Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College softball team will host University of Mount Olive in its final Conference Carolinas doubleheader of the season 2 p.m. Thursday at Jeffries Field.
The Lady Bulldogs will use the big meeting with their rivals as an occasion to honor four seniors – Alex Baylis, Kendra Kassonie, Autumn Pittman and Amber Weaver – for their contributions to the Barton program.
Barton sports information will provide live stats for both games.
Barton softball fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.
Barton College Softball
The Lady Bulldogs enter the twin bill with a record of 17-18-1 overall and 6-7-1 in league play. Barton is in sixth place, a half-game behind the Trojans, who jumped from seventh to fifth following a pair of wins on Wednesday.
Barton enjoyed a season-high four-game win streak last week that included a one-hit shutout by both Liz White and Ashlyn Reagan. Each pitcher also added a second start with just one run allowed on six hits or fewer.
However, the two sophomores were touched for 15 hits and five earned runs over just eight combined innings in a pair of losses, 3-1 and 5-1, at King University. Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs could not get a key hit when they needed one off reigning Pitcher of the Year Hannah Light.
Reagan (9-6) had won four of her last five decisions before the King loss, and has lowered her ERA to 2.18, fifth in the conference. White had gone 3-1 in her four most recent decisions prior to Sunday's setback, in the process bringing her ERA down to 3.08.
As a team, the Lady Bulldogs rank second in the conference in hits allowed (237), third in ERA (2.75) and fourth in walks allowed (86). Barton pitching has also allowed just six home runs this year, the fewest in the conference.
On offense, Barton ranks in the middle of the conference pack.
Baylis has taken over the team lead in batting average at .366, while sophomore Crystal Britton follows at .329. Baylis also has seven stolen bases.
Freshman Megan Kelly, who is batting .308, leads the team in RBI with 20 and shares the team high in steals (15) with Kassonie. Kelly has scored 17 runs, tied for second on the squad. Weaver paces the unit with four home runs and has driven in 16 runs while scoring 17 and batting .305. Sophomore Rachel Jordan heads the team in runs with 19 and driven in 15.
University of Mount Olive Softball
The Trojans enter the doubleheader with a record of 18-24 overall and 6-6 in the conference after a sweep of league foe Pfeiffer University on Wednesday. Mount Olive rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the first game, scoring four runs in the last two innings, capped by Ashleigh Mason's two-out, two-run game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore pitcher Madison Johnston made things less dramatic in the nightcap with a three-hit shutout.
The wins give Mount Olive four straight, all in league play, since a pair of losses at King.
The Trojans were picked in the preseason to follow up their 2013 Conference Carolinas Tournament title with a regular-season crown this year, but pitching has been an obstacle to meeting that expectation. Mount Olive is eighth in the league in ERA (3.79), is tied for eighth in home runs allowed (28) and is last in strikeouts per game (2.76).
Johnston has the most wins (8-8, 3.55 ERA) and junior Lauren Smith (3-9), last year's tournament MVP, leads the starters in ERA at 3.30. Senior Carly White, one of six returning all-conference performers from last season, has a 4-5 record and 6.25 ERA. The Trojans have used Caitlin Ewers (3-2, 2.89 ERA) extensively in relief.
Offense has not typically been an issue for the Trojans, who rank among the top three in the conference in almost every category. Mount Olive leads the league in runs (194), is second in average (.287) and third in home runs (18), walks (102) and stolen bases (46).
Sophomore Kelsey Akers leads Conference Carolinas with a .412 batting average and is tied for third in stolen bases (15) with Barton's Kelly and Kassonie. Akers has scored 31 runs, collected nine doubles and three triples, and driven in 12 runs.
Junior Beth Overman is hitting .349 with 35 runs scored, five home runs, 24 RBI and six stolen bases. Senior Katie Moore is batting .335 with 32 runs scored, 25 RBI and seven steals, while senior Kalie Smith is batting .305 with three home runs and 24 RBI. All three were all-conference picks last year.
Mount Olive and Barton split a pair of games in last year's meeting. Carly White fired a five-hitter in an 8-2 win for the Trojans in the opener, while Pittman allowed just one run over 5 2/3 innings to get the pitching win for the Lady Bulldogs in the nightcap. Liz White and Britton each had two hits in the 5-4 win for Barton.
