GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle (21-19, 6-8) at Webber International (21-20, 4-10)
DATE: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
CITY: Babson Park, Fla.
FIRST PITCH: 2 p.m. EDT
LIVE STATS: ERAU Gameday Network

ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
The Eagles sit in sixth place in The Sun Conference with a 6-8 record after going 3-1 over the weekend against Ave Maria and Northwood. The Blue and Gold can clinch a spot in The Sun Conference Tournament with one win on Wednesday; if ERAU sweeps Webber International the Eagles could potentially be seeded as high as fourth in the tournament.

ERAU is hitting .255 as a team with an on-base percentage of .345 and a slugging percentage of .354. The Eagles have hit 12 home runs and are 50-for-51 in the stolen base department. Embry-Riddle's pitchers have a 3.20 ERA with 167 strikeouts in 254 innings of work.

Anna Battison, who is likely out for the season after suffering an injury on April 2, leads the team in batting average (.363), on-base percentage (.458) and stolen bases (22). Kailah Rain leads the Eagles in hits (38) and ranks behind Battison in batting average (.339) and stolen bases (9), while Robi Zimmerman leads the team with four home runs and 23 RBIs. Raquelli Bianco is tied with Zimmerman for the team lead in homers with four and is tops on the club with 23 runs scored.

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 Raquelli Bianco is 13-7 with a 3.13 ERA and seven shutouts in 20 starts and Zimmerman is 7-12 with a 3.25 ERA in 20 starts.

ABOUT WEBBER INTERNATIONAL
The Warriors are 21-20 on the season and are in seventh place in the conference with a 4-10 record. WIU has lost eight games in a row and will be hosting NCAA II Eckerd on Tuesday prior to welcoming the Eagles to Babson Park on Wednesday.

As a team, Webber International is hitting .266, slugging .357 and has an on-base percentage of .336. WIU has hit 12 home runs and is 30-for-36 in stolen bases. The Warrior pitching staff has a 3.48 ERA with 140 strikeouts in 269.2 innings pitched.

Jennifer Hamil leads the team in most offensive categories, including batting average (.459), on-base percentage (.514), slugging percentage (.648), hits (56), home runs (3), doubles (14), RBIs (23) and runs scored (28), while Lydia Hough has a .309 batting average and 22 RBIs.

Naomi Spurgeon is the team's ace, owning an 8-7 record and a 2.45 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 97.1 innings, while Erika Bellinger is 7-4 with a 3.49 ERA and Kayla Montogomery is 5-6 with a 4.22 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 most 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 22 steals in 22 attempts. Her 22 steals are the 23rd-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. Just over two weeks later on April 2, Battison registered the 27th steal of her career, tying her with Huey for the program's all-time mark.

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 leads the team with 10 doubles to go along with 19 RBIs and 19 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 .229 with four home runs and 23 RBIs, while also owning a 3.25 ERA and 77 strikeouts in the circle.

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 28 hits, including seven doubles, three triples and four home runs, and has 21 RBIs and 23 runs scored, while holding a 13-7 record with a 3.13 ERA and seven 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 19 hits and 13 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 16-7 at the DSC field, 1-1 at the Port Orange City Center Sports Complex, 1-1 at the ERAU Softball Stadium and 0-1 at Bobcat Softball Field, making ERAU's overall program record at home 40-21, good for a .656 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 - 120 (1st)
Games started - 116 (1st)

Hitting
Home runs - 10 (1st)
Runs batted in - 71 (1st)
Walks - 38 (1st)
At-bats - 334 (2nd)
Doubles - 22 (T-2nd)
Total bases - 144 (2nd)
Sacrifice flies - 4 (T-2nd)
Hits - 92 (4th)
Slugging percentage - .431 (5th)
Hit by pitch - 3 (T-5th)
Runs scored - 34 (T-5th)
On-base percentage - .350 (7th)
Sacrifice bunts - 8 (9th)
Batting average - .275 (10th)

Pitching
Saves - 3 (1st)
Appearances - 73 (1st)
Starts - 62 (1st)
Complete games - 38 (1st)
Innings pitched - 355.2 (1st)
Strikeouts - 191 (2nd)
Wins - 22 (2nd)
Opponents' batting average - .308 (3rd)
ERA - 3.92 (3rd)
Walks/7 inn. - 2.68 (3rd)
Strikeouts/7 inn. - 3.76 (3rd)
Shutouts - 1 (3rd)

Fielding
Assists - 134 (3rd)
Fielding percentage - .968 (4th)
Putouts - 169 (5th)

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.