Wesleyan softball opens season with
3-1 tourney showing
Rocky Mount, NC
- The Battling Bishop softball team
opened the 2007 season on Friday and
Saturday with a solid 3-1 showing at
Virginia Wesleyan's Spring
Invitational. NC Wesleyan
earned victories over Rutgers-Newark
(8-2), Frostburg State (13-1), and
York (9-0). The Bishops' lone
defeat came at the hands of
Rutgers-Camden (0-9). NCWC
junior hurler Libby Fulford
(pictured) led the
way with two wins in the circle,
including a two-hit, nine strikeout
performance against York.
In
Friday's opener against Newark,
junior All-American Ashlee Bass
picked up where she left off in 2006
with her first homerun of the
season. Other offensive
highlights included dingers by
senior Courtney Tucker and junior
Katie Dunavant.
The 8-2 final
gave Fulford her first win of the
season. She allowed just 4
hits and struck out nine.
Against Frostburg State, junior
Karen Hathcock earned her first win
of the season in a solid
complete-game performance that saw
her allow just one run in the 13-1
victory. Hathcock allowed four hits
and struck out four.
Senior Krystal Newbern led the
Bishop offense with three hits,
while Hannah Hardy turned in a
double and a homerun. Shelly
Hinson was also 2-for-3 with a
double.
Saturday's first game, however, saw
Wesleyan's bid at a perfect weekend
come to an end when Rutgers-Camden
shut down the NCWC offense in a 9-0
defeat. Fulford took the loss
as the Bishops tallied
just two hits in the contest.
Wesleyan rebounded thanks to
Fulford's gem against York (PA).
The All-Conference righty simply
dominated in the shutout
performance, allowing just two hits
and striking out nine. She is
now 2-1 to start the season.
Hardy again had a good day at the
plate, going 2-for-4 with two
homeruns and three RBIs, while
Tucker blasted her second homer of
the weekend. Sophomore Whitney
Moshier was 3-for-4.
The
Bishops return to action on
Wednesday when they travel to Salem
College. The non-conference
twinbill is slated to begin at 4:00
p.m. in Winston-Salem.
