Thursday, April 15, 2010

Lady Bucs host Mercer Friday, Kennesaw State Saturday

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 15, 2010) - Looking to keep their A-Sun Tournament hopes alive, the Lady Buccaneer softball team returns to action Friday evening when ETSU hosts Mercer. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 4 p.m. at the ETSU Softball Complex.

On Saturday, ETSU will honor its five seniors with a special pregame ceremony and postgame picnic when the Lady Bucs take on Kennesaw State at 2/4 p.m.

ETSU (14-28, 3-9) is looking to snap an eight-game losing streak after being swept by Jacksonville and UNF last weekend in Florida. Prior to dropping a pair of conference doubleheaders, the Lady Bucs held the sixth and final spot in next month's A-Sun Tournament, but now ETSU needs to bounce back and catch a few breaks in the league race as the Blue and Gold are tied for last in the standings.

Senior standout Cheniece Cason (Moreno Valley, Calif.) looks to spark the Lady Bucs as she enters play hitting .478 (11-23) with two doubles, six runs scored, and three RBI in her last six games. The ETSU leadoff hitter posted four multi-hit games last week and led all conference players with 11 hits and six runs scored.

In addition to Cason, fellow seniors Darci Gilbert (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Marissa Hardy (Rocklin, Calif.), Katy Jett (Talbott, Tenn.), and Trisha Massenzo (Russellville, Tenn.) will play their final conference home games this weekend.

These five seniors stepped foot on ETSU's campus in the fall of 2006, and from day one, exemplified the true characteristics of a scholar-athlete. This group has excelled like all-conference performers on the field and in the classroom, as they have all been named A-Sun All-Academic and played huge roles in the Lady Bucs' program-best 30-win season back in 2008.

Mercer enters play with a 21-22, 3-5 mark, and the Bears have lost seven of their last ten - including a 4-0 game to Auburn on Tuesday.

The Bears are led by junior left-hander Jeni Holtz in the circle as she has posted 13 wins and a 2.14 ERA (56 ER/183.1 IP). At the plate, Mercer is fueled by a pair of outfielders in Anna Johnson and Holly Oglesbee. Johnson leads the team with a .340 average and has 19 stolen bases on the season, while Oglesbee leads the way with 42 hits, 12 doubles, 22 runs scored and 18 RBI.

Meanwhile, Kennesaw State takes on USC Upstate on Friday before heading to Johnson City and the Owls sit at 20-18, 6-4. The Owls took three of four from Belmont and Lipscomb last weekend before falling to Georgia Tech, 7-3, on Wednesday.

Fans unable to make the trip to Johnson City can follow all the action online courtesy of live stats.

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