1. EAGLE CLASSIC GEORGIA SOUTHERN
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
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2/26/2013 4:30:00 PM
MIAMI (Feb. 26, 2013) – The FIU Panthers' (10-6) first road trip of the season will take them to
Statesboro, Ga., to take part in the Georgia Southern Eagle Classic, March 1-3.
Georgia Southern, South Carolina, Alabama State and Kennesaw State will test an FIU squad that had
its nine-game win streak snapped this past Sunday against Mercer, 4-3.
Seniors Alex Casals (.333, 4 RBI) and Jessy Alfonso (.325, 5 RBI) lead the Panthers in hitting, while
seniorsAmber Curry and Brie Rojas and freshman Aleima Lopez have combined for three home runs
and 16 RBI.
Freshman Corinne Jenkins (4-1, 3.35 ERA) and junior Shelby Wagnon (3-1, 2.07 ERA) lead Head
Coach Jake Schumann's pitching staff. Jenkins made three starts last weekend at the FIU Classic,

2. posting a 2-1 record and a 2.18 ERA. Two weeks ago at the Blue/Gold Felsberg Memorial
Invitational, Wagnon went 3-0 in four appearances, fanning 10 batters and allowing one earned run
(0.63 ERA) over 11.0 innings.
“The purpose for this tournament was to face some pitching that would prepare us for Sun Belt
competition,” Schumann said. “These teams' pitching staffs are everything we thought they'd be when
we made the schedule last year. One team has a team ERA of 1.50, Georgia Southern has a stud
pitcher on their staff and South Carolina being from the SEC is very strong. It will be a challenge for
us – we will have to manufacture runs and find ways to win.”
Georgia Southern
The Georgia Southern Eagles enter the weekend under second-year head coach Annie Smith with a 7-
7 mark. Coach Smith made her presence felt immediately following a 42-20 record (22-2 conference
record) after the 2011-12 campaign.
Georgia Southern's offense is led by juniors Shelby Morrill and Kourtny Thomas. Through 14 games,
Morrill is batting .368 with two RBI and five runs, while Thomas boasts an average of .318, with a
team-leading four homeruns and 10 RBI.
The pitching staff is led by junior Sarah Purvis and sophomore Brooke Red. Through seven starts,
Purvis is 5-3, with a 1.67 ERA and four complete games. Red has made two starts, with a record of 1-
1, a 1.87 ERA, one complete game and a save.
South Carolina
Second-year head coach Beverly Smith brings her Gamecocks to Georgia with an 8-3 record. Coach
Smith's lineup features six players (minimum of 29 at-bats) that have batting averages of .333-or-
higher and four players with 10-plus RBI.
Senior Samie Garcia leads South Carolina with a .615 average with 22 runs, five triples, a home run
and nine RBI. She is also a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen bases. Freshman Alaynie Page is off to a fast start
to her college career, batting .474 with a homerun, 11 RBI and is 7-for-8 in stolen bases. Senior
Kristen Struett leads the team with 14 RBI and also has two homeruns.
In the circle, senior Audrey Broyles (3-1, 2.45 ERA) has thrown two complete games. Sophomore
Julie Sarratt is 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA with a complete game and 11 strikeouts in 17.0 innings of work.
Alabama State

3. Alabama State stands at 1-9 under Head Coach Telma O'Neal Hall.
The Hornets offense is led by senior Brehanna Rodrigues, who is hitting.440 with four RBI and four
stolen bases and junior Meagan Dixon, who is batting 438 with a homerun, three RBI and two
doubles.
Alabama State's lone win has come from the right arm of Destyni Valencia (1-3, 10.89 ERA) in 19.0
innings. The Hornets pitching staff has yielded 79 runs (68 earned), in 58.1 innings (10.49 ERA).
Opponents are hitting .358 off Coach O'Neal Hall's staff.
Kennesaw State
The Owls are 10-2, in what Head Coach Scott Whitlock says is his final season (27 years). The two-
time National Champion head coach is coming off a 4-3 loss against Virginia Tech this past Sunday.
Freshman Missy Perkowski leads the team in hitting at a .471 clip and junior Angie Dascoli has
blasted a team-high two homeruns and nine RBI.
All 10 of Kennesaw State's victories have come from starts made by junior Amanda Henderson and
senior Abbey Mixon. Henderson is 6-0, with a 0.75 ERA in 46.2 innings. She has tossed four
complete games and has two saves to her credit as well. Mixon has a 4-1 record with a 1.43 ERA in
29.1 innings. She has thrown two complete games this season.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSoftball) and become a fan on Facebook
(Facebook.com/FIUSoftball) for all the latest FIU Softball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams
on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports),
YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
The Blue and Gold will play 33 home games at the FIU Softball Complex. Season tickets for the 2013
season cost only $35 for public seating, $20 for FIU employees and alumni, or $70 for the Family
Plan (2 Adults and 3 Youth). To purchase single-game or season tickets, call the FIU Ticket Office at
(305) FIU-GAME, or online at FIUSPORTS.com.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports.
Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and
Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

4. About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its
colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as
engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor
institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most
challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and
enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on
Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South
Florida. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
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