Monday,
April 19, 2004
PAIRINGS
ANNOUNCED FOR 2004 FOOD LION SAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
Lady Blue Hose seeded third in upcoming tournament
ROCK
HILL, S.C. –
The Lenoir-Rhyne College Bears, who saw their three-year hold
on the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference softball tournament
championship snapped last year, look to add another trophy to
their collection as the top seed of this year’s tournament.
The
Bears (10-4, 35-14) won their first outright regular season
title and are the top seed. They will face eight seed Mars
Hill College (1-13, 10-45) in one of four opening round games
to be played at Cherry Park in Rock Hill, S.C. at 11 a.m. on
Thursday as part of the Food Lion Spring Sports Festival. The
Bears are led by standout pitcher Alexis Kreske, who went 20-5 on the mound this year.
Wingate
University and Presbyterian College finished the regular
season tied for second place with 9-5 records. Wingate (28-14)
was awarded the second seed by virtue of its regular-season
sweep over Lenoir-Rhyne. Wingate, last year’s tournament
champion, will face seventh-seed Newberry College. Wingate is
led by Stephanie White,
who leads the conference in batting average. Newberry catcher Rebecca
Backman is a candidate for SAC Freshman of the Year.
Catawba
College tied Newberry College in the conference standings with
6-8 records. Catawba was awarded the sixth seed because of its
regular-season sweep over Newberry. Catawba will play
Presbyterian. The Indians set a school record for home runs,
while Jessica Rivera
set a school record for doubles and Stacey Handy set a school mark for hits. The Blue Hose, under
first-year coach Jeff
Nickerson, set a school record for wins (40-11). Senior
center fielder Amanda Teal and senior shortstop Jamie Vining have left their mark in the PC record book.
Tennessee
neighbor rivals Tusculum College and Carson-Newman College
will square off in the other first-round game. Fourth seed
Carson-Newman (37-10, 8-6). Pitcher Megan
Elliott, last year’s Freshman of the Year, is among the
nation’s leaders with wins. Erin
Rutherford ranks nationally in five hitting categories and
leads the SAC in homers and slugging percentage.
Tusculum
(7-7, 28-14) recorded the most wins in school history since
1996 and had a 16-game winning streak during the season.
Freshman Brie Griffin
has been one of the most consistent hitters on the team,
beginning her career with a 16-game hitting streak. Sophomore Natasha
Lindsey has been TC's top pitcher, posting more wins than
any Tusculum pitcher in seven seasons.
The
double-elimination tournament will continue with more games
Thursday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Friday’s schedule has games at
Noon and 2 p.m. Saturday’s semifinal game is set for 11 a.m.
on Saturday, with the championship at 2 p.m., with a second
game, if necessary, to follow.
Food
Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament
At
Cherry Park, Rock Hill, SC
Thursday,
April 22
Game
1: No. 8 Mars Hill vs. No. 1 Lenoir-Rhyne, 11 am, Field 1
Game
2: No. 7 Newberry vs. No. 2 Wingate, 11 am, Field 2
Game
3: No. 6 Catawba vs. No. 3 Presbyterian, 11 am, Field 3
Game
4: No. 5 Tusculum vs. No. 4 Carson-Newman, 11 am, Field 4
Game
5: MHC/L-R loser vs. NC/WU loser, 2 pm, Field 1
Game
6: CC/PC loser vs. TC/C-N loser, 2 pm, Field 2
Game
7: MHC/L-R winner vs. NC/WU winner, 4 pm Field 1
Game
8: CC/PC winner vs. TC/C-N winner, 4 pm, Field 2
Friday, April 23
(At Cherry Park, Rock Hill, SC)
Game
9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, Noon, Field 1
Game
10: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, Noon, Field 2
Game
11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 2 pm, Field 1
Game
12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 2 pm, Field 2
Saturday, April 24
(At Cherry Park, Rock Hill, SC)
Game
13: Game 11 loser vs. Game 12 winner, 11 am, Field 1
Game
14: Championship: Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 2 pm
Game
15 (if necessary): Game 14 loser vs. Game 14 winner, 4 pm