April 10, 2008

Final Stats

SENIOR DAY 2008! The Johnson C. Smith University softball team said thank you and good-bye to two student-athletes, playing their last game at Biddleville Park. JCSU hosted the Lady Broncos of Fayetteville State University in a high-stakes contest. If JCSU swept both games, they would win the western division crown outright. JCSU shutout FSU in game one 6-0, but FSU rallied back in game two and escaped with a 7-5 victory. Despite the loss in the second game, JCSU won the school's first ever divisional title because of the tie breaker procedure.

The CIAA's tie breaker procedure states: Regular season standings for each division is determined by the highest percentage of conference games won in that division.

In case of a tie, the standings shall be determined as follows:

1. Head-to-Head Competition

2. Point spread

3. Overall conference record

4. Coin Toss

Though Fayetteville State still has two western division contests to play, and even if the Broncos win both games, JCSU still wins out because of the point spread rule. In game one, JCSU won by 6 runs. In game two, FSU only won by two runs.

JCSU came out firing in the first inning, scoring four runs on five hits. Defensively, the Lady Broncos went three-up and three-down for three consecutive innings. An error by Santana Smith followed by a base hit in the fourth inning, erased Allycia Watanabe's (Waipahu, Hawaii) perfect game. She ended the contest pitching a one-hitter, striking out 10 and not allowing a single walk or run. Nicole Villarreal (San Antonio, Tex.) was vicious from the plate going 2-for-2 including a double and a home run, the first of her career.

The Lady Broncos got their offense going early in game two. FSU jumped on the scoreboard first scoring two runs in the second inning. JCSU answered back with four runs of their own in the fourth inning. FSU rallied and scored four more runs in the fifth inning. Both teams crossed the plate one time in the sixth inning. Seniors Saeedah Reed (Norwalk, Conn.) and Nicole Villarreal (San Antonio, Tex.) made their last game a special one. Villarreal went 2-for-3 on the game including a double while Reed went 3-for-4 employing her speed and putting a triple in the scorebooks.

JCSU's record stands at 15-8 overall, 9-3 CIAA, and 6-1 in the division. FSU is 14-12, 11-3 CIAA, and 5-1 in the division.

JCSU will go on a six-game road trip facing all eastern division opponents beginning with Virginia State University on Saturday, April 12. They will stay in Petersburg to face Elizabeth City State on Sunday (April 13), a make-up from a rained out contest on April 5. The team will face Saint Paul's College on Monday (April 14) in Emporia, Virginia before returning home in preparation for the 2008 CIAA Softball Championships to be held April 16-19 in Petersburg, Virginia.