Spartans Set for South Regional Play
TAMPA, Fla. – As the No. 2 seed of the south region and host, Tampa welcomes the South 2 Region pod to Naimoli Family Stadium to start NCAA South 2 Regional play. The South 2 Region pod consists of No. 7 seed Embry-Riddle, No. 3 seed Valdosta State, and No. 6 seed Rollins. The Spartans and Eagles will face off first at noon, followed by the No. 12 Blazers and Tars later at 3 pm.
The Matchups: No. 6 Tampa Spartans, Embry-Riddle
Record: No. 6 Tampa Spartans (35-11), Embry-Riddle (28-16)
Dates/Times: Thursday, May 12th at noon.
Location: Naimoli Family Softball Field || 1005 Frederic H. Spaulding Drive, Tampa, Fla.
About the Spartans: The Spartans look to build off their victory over Rollins, which gave the Spartans a share of the SSC title. The workhorse for the Spartan's infield, Stephanie Balmer, enters regional play with a .949 Fielding Percentage on 72 putouts and 96 assists in 177 total chances. Sharing the circle is SSC Pitcher of the Year Mary Beth Feldman and Mariah Galhouse, SSC First Team, NFCA, and D2CCA First Team selection. Five Spartans have proven their ability at the plate, Savannah Miller, Lauren Fantone, Corynn Miner, Lilly Kiester, and Alexa Russo, each finding their way on base and recorded multiple hits in the last series.
About the Eagles: The Eagles concluded the season fourth in the SSC. Eagles look to repeat history, relying on Kelsi Collins in the circle, throwing the lone win for the Eagles over the Spartans in their last meeting. Collins is producing a 2.12 ERA in over 185.1 innings pitched. Lia Johnson at the plate for the Eagles serves as the threat with a .344 batting average and 32 stolen bases.
Series History: The Spartans currently lead the series history, 13-4. The two met early last month, Spartans taking two of three in the series.
The victors advance to the winner's bracket, meeting on Friday at noon, and the losing teams go head-to-head at 3 pm. The bracket winner moves on to the super regional and faces the victor of the other South Regional.
The south region consists of eight teams splitting into two pods with two host sites. No. 1 seed Auburn Montgomery will play host to No. 4 seed Nova Southeastern, No. 5 Alabama-Huntsville, and No. 8 Tuskegee.