Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information

NCAA Softball Bracket

INDIANAPOLIS - Sunday afternoon the Georgia Southern softball team gathered in the Wiggins Building to await word on the location and opponent for their first NCAA Tournament appearance.  The announcement was made that the Eagles will be heading to Athens, Ga. to face No. 11 seed Georgia in the Athens Regional beginning Friday.

Also in the regional are Florida State and Coastal Carolina.  Game times have yet to be announced.

“I feel pretty good about where we’re going,” said head coach Natalie Poole, who in her fifth season has a 145-151 overall record.  “It’s nice to play close to home.”

Georgia Southern played Florida State and Georgia in the regular season and were swept by both teams.  However, two of the four losses came by one run.

“We’re familiar with two of the other three teams, which is a good thing, and I think we’ll be able to prepare better for them,” added Poole.

The Eagles are riding a six-game winning streak, their longest of the season, having come back from a first-round loss in the Southern Conference Tournament to win their second-ever tournament crown.  GSU is the first team in league history to lose its first game and still win the championship.

Poole commented on the team’s mindset, saying “I think that besides the hype of them traveling, they feel confident because they’ve seen the teams.”

Senior Shanita Black (Fayetteville, N.C.) was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after hitting .520 with seven stolen bases.  She and fellow seniors Gina Sterchi (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Sam Steiner (Loxley, Ala.), and junior Logan Free (Sandpoint, Idaho) also earned All-Tournament Honors.

“When you get to postseason play there’s a lot to fight for,” said Poole when asked about her opponent on Friday.  “(Georgia is) looking for an opportunity to get to the top 16 in one weekend.  In each game everyone has to show up.  Everyone will be a little more intense and will have a little more fight in them.  The one thing I don’t want our girls to do is get overwhelmed or put too much pressure on themselves.”

Athens Regional - May 19-21 at Athens, Georgia
*No. 11 Georgia (51-13) vs. Georgia Southern (34-33)
Coastal Carolina (39-20) vs. Florida State (41-26)