Coastal89
February 9th, 2006, 11:10 AM
It's going to be cold with highs in the low 40's during the day. BTW, it snowed here this morning for about 10 minutes. :)
The Coastal Carolina softball team opens the 2006 season as it hosts the CCU Tournament in Conway, S.C. at CCU Softball Field. Coastal takes the field for the first time against #3 Tennessee on Friday, February 10 at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Chanticleers will also play the night cap as they take on Illinois State at 7 p.m. The two-day tournament concludes Saturday, February 11 as the Chants play the first game of the day in rematch with Tennessee at 11 a.m. Coastal comes back later in the afternoon to conclude the tournament with a match up against Illinois State at 4 p.m.
Complete CCU Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 10
2 p.m.- Illinois State vs. Tennessee
4:30 p.m.- Tennessee vs. Coastal
7:00 p.m. - Illinois State vs. Coastal
Saturday, Feb. 11
11 a.m. - Tennessee vs. Coastal
1:30 p.m. - Tennessee vs. Illinois State
4 p.m. - Illinois State vs. Coastal
Scouting # 3 Tennessee:
Tennessee (67-15 in 2004) is one of the elite programs in college softball. The Lady Vols are coming off a season where they advanced all the way to the Women’s College World Series and fell to eventual champion Michigan to finish third nationally. Building off that momentum, Tennessee is ranked third nationally in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll. Leading the Lady Vols will be their star pitcher from a year ago junior Monica Abbott. Abbott was 50-9 last year with a miniscule earned-run average of 0.52. Abbott threw 47 complete games with 34 shutouts and 603 strikeouts last year, so hitting will be at a preminum against Abbott and the Lady Vols. Tennessee also features a talented lineup that returns its top three hitters from a year ago in seniors Kristi Durant and Sarah Fekete and junior Lindsay Schutzler. The combined team batting average for the Lady Vols last season was .312.
Series vs. Tennessee:
The Lady Vols lead the all-time series with Coastal at 2-0. The last meeting between these two teams was in 2000 as UT prevailed 2-0.
Scouting Illinois State:
The Redbirds (31-21 in 2004) bring back most of their pitching rotation from last season. The duo of juniors Shannon Nicholson and Stacy Birk split time in the circle for Illinois State in 2005. Nicholson won 15 games with a 1.53 earned-run average last year, while Birk won 16 times with a 2.13 ERA. The top returning hitter for the Redbirds is senior Randi Patton. Patton hit .304 with five homeruns and 21 RBIs a year ago.
Series vs. Illinois State:
This is the first ever meeting between CCU and Illinois State, although the Lady Chants are 2-4 lifetime against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Opening Day for CCU:
CCU has a lifetime record of 12-24 on games on the first day of the season dating back to 1984. Last season, Coastal dropped the first game of the Gamecock Invitational to host South Carolina 8-2 only to rally and win the second game of the day over UNC Greensboro 3-2 in eight innings. Leading the Chanticleers on the day was senior pitcher Brittany Nelson who was 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and pitched a complete game with eigth strikeouts in the second game.
We Like Opening Day:
Coastal Carolina’s senior Brittany Nelson excels both at the plate and in the circle on the first day of the season.Nelson has a career average of .555 (5-for-9) with two RBIs on the first day of the season. Nelson also thrives from the mound as she has a lifetime record of 2-1 with a career earned-run average of 1.66 at the start of the spring.
Senior Sara Hostetler also has been outstanding on opening day. She has six career hits with two doubles and a .352 batting average in the first two games of the season in her career.
The Great Unknown:
Last season, junior Kimberly Cillis feasted on non-conference opponents. Cillis led the team with a .327 batting average in non-conference matchups. Redshirt junior pitcher Christine Doyle also has done well for herself against non-conference opponents in her career. She has a career record of 20-11 and an ERA of 1.63 against teams out of conference
The Coastal Carolina softball team opens the 2006 season as it hosts the CCU Tournament in Conway, S.C. at CCU Softball Field. Coastal takes the field for the first time against #3 Tennessee on Friday, February 10 at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Chanticleers will also play the night cap as they take on Illinois State at 7 p.m. The two-day tournament concludes Saturday, February 11 as the Chants play the first game of the day in rematch with Tennessee at 11 a.m. Coastal comes back later in the afternoon to conclude the tournament with a match up against Illinois State at 4 p.m.
Complete CCU Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 10
2 p.m.- Illinois State vs. Tennessee
4:30 p.m.- Tennessee vs. Coastal
7:00 p.m. - Illinois State vs. Coastal
Saturday, Feb. 11
11 a.m. - Tennessee vs. Coastal
1:30 p.m. - Tennessee vs. Illinois State
4 p.m. - Illinois State vs. Coastal
Scouting # 3 Tennessee:
Tennessee (67-15 in 2004) is one of the elite programs in college softball. The Lady Vols are coming off a season where they advanced all the way to the Women’s College World Series and fell to eventual champion Michigan to finish third nationally. Building off that momentum, Tennessee is ranked third nationally in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll. Leading the Lady Vols will be their star pitcher from a year ago junior Monica Abbott. Abbott was 50-9 last year with a miniscule earned-run average of 0.52. Abbott threw 47 complete games with 34 shutouts and 603 strikeouts last year, so hitting will be at a preminum against Abbott and the Lady Vols. Tennessee also features a talented lineup that returns its top three hitters from a year ago in seniors Kristi Durant and Sarah Fekete and junior Lindsay Schutzler. The combined team batting average for the Lady Vols last season was .312.
Series vs. Tennessee:
The Lady Vols lead the all-time series with Coastal at 2-0. The last meeting between these two teams was in 2000 as UT prevailed 2-0.
Scouting Illinois State:
The Redbirds (31-21 in 2004) bring back most of their pitching rotation from last season. The duo of juniors Shannon Nicholson and Stacy Birk split time in the circle for Illinois State in 2005. Nicholson won 15 games with a 1.53 earned-run average last year, while Birk won 16 times with a 2.13 ERA. The top returning hitter for the Redbirds is senior Randi Patton. Patton hit .304 with five homeruns and 21 RBIs a year ago.
Series vs. Illinois State:
This is the first ever meeting between CCU and Illinois State, although the Lady Chants are 2-4 lifetime against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Opening Day for CCU:
CCU has a lifetime record of 12-24 on games on the first day of the season dating back to 1984. Last season, Coastal dropped the first game of the Gamecock Invitational to host South Carolina 8-2 only to rally and win the second game of the day over UNC Greensboro 3-2 in eight innings. Leading the Chanticleers on the day was senior pitcher Brittany Nelson who was 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and pitched a complete game with eigth strikeouts in the second game.
We Like Opening Day:
Coastal Carolina’s senior Brittany Nelson excels both at the plate and in the circle on the first day of the season.Nelson has a career average of .555 (5-for-9) with two RBIs on the first day of the season. Nelson also thrives from the mound as she has a lifetime record of 2-1 with a career earned-run average of 1.66 at the start of the spring.
Senior Sara Hostetler also has been outstanding on opening day. She has six career hits with two doubles and a .352 batting average in the first two games of the season in her career.
The Great Unknown:
Last season, junior Kimberly Cillis feasted on non-conference opponents. Cillis led the team with a .327 batting average in non-conference matchups. Redshirt junior pitcher Christine Doyle also has done well for herself against non-conference opponents in her career. She has a career record of 20-11 and an ERA of 1.63 against teams out of conference