May 11, 2004
Lady Paladin Softball Set to Open Southern Conference Tournament Play Thursday
Greenville, S.C. -- The Furman softball team travels to Chattanooga, Tenn., this weekend in search of its fourth Southern Conference finals appearance in the last five seasons.
Furman, 15-46 overall and 7-13 in league play this year, open the Southern Conference tournament as the seventh seed and play against second seeded College of Charleston at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Paladins will play the winner/loser of #3 Georgia Southern and #6 East Tennessee State on Friday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
Furman reached the championship game of the league tournament three consecutive years before being knocked out after only three games last May.
The Lady Paladins, who were swept in a three-game series at Charleston in April, are led by senior centerfielder LaKerah Barr and junior pitcher Rachel Henley.
Barr, a 2003 all-league selection after leading the league with a .395 batting average, batted a league-leading .403 in SoCon games this season while posting a .342 average in 61 games overall. The senior swiped a Furman single-season record and conference-best 33 bases in 2004.
Henley pitched 253.2 innings this season, while posting a 12-22 record and 1.99 ERA. The righthander struck out 196 batters and issued just 66 walks. In conference play, Henley limited opponents to just 84 hits in 97 innings of work and registered a 1.66 earned run average.
Furman's first round opponent, the College of Charleston, posted 40-21 overall record and 14-6 mark in Southern Conference play during the regular season. The Cougars are coming off of a three-game sweep of regular season champion Chattanooga and have won five straight.
Live stats will be available for all games at the 2004 Southern Conference Tournament at www.soconsports.com.