GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle (15-15) at Palm Beach Atlantic (23-18)
DATE: Thursday, April 2, 2015
CITY: West Palm Beach, Fla.
SITE: Simpson Field
FIRST PITCH: 3 p.m. EDT
LIVE STATS: ERAU Gameday Network

ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
The Blue and Gold will be looking to bounce back from a tough weekend that saw ERAU drop doubleheaders at No. 10 Thomas and No. 24 South Carolina Beaufort. Embry-Riddle had won 14 of its last 18 games prior to the weekend sweeps.

ERAU is hitting .252 as a team with an on-base percentage of .342 and a slugging percentage of .365. The Eagles have hit 11 home runs and are a perfect 42-for-42 in the stolen base department. Embry-Riddle's pitchers have a 3.76 ERA with 129 strikeouts in 188 innings of work.

Anna Battison leads the team in batting average (.368), hits (32), on-base percentage (.461), runs scored (20) and stolen bases (21). Kailah Rain ranks just behind Battison in batting average (.321), hits (26) and stolen bases (6), while Robi Zimmerman leads the team with four home runs 20 RBIs.

In the circle, Taylor Cowan has been effective in six relief appearances, tossing 17 innings with a 1-0 record and a 3.29 ERA, while Zimmerman is 6-8 with a 3.57 ERA in 15 starts and Raquelli Bianco is 8-7 with a 4.05 ERA and five shutouts in 15 starts.

ABOUT PALM BEACH ATLANTIC
The Sailfish are 23-18 on the season after splitting a doubleheader with NCAA II No. 14 Rollins on Tuesday. PBA has won six of its last eight games and are 7-5 this season at home.

As a team, Palm Beach Atlantic is hitting .278, slugging .406 and has an on-base percentage of .342. PBA has hit 20 home runs and is 82-for-96 in stolen bases. The Sailfish pitching staff has a 2.62 ERA with 186 strikeouts in 270.1 innings pitched.

Devin Williams and Kayla Knight each lead the team with .344 batting averages; Wiliams is 17-of-18 on the basepaths while Knight has scored 26 runs and leads the team with 10 doubles. Victoria Gonzalez leads the team with nine home runs, 39 RBIs and a .598 slugging percentage.

Rachel Hill is 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA and has struck out 84 batters in 105.1 innings. Corrie Boggess has a 5-7 record and 3.13 ERA while Jana Wagner is 5-4 with a 2.41 ERA.

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
The 2015 edition of the Embry-Riddle softball team will look much different than the previous two seasons. ERAU has a new head coach in Kelsi Dunne, a new assistant coach in Monique White, and six of the 13 players are brand new this year. Besides the new faces, the Eagles will be playing all of their home games at Daytona State College while the new baseball/softball facilities are completed.

CANADIAN THIEF
Sophomore catcher Anna Battison, a native of Tsawwassen, B.C., has made the most of her move to the leadoff spot this season. After going 5-for-10 on the basepaths in 2014, Battison has been impossible to throw out this season, with 21 steals in 21 attempts. Her 21 steals are the ninth-most by a player in the NAIA this season.

On March 18, Battison surpassed Sarah Huey's record of 15 steals to become the single-season record-holder in the stolen base department. Battison currently ranks second in program history in career stolen bases with 26, just one behind Huey's record of 27.

Battison's 21 stolen bases are a major of part of ERAU's 42 steals as a team, which ranks 34th in the NAIA. The Blue and Gold also have the most stolen bases in the nation among teams that have not been caught stealing this year.

SOLID AS A ROCK
Talia Barraco, the team's lone senior, was one of the most reliable players on the team in her first season at Embry-Riddle in 2014, earning her the nickname "Rock." This season, Barraco is hitting .243 and leads the team with nine doubles to go along with 16 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

DUAL THREATS
Robi Zimmerman has contributed at the plate and in the circle in each of her two seasons at Embry-Riddle. This season, Zimmerman is hitting .234 with four home runs and 20 RBIs, while also holding a 3.57 ERA and leading the staff with 62 strikeouts.

The Blue and Gold have another dual-threat athlete this year in Raquelli Bianco who will split time between the pitching circle and first base. This year, Bianco has registered 22 hits, including six doubles, three triples and three home runs, and has 17 RBIs, while holding an 8-7 record with a 4.05 ERA and five shutouts.

Taylor Cowan has developed into a third dual threat for ERAU, leading the team batting average against (.238) with a 3.29 ERA in 17 innings of relief work while collecting 15 hits and nine RBIs at the plate.

DEFENDING THE NEST
The Eagles have been tough to beat at home in the program's first two years of existence, compiling a 9-3 mark in 2013 and a 13-8 record in 2014. The Blue and Gold have continued that winning tradition in 2015 at the Daytona State College Softball Complex, Embry-Riddle softball's temporary home field. The Blue and Gold are 13-7 at the DSC field and 1-1 at the Port Orange City Center Sports Complex, making ERAU's overall program record at home 36-19, good for a .655 winning percentage.

RECORD-SETTING ROBI
Robi Zimmerman is putting her name at the top of a number of the program's all-time leader lists. As a three-year starter at first base and pitcher, Zimmerman is among the top 10 in the following categories:

Games
Games played - 110 (1st)
Games started - 106 (1st)

Hitting
Home runs - 10 (1st)
Runs batted in - 68 (1st)
Walks - 34 (1st)
At-bats - 306 (1st)
Doubles - 21 (2nd)
Total bases - 137 (2nd)
Sacrifice flies - 4 (T-2nd)
Hits - 86 (3rd)
Slugging percentage - .448 (5th)
Hit by pitch - 3 (T-5th)
On-base percentage - .354 (6th)
Runs scored - 29 (7th)
Batting average - .281 (8th)
Sacrifice bunts - 8 (9th)

Pitching
Saves - 3 (1st)
Appearances - 68 (1st)
Starts - 57 (1st)
Complete games - 34 (1st)
Innings pitched - 325.2 (1st)
Strikeouts - 176 (2nd)
Opponents' batting average - .310 (2nd)
Wins - 21 (2nd)
ERA - 4.06 (3rd)
Walks/7 inn. - 2.64 (3rd)
Strikeouts/7 inn. - 3.78 (3rd)
Shutouts - 1 (3rd)

Fielding
Assists - 114 (2nd)
Fielding percentage - .967 (4th)
Putouts - 151 (6th)

EAGLES FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
After winning The Sun Conference regular season championship in 2014, the Eagles have been picked to finish fourth in the league in 2015 in a preseason poll voted on by all nine TSC softball coaches. Prior to winning the regular season title last season, the Blue and Gold were picked to finish third in the preseason poll.