THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University softball team is in search for its first The Sun Conference victories this weekend, as the team hosts RV Coastal Georgia on Saturday and USC-Beaufort Monday in doubleheader action.
 
Saturday will mark just the third time the Lady Night Hawks (9-7, 0-2 TSC) will play at Armory Field in the 2021 season, but are 3-1 at home.  As a whole, TU holds a .306 batting average, registering 8.31 hits a game.  The Hunter Green & White head into the weekend with one of the nation's best base-running, ranking 16th in NAIA in Stolen Bases a Game (2.5).
 
Up first for TU is RV Coastal Georgia (10-2, 1-1 TSC), coming off a split series with USC-Beaufort.  While the Mariners have been picked to finish fourth in The Sun Conference, the team has quickly risen to be one of the premier teams to beat in 2021.  CCGA boasts the second-highest batting average (.336) in the conference, led by Mary Waldron (.457).
 
Coastal Georgia's pitching unit has collectively allowed a 2.39 ERA (ranked 36th in NAIA), led by Ansley Bowen (3-0) and Elizabeth McGovern (2-0).  Bowen has a personal ERA of 1.27 and has given up an opposing batting average of .179, in which the Senior recently comes off a performance of two earned runs in five hits allowed against the Sand Sharks.  McGovern enters the weekend with a 1.91 ERA and has allowed a total of 11 hits, four earned runs and six strikeouts in nearly 15 innings pitched.  Primary pitcher Hayley Dickerson has averaged a hit an inning with a 2.80 ERA, recording 29 strikeouts on the season.
 
Of the 34 runs allowed by the Mariners this season, 10 have come in the first inning.
 
TU will hardly have time to rest, as the team returns to the clay Monday against USC-Beaufort.  The Sand Sharks (9-7, 1-1 TSC) have split its three latest doubleheaders after starting the season with six straight wins.  In each of the pair of games, USCB found themselves winning the first game.
 
Thomas can only wait until the team's doubleheader, looking to avenge a 2019 season in which USCB won four of the five total meetings against the Lady Night Hawks, including the TSC championship game. 
 
Amber Locasto leads the Sand Sharks at the plate with a .355 batting average, while RBI leader Jaci Coleman (8) is hitting .308. 
 
Fans will be in for a treat Monday, as the series will feature a duel in the pitcher's circle between Junior Rebecca Boesen (6-2) and USCB's Ally Muraskin (5-2), two of The Sun Conference's elite pitchers. In nearly 46 innings pitched, Boesen boasts the conference's best ERA (1.07), allowing just seven earned runs in 37 hits and throwing 39 strikeouts.  Muraskin holds the conference's second-best ERA (1.45) as the Senior has allowed eight earned runs in 27 hits with 43 strikeouts, all while holding the conference's best opposing batting average at .186.
 
Both Coastal Georgia and USCB doubleheaders will offer live coverage of the contests.  Fans can access the links by clicking on the respective link:
 
Saturday: TU vs. (RV) CCGA @2PM, 4PM
Live Stats                                           Live Video
 
Monday: TU vs. USCB @12 PM, 2 PM
Live Stats                                           Live Video
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit www.TUNightHawks.com.  Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, and feature stories of your TU softball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksSoftb.