THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The Thomas University softball team travels to Brunswick, Ga., to take on Coastal Georgia College Tuesday and returns back home on Friday for their Sun Conference opener against the #14 University of South Carolina-Beaufort.
Thomas (10-11), after rescheduling their TSC opening weekend, have had a week and a half to prepare for their rivals. Sophomore
Michael Cooper leads Thomas in batting average (.424) and runs batted in (27), which ranks 23rd in the NAIA. The Hunter Green and White are first in the NAIA in putouts per game (21.52) and 27th in total stolen bases (36).
Coastal Georgia (15-7) comes off a twin bill sweep of Talladega (Ala.) 7-1 and 10-5. CCG is 18th in the NAIA in team batting average (.347), 36th in hits per game (9.00) and 48th in runs batted in per game (4.96). When it comes to pitching, freshman Olivia Husted has carried most of the load. The Auburn, Ga. native leads the team in wins (11-2), earned run average (2.26) and total strikeouts (55). Husted's eleven wins is eighth in NAIA.
The #14 Lady Sand Sharks (13-14) are slowly coming out of a midseason slump. After an eight-game skid, the Sun Conference preseason favorites won six of their next eight games. USC-Beaufort's hitting is led by Whitley Martin, batting .436 on the season with 18 runs batted in. Senior pitcher Ashlie Layman is 9-4 with a team best 1.30 earned run average, 26th in NAIA. Opposing hitters are batting a microscopic 1.55, eleventh best in the NAIA. Layman's 85 strikeouts is eleventh best in NAIA.
First pitch at Coastal Georgia Softball Field and Armory Field are slated for 1 p.m.
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