Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Saint Mary's College of California
Softball Heads to California For 5 Games
3/2/2017 4:00:00 PM | Softball
Tournament Notes
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Middle Tennessee softball heads out for one last non-conference tournament this weekend. The Blue Raiders (8-5) travel to San Luis Obispo, California for the ShareSLO Mustang Classic hosted by Cal Poly. MT opens the tournament by facing Saint Mary's College of California at noon on Friday, March 3 and then the hosts at 5pm. On Saturday, March 4 Middle plays Saint Mary's and Cal Poly again at 5pm and 7:30pm. The weekend concludes with a game against Sacred Heart on Sunday, March 5 at noon.
Live Stats will be available for all games and a live audio feed will be available for MT's games against Cal Poly.
The Blue Raiders went 2-2 last weekend at the South Alabama Invitational to move to 8-5 on the year. MT picked up both wins over Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, 4-0 and 2-1. Middle got shut out in its two other contests, falling to Stephen F. Austin, 0-3, and South Alabama, 0-1.
Precious Birdsong led the Raiders at the plate, hitting .500 (6-for-12) at the tournament on her way to being named to the All-Tournament team. She also stole six bases in the four game stretch. Harris batted .438 on the weekend recording a double and a stolen base while helping the Raiders turn two defensive double plays.
In the circle, the Blue Raider pitching staff finished the tournament with a 0.52 ERA, allowing just two earned runs through 27 innings. Cori Jennings and Gretchen Greer each recorded a win, throwing complete games. Greer pitched a two-hitter in her outing, striking out four while Jennings struck out eight in her two appearances.
Cal Poly, the hosts, went 2-3 last weekend as they competed in the Bulldog Classic in Fresno, Calif. The Mustangs, now 8-6 on the year, defeated Fresno State, 2-0, and Idaho State, 7-5. In the tournament, Cal Poly had two extra innings defeats, falling to Fresno State, 3-2, and No. 12/11 Minnesota, 3-1.
Chelsea Convissar leads the Mustang's at the plate, batting .400 with three doubles and a home run. Sierra Hyland has a team-leading 15 RBI while recording three doubles, a triple and a home run to go with her .357 batting average.
Hyland is also a threat in the circle, posting a 1.63 ERA, 4-4 record and 68 strikeouts. She pitched a perfect game earlier this season in an 8-0 five inning win over Creighton at the Arizona State-hosted Kajikawa Classic. She earned Big West Pitcher of the Week and USA Softball National Player of the Week for her performance.
Sacred Heart comes into the tournament having played just four games, starting their season on Feb. 24 in the Buffalo Wild Wings Classic in Greenville, S.C. There they went 3-1, defeating Toledo (3-0), Delaware State (8-0) and Howard (12-1). The Pioneers lone loss game from Furman, 7-4.
Five Pioneers are batting .500 or above with three of them having played in all four games so far this season. Andrea Sidor leads the way with a .636 batting average. She also has one double and three RBI. Kelyn Fillmore is hitting .583 with a team-high seven RBI and three doubles. Victoria D'Addario also has three doubles to go with five RBI and a .500 batting average.
In the circle, the Pioneers have Jamie Carlson, who was named Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week following a 2-0 performance in their season opening tournament. She maintained a 0.00 ERA and struck out 13 in two appearances.
Saint Mary's enters with a 6-8 record following a three-game series with CSU Bakersfield last weekend. The Gaels went 2-1 in the games, losing the first 7-3 but coming back to defeat the Roadrunners, 4-3(8) and 5-2.
Hailey Sparacino is the lone Gael hitting above .300 that has played in every game on the year. Sparacino leads the team with a .342 average, four doubles, a triple and nine RBI. Cara Dimercurio has the Gaels only home run of the season while also recording a triple and four RBI.
Katie Moss has seen nearly half of the pitching time in the circle for SMC, throwing 40.1 innings with a 1.74 ERA. She has 27 strikeouts and three complete games for a 3-4 record. Katlyn Whitt is 2-2 on the year with a 1.93 ERA and six strikeouts. Eryn McCoy has the other Gael win in the circle. She is 1-2, boasting a 2.66 ERA and four strikeouts.
Tournament Info: http://gopoly.com/sports/sball/2016-17/Mustang_Classic_-2017-
