Peach Belt Conference

	Armstrong Atlantic State (26-17, 13-5) -- The AASU softball squad clinched a second-place finish in the PBC with a doubleheader sweep of No. 4 Francis Marion on Saturday … Junior Jacquie Crane extended her consecutive scoreless inning streak to 25 2/3 with a four-hit shutout of the Patriots in game one, 3-0 … Ashley Bain and Jessica Strong each drove in first-inning runs in support of Crane … In game two, Erin Billingsley collected three hits and scored two runs in helping the Pirates pick up the 4-2 victory … The wins secured AASU’s best league finish since 2004, when the Pirates also finished second … The sweep of No. 4 FMU was also the highest ranked opponent AASU has swept since the Pirates took two from No. 2 Kennesaw State on April 9, 2000 … AASU is 6-4 this season against nationally-ranked DII teams … The Pirates head into the PBC Championships as the second seed. AASU will face the No. 7 seed on Friday at Noon in first-round action.
	Augusta State (25-17, 6-12) -- ASU posted a 2-2 record last week … The Jaguars took the first two games of the week sweeping USC Aiken in a doubleheader in Aiken, S.C on Thursday, April. 10 … ASU won game won 4-2 and game two 2-1 … Augusta State sophomore first baseman Leann Barber led the Jags in the tough series of games last week with three hits and two runs … Barber also booked nine putouts and seven assists … Senior Jacklyn Benenhaley tossed 4.1 innings against USC Aiken on Thursday, April 12 in Aiken, S.C. … She allowed three hits off of 18 batters with four strikeouts to aide in the win 4-2 win over the Pacers … The Jags will return to play to close out their regular season on Tuesday, April 15, against Queens set to start at 2:00 p.m. in Augusta, Ga.
	Columbus State (19-16, 8-8) -- The Lady Cougars were swept at home to Georgia College last Wednesday, losing 3-2 in the opener, and falling 6-4 in the nightcap…CSU managed just four hits off GCSU starter Mandy Chandler in game one; Rachael Darr fell to 7-6 on the season with a complete-game effort; she went seven innings, allowed seven hits, three runs, a walk, and struck out six; Christie Thompson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for CSU…In game two, CSU held a 4-0 lead after five innings, but GCSU exploded for six runs in the sixth inning; Thompson led a 10-hit CSU attack by going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored; Cassie Cooper went 2-for-3 with a run scored…CSU heads into the final week of the regular season with a 19-16, 8-8 PBC mark …Hosts Lander in a rescheduled doubleheader on Tuesday (2 PM) at Lady Cougar Field with PBC tournament seeding implications on the line…The PBC tournament starts Friday in Florence, SC.
	Francis Marion (30-11, 10-8) -- FMU was ranked 4th in the NFCA Top 25 poll last week, its highest ranking ever as an NCAA member. FMU dropped its only two games last week at AASU. Prior to that twinbill, the Patriots had won 20 of their last 25 games……Junior SS Shannan Tyson leads FMU with a .411 average, while sophomore OF Jessica Birchmeier has a .400 average and a team-high 40 RBIs.……Senior 1B Monica Wofford reached base five times in the AASU doubleheader, including her 53rd time being hit by a pitch, extending her NCAA Division II career record in that category. Wofford owns a .383 season average…..Senior 2B Allie Aleman has 22 career homers, eight shy of the school record….Tyson has struck out only 17 times in 478 career at bats….Sophomore LHP Michaela Wolf (21-8) is the first FMU hurler to win 20 games twice in a career, after last year becoming only the second FMU pitcher in the past 18 seasons to win 20 games (21-10). Wolf’s seven shutouts this season is one shy of the school record.....Senior RHP Melanie Bisek (7-2) had her streak of not allowing an earned run stopped at 24.2 innings.…..FMU has outscored its opponents 56-17 in the fifth inning….FMU has won at least 30 games 10 of the last 12 campaigns……Over the past 13 seasons, FMU is 115-22 during the month of February….Dating back to the 2005 season, FMU is 93-17 when scoring first, and 95-9 when leading after 4 innings....FMU will host the PBC Tournament, April 18-20, at the Freedom Florence Recreational Complex.
	Georgia College & State University (35-11, 12-6) -- The Lady Bobcats are ranked No. 6 in the region … Georgia College went 4-0 to end the regular season this week, sweeping defending PBC champ Columbus State 3-2, 6-4 Wednesday, and blanking Augusta State 4-0, 1-0 Saturday … The Lady Bobcat season has featured just one three-loss stretch … Junior centerfielder Sherquita Bostick is hitting .500 (29-58) in conference games, including 16 runs over 18 games … Bostick is currently working on a 25-game hit streak … Junior Mandy Chandler tossed her first collegiate complete-game no-hitter in the win over California March 8, allowing just two runners by walk; she paired with Janna Shiver for a no-hitter of Clark-Atlanta in 2007 … Bostick already has 19 stolen bases, the most by a Lady ‘Cat since Aundrea Baker had 19 in the 2004 season; the number puts her at eighth in career swipes at GCSU … The Lady ‘Cats have closed well, going 25-0 this season when leading after five innings, and 28-0 when leading after six … Chandler surrendering a run in the first inning against Catawba March 8 ended her streak of 46.1 innings without allowing an earned run … GCSU is strong against ranked teams this season at 3-1, beating No. 1 SIU-Edwardsville and No. 2 Lock Haven, the last two DII National Champs … Chandler was named to the first Preseason All-PBC Team and also picked up PBC Pitcher of the Week Feb. 26 and March 4 … The Lady Bobcats Florence, S.C. this week for the PBC Championship Tournament … Georgia College is 14-27 all-time in the Peach Belt Tournament.
	Georgia Southwestern (19-27, 4-14) -- The Lady Hurricanes finished the week 2-2 (19-27 overall, 4-14 PBC). They dropped a pair at #12 Valdosta State on Tuesday (9-0, 10-4) before taking two from North Georgia in Dahlonega on Saturday (9-5, 6-5). The Lady ‘Canes two home runs by Kassi Reneau in the second game against Valdosta St. tied a single-game season high. Jessi Croft went 3-for-8 against North GA with a home run, two RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored. Amanda Howett was 3-for-7 against the Saints with two RBI and Emily Oglesby had three RBI on Saturday. Sisters Brittany and Tiffany Milstid pitched well against North Georgia as the Lady ‘Canes played the role of spoiler in their PBC season finale. Brittany earned the complete-game win in game one. She struck out eight while walking only one. Tiffany posted her 6th complete game of the season in the nightcap against the Saints. She struck out five. The Lady ‘Canes are off this week. They play at Albany State on April 26.
	Lander (12-33, 1-15) -- The Lander Bearcats dropped a PBC doubleheader last week to UNC Pembroke, 4-3 and 9-0. Lander will play its final PBC doubleheader this week when the Bearcats travel to Columbus State for a makeup date on April 15. Lindsey Whitfield leads the Bearcats in batting with a .302 average to go along with a team-high nine home runs, 11 doubles and 25 RBI. Daisy Stewart is batting .258 with two homers, nine doubles and 11 RBI. Austin Murray has posted a 5-15 record on the mound with 107 strikeouts in 137 innings pitched.
	North Georgia (31-11, 10-8) -- North Georgia College & State University started the week by seeing their hopes for a number two seed in the upcoming PBC Tournament dashed with a pair of losses at home to Georgia southwestern State University. In game one, North Georgia jumped on top with single runs in the first five innings. Tiffany Blackburn and Courtney McGuire notched solo home runs to lead the charge, but the Canes came storming back for the 9-5 win. In game two, McGuire recorded another home run, but once again GSW came back and scored two runs in the seventh for a 6-5 win. The Saints then got back on the winning track Sunday afternoon, taking care of Belmont Abbey 15-0 and 6-1 on senior day. North Georgia will return to action Friday in Florence, South Carolina, as they wait their first round pairing in the 2008 Peach Belt Conference softball tournament. Stay tuned for breaking news of the tournament bracket.
	UNC Pembroke (41-10, 17-1) -- UNCP went 2-0 on the week with a doubleheader sweep of Lander on Saturday. The Braves clinched the Peach Belt regular season title with a victory over North Georgia on Monday. UNCP has never won the Peach Belt in softball, in fact the Braves have never had a winning record in league play until this season. Only three Braves, Brittany Berrier, Jelena Shaw and Anna Williamson have started every game for Pembroke this season. Pembroke is now 26-2 at home, 11-5 on the road and 4-3 at neutral sites. This season the Braves are outscoring opponents 280-122.
	USC Aiken (22-27, 7-11) -- In their final week of regular season play, USC Aiken went 1-3…The Lady Pacers dropped a pair of close games on Thursday as they concluded PBC play against Augusta State…The Lady Jags took game one 4-2 in eight innings before winning the nightcap 2-1 on a pair of unearned runs…Sophomore Toni Flessate took another hard-luck loss in game two, but still extended her streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 30…USCA then split a twinbill at North Greenville on Saturday…The Crusaders won the first game 4-3 in eight innings before USCA won game two by the same score…Flessate’s streak ended at 31 in the nightcap, but the sophomore improved to 10-9…She is currently second in the PBC in earned run average at 1.00…The Lady Pacers will enter the PBC Tournament as the seventh seed and play second-seeded AASU Friday at 12:00 PM.

2008 PBC Softball Notes - April 7