THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University softball team continues with more The Sun Conference action this weekend, taking on RV Ave Maria Thursday and Keiser Saturday at home for a pair of doubleheaders.
 
After a toe-to-toe, thrilling doubleheader against the Sand Sharks of USC-Beaufort last time out, the Lady Night Hawks (12-8, 3-3 TSC) are ready to prove their home dominance once more in The Sun Conference, boasting a 6-2 record at Armory Field this season.  Senior Holly Campbell has been a bright spot at-bat, batting .362 with 14 RBIs on the season.
 
TU's pitching unit is led by Senior Rebecca Boesen (7-2) and Junior Larran Carter (3-2).  Carter has been reliable at the circle, allowing six hits and throwing 10 strikeouts in the previous four contests, all of which the Thomasville, Ga. native recorded 0.00 ERA in each game.
 
RV Ave Maria (14-6, 2-2 TSC) returned to the National rankings Wednesday, but comes off a doubleheader against #18 Warner in which the Gyrenes were swept.  Despite the week AMU had, Miriam Padgett received conference honors this week, making it the third straight week the Gyrenes boasted the TSC featured player. 
 
Padgett is no joke; the Redshirt Sophomore holds the conference's best batting average (.532) while holding a 1.25 stolen bases average (ranked third in NAIA), coming off a week in which the Cumming, Ga. native went 9-for-11 at the plate.
 
The Gyrenes are an efficient team from the plate, hitting .362 on the season (11th-best mark in NAIA) while averaging over seven runs and six RBIs a game.
 
As strong as the batting game is for the Gyrenes, AMU's specialty is its base-running ability; the Gyrenes lead the nation in Stolen Bases a Game (4.15) and boast two of the top three base stealers in the nation in Padgett and Kalie Romig.
 
AMU Pitching has been an Achilles' heel for the team, ranking last in The Sun Conference in team ERA (3.41).  The Gyrenes hold the second-hishest totals in the conference in both runs allowed average (4.05) and opposing batting average (.285).
 
Thomas has recently played RV Ave Maria well, winning seven of the last eight games against the Holy Queen's team.
 
Keiser (10-10, 2-2 TSC) also played #18 Warner this past week, but managed to split the doubleheader with the Royals.  The Seahawks have dropped four of its last five games, failing to score a run in three of those four contests.
 
As a team, KU is knocking on a .300 batting average, led by Janelle Dominguez (.431) who also leads the team in RBIs (21) and Stolen Bases (10) on the season.  Although the team averages eight hits a game, Keiser has managed to score 4.28 runs a game, the second-lowest average in TSC.
 
Keiser's pitching staff has primarily gone with two pitchers in Kelsie Merriman (3-4) and Giovanna Watts (6-5).  The Seahawks' unit has allowed 6.72 hits a game while posting TSC's lowest strikeouts average (2.5).  Watts enters the week with a 2.27 ERA, allowing an average of 5.4 hits per appearance. 
 
The Lady Night Hawks have recently dominated the overall series, winning nine of its last ten games against KU.
 
First pitch Thursday at Armory Field is set for 2 p.m., as Saturday's doubleheader is slated for noon.  Fans can access live coverage of the game by clicking the links below:
 
TU vs. AMU (Thursday @2PM, 4PM)
Live Stats                                                             Live Video
 
TU vs. KU (Saturday @12 PM, 2PM)
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.