Top seed Tuskegee looks to defend softball crown
HAMPTON, Ga. (goldentigersports.com) — The two-time defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) champion Tuskegee University softball team returns to the state of Georgia to defend their crown as the top seed from the West Division as the SIAC Softball Championships open up on Thursday afternoon.
Tuskegee (20-29, 18-6 SIAC) open play at 2 pm (est) against Clark Atlanta (11-27, 7-15 SIAC) on the opening day of the tournament. It will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams, as Tuskegee defeated Clark Atlanta 18-0 at the SIAC Crossover in mid-March.
The Lady Golden Tigers are 10-3 against teams that are in the SIAC Championships this season, including going 4-1 against the teams that are in their half of the bracket to open the tournament – Albany State (1-0), Clark Atlanta (1-0) and Stillman (2-1).
Tuskegee is led by the SIAC Player of the Year, Kaylin Finch, who is hitting .389 with eight homeruns and 36 RBI (all second-highest on the team). The freshman has 16 total extra-base hits in 144 official at-bats. Fellow freshman Sharde Thomas, the SIAC Freshman of the Year, leads the conference in hitting at .504 and is second in the nation in that category. She has 12 extra-base hits, including a pair of homeruns, while scoring 41 runs and stealing a team-high 13 bases.
Jamaica Williams, a Second Team All-SIAC selection leads the team in homeruns (nine) and RBI (37); while Chante Warner, a Second Team selection, is hitting .328 with eight extra-base hits and 20 runs scored. Senior Kenyah Smith is also hitting .300, recording a .321 average with five doubles for the Lady Golden Tigers who are hitting .308 as a team.
Finch (10-11, 3.44 ERA) leads the Lady Golden Tigers on the mound, logging 20 complete games and 130.1 innings pitched. She is also 9-4 in conference play this season on the mound. Senior Karisa Foye (4-5, 3.56 ERA), who won both starts on the final weekend against Kentucky State, has six complete games and 59 innings pitched this season.
The loser of the contest will play against on Friday morning at 10 am (est), while the winner will play at 12 noon (est).
