to do in the game of softball is drive in runs. Whenever the situation arises, Cat Maldonado seems to be able to score baserunners with her bat. The senior leads the team with 14 RBIs and is hitting .327.
- The shortstop Sydnie Malloy has been locked in as well, hitting .396 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. She also leads the team with a .583 slugging percentage.
The Griffins:
- Chestnut Hill had a less than favorable 2016 campaign at the NCAA Division II level posting a 12-42 record.
- However, the Griffins will be returning the team's leading hitter for her sophomore season. In her first year of collegiate softball, Ariel Magee hit .354 with three home runs and a slugging percentage of .526.
- Also returning is the senior from Ontario, California Corie Apodaca. Apodaca hit an impressive .346 in 133 at bats and led the team with 22 RBIs.
- The seasoned righthander will also be back for her senior year. Last year Briannen Holloway posted a team leading 3.02 ERA and struck out 92 batters.
The Golden Bears:
- The lone win of the Golden Bears season came against Calumet; a team the Fire collected two wins against in a three game set.
- Leading the Golden Bear offense is Makayla Waugh. The native of Barboursville, West Virginia leads the team with a .296 average.
- Opponents are outscoring the Golden Bears 111-28.
- In 30 innings of work, Karina Atanacio has surrendered 51 hits, 23 earned runs and opposing hitters are hitting .375 off of the freshman.
The Royals:
- Ranking 18th in all of the NAIA in team batting average, Warner University is able to spray the ball around the yard. Chantal Crockett has posted an impressive .480 batting average with an on base percentage of .536.
- Inside the circle Chelsie Valentine has been pitching well although her win/loss record does not show it. The senior from Haines City, Florida, has held opposing hitters to a .207 average while posting a 2.12 ERA.
- Sara Bruno has a knack for driving in runs. The freshman catcher from Auburndale, Florida is leading the team with 10 RBIs and two home runs.
- In last year's contests the Royals were swept by the Fire by scores of 6-0 and 7-9.
Action begins on Tuesday, March 7th at 2:00 p.m. For updates, follow @SEUFireSoftball on Twitter.
