AUGUSTA, GA -- The 2007 Peach Belt Conference softball tournament will begin on Friday (April 20) at the Diamond Lakes Regional Park in Hephzibah, Ga. Nine PBC teams will play in the double-elimination tournament for three days vying for the PBC title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Augusta State University is hosting the event.
Francis Marion University enters the tournament as the fourth seed with a 34-14 record. The Patriots will face fifth-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State University (26-14) on Friday at noon on field No. 1. If FMU wins on Friday, the Patriots advance to play the winner of the Columbus State University/Lander University or UNC Pembroke winner on Saturday at 11 a.m. A Friday loss would put FMU into the loser's bracket on Saturday at 11 a.m. against the Lander/UNCP loser.
The Patriots are ranked fifth in this week's South Atlantic Region poll. Eight teams, including three automatic qualifiers, advance to the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Sophomore Shannan Tyson leads Francis Marion with a .381 average, thanks to a recent eight-game hitting streak. The Patriot pitching staff is anchored by freshman southpaw Michaela Wolf with a 21-8 record and a 1.95 earned run average. FMU split two games with AASU early in the season in Florence, losing 5-4 and winning 10-6.
Columbus State, the PBC regular-season champion, is the top seed with a 44-2 record and 29-game winning streak heading into the tournament. CSU is currently ranked second in the nation and have done it with pitching, sporting a team ERA of 0.95.
The 2007 PBC Tournament begins on Friday at noon with three games and continued on to Sunday’s championship game which will begin at 3:00 pm.
2007 Peach Belt Conference Tournament (hosted by Augusta State)
Friday, April 20
#8 Lander vs. #9 UNC Pembroke 12:00
#4 Francis Marion vs. #5 Armstrong Atlantic 12:00
#2 USC Upstate vs. #7 USC Aiken 12:00
8-9 Winner vs. #1 Columbus State 2:00
#3 GCSU vs. #6 Augusta State 2:00
