GCAC Softball Tournament Starts Friday
(Tourney Web Site) - (Univ. of Mobile Live Stats)

GULF SHORES, Ala—The 2009 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Softball Tournament will take place at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex Friday, April 24 – Saturday, April 25.

Sixth-ranked William Carey enters the field as the top seed after posting a 10-2 conference mark to go along with their 35-6 overall record. The University of Mobile (31-10, 6-6) is the No. 2 seed and has won all 11 conference championships in the league’s history.

Belhaven College (RV) posted a 34-17 overall mark and a 4-8 conference mark to lock down the No. 3 seed, while Spring Hill College rounds out the field at 15-30 and 4-8. The Lady Blazers won the tie-breaker with the Lady Badgers due to runs scored.

The tournament is double-elimination, and the winner will advance to a NAIA Direct Qualification Tournament next week in Charleston, W.V. versus champions from the Sunrise and Frontier leagues. That winner will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships in Decatur, AL. There are eight at-large bids to go around to teams that do not win their conference title.

William Carey enters the field having won 28 of their last 31 contests. The only conference losses were a 4-3 setback to Spring Hill and a 4-0 loss at Mobile. Brittany Fuller ranks 1st in the NAIA with 13 saves, while Judy Barber (.397, 13 homers, 39 RBI) ranks 9th in home runs.

The Lady Rams enter with a 4-game winning streak and have won 5-of-6 since dropping a double header at William Carey by scores of 5-4 and 1-0. The Lady Rams are ranked 15th in the NAIA and have not missed the NAIA National Tournament since 1994. Leslie Pickette (21-3, 1.64) ranks 5th in the NAIA in victories. Four Lady Rams are batting over .400 in the last ten ball games, led by Abby Campbell at .457.

Belhaven College enters the tournament boasting a potent lineup. The Lady Blazers rank 7th in the NAIA in batting average (.356), 11th in slugging percentage (.512) and 11th in runs scored per game (7.078). Mallory Meadows (.494, 74 RBI) ranks 2nd in the nation with 1.45 RBI per contest. Belhaven has lost 4-of-6 heading into the tournament after getting swept by scores of 6-5 and 6-2 at William Carey.

While Spring Hill enters with a 15-30 record and holds down the last seed, the Lady Badgers have proven they can beat everyone in the conference. Spring Hill split the season series with Belhaven 2-2, defeated Mobile 3-1 at home and took a game from William Carey, 4-3, at home. Monica Zeringue leads the team with a .316 batting average.