HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College softball team will open up the 2015 South Atlantic Conference softball tournament on Thursday (Apr. 23) with a matchup against the Carson-Newman University Eagles. The matchup is set to begin at 3 p.m. on field 8 at Byerly Park in Hartsville, S.C. Live stats and broadcast will be available at www.cokercobras.com.

The Cobras and Eagles split their regular season doubleheader back on Mar. 16.

The Navy and Yellow are led by sophomore Riley Morris. Morris is in the top 15 in the SAC in batting average (.369), hits (55), RBIs (37), doubles (15), and home runs with eight. Katelyn Szupello comes in with a team-high .407 batting average and 17 stolen bases on the season. Ashley Gallman and Ashlee Ellen are fourth in the SAC with 14 doubles to go along with .343 and .301 batting averages. Tayler Barcomb is batting .303 with six home runs, eight doubles and 29 RBIs.

Tabitha Allen enters the matchup with 15 wins on the season which is fourth in the conference.

The Eagles travel to Hartsville as the top seed in the tournament after posting a 17-5 record in league play. They are led by the duo of Bre Lockett and Elayna Siebert. Lockett leads the conference in batting average (.468), RBIs (49), doubles (17) and hits (65). Siebert posted a .434 batting average along with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs.

Thursday's (Apr. 23) matchup is set to begin at 3 p.m. on field 8 at Byerly Park. Tickets for the tournament are $20 for an all-session pass for adults and $10 for an all-session pass for students. Daily tickets are $8 per day for adults and $4 per day for students.

Story by Aaron Beebe '15 sports information intern