Bulloch Academy will honor its two senior players, Rachel Gilbert and Rebekah White, today before the BA-Pinewood Region 4-AAA fast-pitch softball game.
    The Lady Gators (15-5 overall and 4-1 in region play) host the Lady Patriots in the final regular-season home game, which is also a monumentally important region contest. Bulloch Academy must win in order to secure a share of the region title. Game time is 4 p.m.

GSU 2011 baseball schedule released
    On deck for the Georgia Southern Baseball team in 2011 are 18 games against teams that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Baseball Tournament. In the 2011 schedule that was announced Wednesday, the Eagles will face two new opponents and make a trip to Gainesville, Fla. to face the Gators for the first time since 1993. In total, 31 games will be contested at J.I. Clements Stadium beginning with the season-opener against George Washington on Friday, February 18 at 6 p.m.
    “We are very excited about another competitive schedule in 2011,” said Head Coach Rodney Hennon. “The non-conference portion of our schedule will be very challenging and features some quality opponents that will present the opportunity for us to build a strong RPI [Rating Percentage Index]. As always, the Southern Conference will be a tough, balanced league returning seven programs that finished with top-75 RPIs last season.”
    The Eagles play 14 of their first 16 contests at home. The season opener is part of a three-game series against George Washington, matching the Eagles against the Colonials for the first time since 2005. Following George Washington, the Eagles play the first of seven teams that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Regionals facing Georgia Tech, Feb. 22-23, with a return trip to face the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, March 15-16.
    The remaining seven opponents that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Tournament include: St. John’s, Florida, College of Charleston, The Citadel, Mercer and Elon.
    North Carolina Central visits Statesboro Feb. 25-27 to close out the season-opening eight-game homestand.

Lady Eagles begin SoCon play
The Georgia Southern Women’s Soccer team opens Southern Conference play against Wofford on Friday at Eagle Field at 4 p.m.
    The Eagles wrap up the first weekend of conference play with a match against Furman on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m.
    The Eagles enter the weekend with a 3-4-0 record, coming off a 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 19, in their final non-conference match of the season. Sara Oland (Evans, Ga.) scored her fourth goal of the season to lift Georgia Southern to victory. The junior is tied for fourth in the conference in goals scored.
    Oland is one of four Eagles to rattle the back of the net this season. Freshmen Alex Murphy (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Elena Karazizis (Lilburn, Ga.) have each scored their first career goals, while Murphy also has an assist.

    If you have a score to report, please call the Statesboro Herald sports desk at (912) 489-9408.