March 2, 2007 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         

 Pioneer Softball Ranks High Nationally
SMC Squad Batting .371 With No. 11 JUCO Ranking

SPARTANBURG, SC –  Four weeks into the season, the Spartanburg Methodist College softball team is off to a 7-4 start with numerous players already ranked in the top of the Junior College national rankings.

Leading the way is freshman Ana Oswald, of White Knoll HS in Columbia. Oswald is hitting at a .512 clip and is ranked 23 nationally. She also ranks 19th in RBI’s with 19 in only 11 games.

Head softball coach Rick Pauly refers to Oswald as an RBI machine.

“She consistently delivers when there are runners on base,” Pauly says.

Also ranked in hitting are Ashley Allen, a sophomore from Columbia, SC with a .500 average and No. 30 ranking; and Whitney Wiles, a Freshman from Iva, SC, who is batting .480 and ranks No. 44 nationally.

As a team, the SMC squad is batting .371 which ranks them No. 11 in the JUCO national rankings.

”The line-up has a good blend of quickness at the top of the line-up and power in the middle. Our left handed slappers at the top of the line-up set the table and our girls in the middle drive them in. We definitely put pressure on the opposition’s defense,” says Pauly.

The Lady Pioneers are posting impressive statistics on the defensive side of the game also.

Chelsi Edwards, a Freshman from Inman, SC, is ranked No. 11 in strikeouts per inning, averaging 1.29 per inning.  Ashley McGuirk, a freshman from Fort Mill, SC, is ranked No. 29, averaging .962 strikeouts per inning.

Recent victories over nationally ranked teams Georgia Perimeter and Young Harris have substantiated the competitiveness of the Pioneer Softball Program.

“We have some talented young ladies who have worked hard in the fall and early spring season. The hard work is beginning to pay off. At this point in the season we are happy with our progress and are looking forward to the start of play in the tough JUCO Region 10,” says Pauly.

For more information, please contact coach Rick Pauly at (864) 587-4399.

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