Wednesday, March 25, 2009

DeLAND, Fla. (March 25, 2009) - Coming off a sweep against preseason league favorite USC Upstate on Sunday afternoon, the 2009 Lady Buccaneer softball team will look to keep their winning ways intact when they take on Stetson Thursday afternoon in DeLand, Fla. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 4 p.m. inside Patricia Wilson Field.

After getting off to a rough 0-4 start to begin conference play, ETSU (17-9, 2-4 A-Sun) quickly turned things around by sweeping the Spartans on Sunday afternoon at the ETSU Softball Complex. Junior Marissa Hardy (Rocklin, Calif.) was brilliant in the circle, as she allowed one run and struck out seven while issuing zero walks in the 3-1 win in the series opener. Then, in game two, fellow junior right-hander Darci Gilbert (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) tossed her team-leading fourth shutout of the season and Trisha Massenzo's (Russellville, Tenn.) sacrifice fly to right in the bottom of the eighth scored Vicki McCoy (Ringgold, Ga.) - giving the Lady Bucs a 1-0 win.

Massenzo brings a seven-game hitting streak into play on Thursday and the junior catcher is hitting .400 (7-18) with a double, run scored and three RBI over this stretch. Meanwhile, Gilbert has an amazing 0.58 ERA (2ER/24.1IP) in six conference games so far this season.

Stetson, who carries the best pitching staff in the A-Sun, brings a six-game winning streak into league play on Thursday evening. The Hatters currently stand 19-13, 2-0 in conference play, but Stetson is led by its league-leading 1.12 ERA. Senior right-hander Erica Demers ranks second in the A-Sun with a 0.97 ERA (15ER/114.1IP) and fifth in strikeouts (109). Junior speedster Amy Joyce is leading the Hatters at the plate with a .323 batting average and .419 on-base percentage. Joyce also leads the conference with 20 stolen bases.

Fans unable to make the trip to Florida can access live stats and live video by visiting http://www.gohatters.com/ or by clicking the link above.   

For more information on Lady Buccaneer softball, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.