SUWANEE, Ga. - Six of the league's 11 softball teams have taken the diamond and the 2010 SCAC season is officially underway. Of the six, Birmingham-Southern College is the only team to navigate its way to an undefeated mark as the Panthers are currently 3-0. Meanwhile, Austin College's 4-2 start is the best for the ‘Roos since softball was brought back as a varsity sport four years ago.

- AROUND THE SCAC -

Austin College went 3-1 on the week and are now 4-2 overall after sweeping the University of Dallas and splitting with Howard Payne last week.  The 4-2 start is the best for the ‘Roos since softball was brought back as a varsity sport at Austin College four years ago.  Against Dallas, the ‘Roos came from behind to force extra innings on a three run homer by Suzanne Beltran in the bottom of the seventh and Carolyn Stone roped a walk off double in the eighth for a 9-8 victory.  Beltran went 2-for-4 with four RBI and Charlotte Trudell and Cierra Weighat each went 3-for-5 in the game.  In game two the ‘Roos jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back on their way to an 8-4 win with Beltran going 2-for-3 with three runs scored to lead the way.  Against Howard Payne the ‘Roos led 6-2 in the seventh but an error opened the door for HPU to force extra innings, and a three run homer in the top of the eighth gave AC a 9-6 loss.  Stefanie Faith and Chelsea Delaney each homered for the ‘Roos.  In game two, the ‘Roos jumped out to an 8-2 lead and held off HPU down the stretch for the 8-6 victory.  Stone went 2-for-3 with a homer and three runs batted in and Ashley Johnson got the complete game victory.

Birmingham Southern opened the season with three straight wins last weekend at the Emory Invitational, defeating Greensboro College, twice (6-2, 9-6), and Emory, once (3-0). In the doubleheader against GC, sophomore Ashley Bice led with three RBIs in game one, while sophomore Ronni Harris was 2-of-3 with two RBIs. Senior Tori Harris picked up the win in the circle. In the second game, Harris and freshman Allison Reynolds combined for four RBIs, and Ferris was the winning pitcher with eight strikeouts in six innings. Against Emory, Franks had all three RBIs and was 2-of-2 at the plate. Ferris went the distance in the circle to move to 2-0 on the season and recorded 12 strikeouts in the shutout.

Centre did not play last week. The Colonels will open up its season as they host Defiance Friday March 5th.

#14 DePauw didn't play last week. The Tigers will open its season on the road at the Maryville College Invitational Saturday March 5th.  

Hendrix did not play last week. The Warriors will open up its season Saturday February 27th at the Chic-Fil-A Classic.

Millsaps dropped three of four games in its opening weekend falling twice to Louisiana College on Saturday and splitting a doubleheader with Christian Brothers on Sunday to move to 1-3 on this young 2010 season. The Majors opened the season on a beautiful Saturday afternoon but struggled to find their bats generating only 10 hits and five runs in the two games. Game one started as a pitcher's duel with each team's ace shutting down their opponents until the Lady Wildcats broke things open in the fourth inning with four runs to take a 4-0 lead. LC added three runs in the seventh inning before the Majors finally got to starter Rene' Schwartzenburg in the bottom half of the inning scoring two runs on three hits but it was not enough as the Lady Wildcats closed out game one, 7-2. In game two, Millsaps would rebound from an early 2-0 deficit by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second with one swing of the bat from Laura Litton, who belted her first home run of the season. That would be all the runs for the Majors as LC took a 6-3 lead in the fourth and added three more insurance runs to earn the sweep with a 9-3 win. Facing the Lady Bucs from Christian Brothers University on Sunday, Millsaps found offense in the second inning by scoring seven runs for a 7-1 lead highlighted by a solo home run off the bat of Megan Yglesias, the first of her collegiate career. After the Lady Bucs cut the deficit to 7-6, Emily Spicer hit a two-run single to give starter Kasey Thibodeaux the lead she needed as the Majors held on for their first win of the season 9-7. Millsaps again struggled at the plate in game two of the doubleheader recording only three hits while starting pitcher Brittney McAllister allowed seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings as the Lady Bucs cruised to a 9-1 win in five innings. The Majors will hit the road for the LeTourneau Spring Classic beginning Friday afternoon with a 2 p.m. game against East Texas Baptist University.

Rhodes started the season with a pair of losses at Huntingdon on Saturday, dropping the first game 4-1 and the second game 3-1.  The Lynx bats were relatively quiet, managing just 11 hits in the 2 games and stranding 16 runners on base.  On Sunday, the Lynx bounced back against Lagrange, using a 3-run 7th inning for a thrilling 4-1 victory.   Sara Bowen gave up just 5 hits and struck out 6 to earn her first win of the season, while going 2 for 4 at the plate with 2 RBI.  In game 2, Chelsea Peters held the Panthers to just 2 hits and 2 unearned runs to pick up her first win of the season.   Allison Conn went 4 for 5 to pace a Lynx offense that came alive and pounded out 17 hits in the game.  Bowen and Jennifer Whatley each had 3 hits, while Armanda Venezia and Elise Suna each had 2 RBI for the Lynx.  Rhodes hosts Emory, Washington University and Hendrix this weekend in the Chick-Fil-A Classic.

Sewanee did not play and will open its 2010 season with a mid-week double header against Cumberland on Wednesday.

Southwestern had a rough home stretch this week, dropping all four home games to ASC opponents. Friday they hosted Hardin-Simmons and costly errors led to Southwestern falling 10-6 and 3-2 in the double header. Looking to rebound on Saturday SU played host to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and were poised to take the wins until late game rallies by the Crusaders snatched them away as the Pirates fell 5-2 and 4-1. Southwestern hosts Texas Lutheran on Tuesday for a double header before going to east Texas for four games in Longview.

Trinity has opened the season with a 4-2 overall record that includes a 3-1 record at home against Huston-Tillotson and Schreiner last week. The Tigers swept Huston-Tillotson with a pair of 8-0 wins on Tuesday, then earned a split with Schreiner by scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh of game two. Schreiner won the opening game 5-4, then had Trinity on the ropes in game two after scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead.  The Tigers took advantage of a three-base error to tie the game and put a runner on third, then scored on a squeeze play after Schreiner intentionally load the bases. Trinity will face four different teams - including the host - at the LeTourneau Tournament this weekend in Longview, Texas.  The Tigers return home March 2 to face Texas Lutheran.

For the complete SCAC Fastpitch Weekly for Week 1, click here.