FEBRUARY 11, 2008 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Softball Sweeps Opening Doubleheader from Stanly CC

SPARTANBURG, SC -- The Lady Pioneers softball team opened Region X play in convincing fashion Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Stanly Community College’s first-year softball program.

SMC won both games 8-0 in five innings.

Game one featured a power surge with freshman Alex Windham, of Fort Mill, SC; freshman Laura Trout, of Summerville, SC;  and Boiling Springs, SC freshman Brittany Scoggins belting home runs.

SMC followed that up with three runs in the second inning, one in the third, and four more in the fifth.  Sophomore catcher Amber Hartley, of Batesburg, SC, ended the game with a two run double to the left field fence.

Scoggins picked up her first Region win pitching what Coach Rick Pauly called “a gem of a game.”  She allowed only one hit, while striking out six Stanly hitters.

Game two featured SMC’s speed.

Sophomore outfielder Whitney Wiles, of Starr, SC, went three-for-three and stole three bases, while freshman catcher Casey Minton, of Rock Hill, SC, hit an inside the park homerun.

Minton tallied three RBIs for the game including a game ending sacrifice-suicide squeeze bunt to bring in freshman pitcher Heather Robinson, of Cambridge, Ontario, with the game ending run.  Trout added two RBIs with a triple in the three-run third inning.

Pitchers Chelsi Edwards, a sophomore from  Inman, SC, and Jennifer Lamonica, a freshman from Toronto,  combined for another well pitched game. Edwards allowed only two hits in her four innings of work, while striking out three. Lamonica closed out the fifth inning, keeping the shutout intact.

SMC takes on North Greenville University on Thursday, Nov. 14 at home before traveling to Aiken on Friday, Nov. 15 for a 24-team tournament featuring many of the top National Junior College Athletic Association teams on the east coast.

Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia.  

The College is in its 97th year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning. 

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