Tigers Fighting For Playoff Spot
With just three conference games remaining, the Savannah State baseball team still has a outside shot of making the MEAC tournament. However, the Tigers did not help their chances over the weekend by losing two games to lowly North Carolina A&T at Tiger Field. SSU dropped a double header on April 24 by scores of 7-5 and 2-0 but bounced back to shut out the Aggies 9-0 on April 25. Earlier in the week, Mercer nipped SSU 3-2 on April 21 at Tiger Field and on April 22, the Tigers traveled to Georgia State where they lost 10-5. The top three teams in the northern and southern division make the conference tournament. At press-time, SSU was in 4th place with a 10-11 record behind North Carolina Central who has a 12-11 record. The Tigers will host MEAC leader Bethune-Cookman in a three game series May 2 & 3.
SSU Softball Team In First Place
The Savannah State softball team swept a double header from Bethune-Cookman on April 24 to take sole possession of first place in the southern division of the MEAC, in games played at the SSU Softball Field. SSU won the opener 8-5 as Amanda Hallman went 4 for 4 at the plate and scored four runs while Torrian Wright added a two run home run. In the second game, a 11-6 victory, Ashley Eichenlaub hit a three-run homer, Amber Hallman hit a two-run home homer while Amanda Hallman struck out five batters. The teams attempted to play on April 25 but rains stopped the game in the fourth inning with the Wildcats leading 9-1. The game will be resumed from where it was stopped at a later date. SSU is currently 17-15 overall and 10-1 in the MEAC.
SSU Tennis Places Three on MEAC Academic Team
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference recently announced the 2015 MEAC Tennis All-Academic team, including 85 student athletes who achieved academic success during the 2014-15 school year. Among those honored are Savannah State’s Bria Burrows, Jennyfer Vivas and Tiffany Williams. Burrows is a sophomore from Milledgeville, GA; Vivas is a sophomore from Bogata, Columbia; and Williams is a junior from Macon, GA.
The MEAC recognizes student-athletes with a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average, including sophomores, juniors and seniors, as well as transfer student-athletes, who have been in residence at the institution for at least one year.
Locals Sign With Division I Programs
Junior college players Rico Bonds and TaQuandra Mike recently signed basketball scholarships with Division I programs. Bonds (6-1, 175) will play at South Carolina State while Mike (5-9) will play at Wichita State. Bonds, who was a member of the 2013 state AAA championship team at Johnson High, played on the junior college level at Florida State College where he averaged 15.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. Mike played at Groves High before going to South Georgia Tech for two seasons where she was a NJCAA All-America Honorable Mention. This past season she averaged 17.2 points on 41.5 percent shooting from the field, including 36.2 percent from the arc, to lead SGTC to a 30-5 overall record and a 19-1 record in the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association.