Softball sits in the middle of the pack in the SoCon

As the Spartan softball team surpasses the halfway point of their 2010 season, it looks as if they have their work cut for them if they want to make to a run at the Southern Conference Championship. With Chattanooga and Elon showing that they are the two teams to beat down the stretch, it should be interesting to see how everything plays out for the Spartans and the rest of the league in the last few months of the season heading into the SoCon Tournament, and maybe, for a couple teams, the NCAA Tournament.

Even though the Spartans have struggled offensively so far this season, there are still some Spartans who have managed to put up some good numbers at the plate. Sophomore Alex Emeterio leads the team in batting average at .333 and runs batted in with 21. Katie Stripling and Kaitlin Merkt have provided the power for the Spartans, each having 5 home runs to lead the team. Emeterio is not far behind both of them, as she has hit four home runs of her own. Stripling also lead the team in slugging percentage (.767), and has the least amount of strikeouts on the team. On the base pads, Jordan Jewett leads the Spartans with 5 stolen bases.

Although Emeterio has put up some big numbers at the plate, Furman and Georgia Southern have some big hitters as well. Furman’s Stephanie Field and Georgia Southern’s Nina Iduate have been putting up video game like numbers this season. Field currently sits with the number one batting average in the SoCon at .463, while Iduate holds a .431 average for second. Iduate also leads the conference in hits with 49.

Georgia Southern also has the leading home run hitter in the conference with Megan Smith, who has hit 11 home runs this year. Allie Cashion of Appalachian State leads the conference in RBI’s with 31, while Sarah Rappe, also of Appalachian, and Lyndsey Stiles of Chattanooga, are tied for the lead in stolen bases with 19.

At the midway point of this season, Chattanooga and Elon have shown that they are the two best teams in the conference to this point. Chattanooga has yet to lose a game in conference play this season, starting out 9-0, while carrying a 28-9 overall record. Elon holds a 9-3 conference record and a 24-10 overall record.

Georgia Southern and Furman each have strong records in SoCon play, with Georgia Southern at 6-2, while the Paladins have a 7-4 record. The Spartans have a 4-4 conference record, and a 15-20 record overall. College of Charleston and Appalachian State each have .500 records overall and in conference play, while Samford and Western Carolina are down at the bottom of the standings. Western Carolina is having a year to forget, with a 4-30 overall record, and a 0-11 record in SoCon action.

In some notable series upcoming, the Spartans will travel to Appalachian State this weekend, and then after a few days off, they will return to action to take on Western Carolina, before taking on rival North Carolina A&T in a two game series at UNCG Softball Stadium. Conference leader Chattanooga will take on UAB this week in non-conference play, while Elon will take on Campbell, also a non-conference foe. That will set up a huge three game series between the two teams starting next Saturday in Chattanooga. The two will have a doubleheader on Saturday, before finishing the series with the third game on Sunday.