This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics, 4-10-00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4-10-00

This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics

Monday, April 10
No Events Scheduled

Tuesday, April 11
• Softball at Georgia College & State, 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 12
No Events Scheduled

Thursday, April 13
• Softball at Valdosta State, 4:00 p.m.
• Baseball at Valdosta State, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's and Women's Tennis host Peach Belt Athletic Conference Championships

Friday, April 14
• Men's and Women's Tennis host Peach Belt Athletic Conference Championships

Saturday, April 15
• Baseball vs. USC Spartanburg, 3:00 p.m.
• Softball at North Florida, 6:00 p.m.
• Track and Field at Emory Invitational (Atlanta, Ga.)
• Men's and Women's Tennis host Peach Belt Athletic Conference Championships

Sunday, April 16
• Baseball vs. USC Spartanburg, 1:00 p.m. (DH)
• Men's and Women's Tennis host Peach Belt Athletic Conference Championships

Baseball (28-14, 8-13 PBAC)

Head coach Joe Roberts' AASU baseball team got back on the winning track by taking two of three from No. 17-ranked Columbus State over the weekend, snapping the Pirates' seven-game PBAC losing streak.

It wasn't easy, however, as both of the Pirates' wins in the series had to go extra innings. On Saturday afternoon, AASU and Columbus State were tied at 2-all after the end of nine innings and played into the 14^th inning, when Kevin Bullard delivered an RBI double and Bryan Beckmann followed with an RBI triple to plate two runs and give AASU a 4-2 win. Freshman Andrew Moss pitched five shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season.

In Sunday's doubleheader, the Pirates and the Cougars continued their exhibition of free baseball with an 11-inning affair. Columbus State scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings, but the Pirates exploded for five runs in the top of the 11^th inning to take a 12-8 victory. Brian Pickel clubbed two home runs in the game for the Pirates and Shane Shelton picked up the win in relief for his first victory of the year.

The final game saw Columbus State break open a 4-3 game with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the 7-5 win and salvage a game out of the series. The PBAC series victory for the Pirates was their third on the road this season.

This week, the Pirates travel to Valdosta State for a midweek matchup on Thursday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m., then AASU entertains USC Spartanburg in a weekend series at Pirate Field. The first game will be Saturday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m., then the final two games will be on Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m.

Softball (37-4, 11-1 PBAC, No. 6 – NFCA Coaches' Division II Top 25)

The AASU softball team went 3-1 on the week against ranked competition, including a Sunday sweep of No. 2-ranked Kennesaw State in a battle of the South Region's top two squads.

The Pirates split a doubeheader at No. 19 USC Spartanburg on Thursday, losing the first game, 2-1, but winning the second game, 1-0. Junior Maria Lopez hurled a three-hit shutout of the Lady Rifles in game number two to earn the Pirates the split.

Sunday, the Pirates hosted Kennesaw State and sophomore Annie Sells beat the Owls single-handedly in game one, hurling a three-hit shutout, striking out 10, and scoring the winning run. Sells' leadoff double in the second inning was one of only two Pirate hits, but it was enough as Nicole Weirauch scored Sells on a sacrifice fly from third base with the winning run.

In the second game, the Pirate bats exploded for eight runs and 12 hits – the most KSU has given up this season – as the Pirates won, 8-5. Sells and Crystal McCracken hit home runs in support of Julie King, who gave up just three earned runs in seven innings to get the victory.

AASU continues a big stretch of action this week as they travel to Georgia College & State for a 4:30 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday, April 11. The Pirates then go to Valdosta State for a 5:00 p.m. matchup with the Lady Blazers on Thursday, April 13, then AASU faces No. 3 North Florida in a PBAC showdown on Saturday, April 15 at 6:00 p.m. in Jacksonville, Fla.

Men's & Women's Tennis (12-5, No. 5 (W), 16-4, No. 4 (M) – ITA/NCAA DII Team Rankings)

Head coach Simon Earnshaw's men's tennis team traveled to Montgomery, Ala., for the Blue-Gray Classic, hosted by Auburn Montgomery. There, AASU advanced to the consolation finals, defeating No. 7-ranked Barry University, 5-3.

The Pirates played host Auburn-Montgomery, the No. 2 team in NAIA, in their opening round match and fell to the Senators, 5-1, on Thursday. The loss put AASU in the consolation brackets, where the Pirates rebounded with a 5-2 win over Tyler (Tex.) JC, the No. 1-ranked team in NJCAA on Friday, then AASU downed Barry on Saturday for the consolation final victory.

AASU has now beaten six of the other nine teams ranked in the ITA/NCAA Division II Top 10 and is in good shape for the upcoming NCAA Regionals.

This week, the men's and women's tennis teams host the PBAC Tennis Championships from Thursday, April 13 through Sunday, April 16. Both the men's and women's tennis squads finished the PBAC regular season undefeated in the conference and are the top seed in the championships. The AASU men's first match will be on Friday at 11:00 a.m. against the winner of the USC Spartanburg/Georgia College & State match. The AASU women will play on Friday at 8:00 a.m. against the winner of the Clayton College & State/Augusta State match.

Track and Field

Junior Nikki Garland captured the 800 meter developmental race at the General Motors Duke Outdoor Track and Field Meet on Saturday, highlighting a list of several outstanding performances by the Pirates.

Garland won her race in a time of 2:15.13, nearly a half-second better than Lauren Campbell of East Tennessee State, who finished second. Garland's time narrowly misses qualifying her for the national championships. 77 other runners competed in the 800 meter developmental race.

Freshman Rebekah Mackie turned in a solid performance in the women's 5000 meters, finishing 11^th in a time of 17:12.30, provisionally qualifying the Auckland, New Zealand, native for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in a second event. Mackie has already provisionally qualified for the 3000 meters.

Senior Robert Crenshaw placed 24^th in the men's 800 meter developmental race, in a time of 1:54.80. Also running for the Pirates were senior Gary Ginn, who finished 68^th in the men's 5000 meters in a time of 15:24.66, and freshman Paul McRae, who finished 83^rd in a time of 15:34.34.

The AASU track teams will next compete at the Emory Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, April 15.

-Pirates-