The Sports Guy

     Last week, I debated how GCSU is transitioning into a bat and glove school. The sports of baseball and softball are achieving everything needed to create a competitive and intense program: an accomplished track record, a talented team and a heated rivalry. This week I will talk about how the GCSU softball team satisfies all of the components listed above. 
     In the past couple of years the softball team has surfaced as one of the top programs in the southeast. GCSU had an impressive year in 2006 with a record of 45-13. The team won the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament and advanced to the NCAA II Softball Championships in Salem, Va., for the second time in the last four years. The Lady Bobcats continue their excellence by being named No. 1 in the 2007 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Preseason poll.
     The team returns 13 lettermen including PBC Player of the Year and All-American senior third baseman Keidra Baitey (.408, 9 HR, 44 RBI), Second Team All-Region senior center fielder Deidra Baitey (.358, 18 RBI), as well as sophomore pitcher Mandy Chandler (23-4, 1.84 ERA), who earned All-PBC and Second Team All-Region honors, and junior pitcher Libby Kidd (21-9, 1.80 ERA), who led the PBC in wins during the regular season.
     In the process of becoming a powerhouse softball program in the PBC, it has established a feud between the Cougars of Columbus State University (CSU). Columbus State was the only team last year to finish higher than the GCSU in the PBC. After losing to CSU earlier in the 2006 PBC championship tournament, the Lady Bobcats would climb back to the top and advance to the championship game of the tournament to face the top-seeded lady cougars again.
     Needing to beat their rivals twice, GCSU got off to a good start by winning the first game 7-1. But they would lose a heartbreaker as CSU’s Jenny Baaske clubbed a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Lady Cougars a 4-3 victory.
     No game that the GCSU softball team plays will be short of jaw-dropping excitement. GCSU starts the season by seeking revenge against No. 2 team in the PBC Preseason poll CSU, Feb. 14 at 1 p.m.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 9 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry