Opponent:
Salem vs. Southern Virginia | April 10 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Blixt Field | 2:30 p.m. / 4:30 p.m.

SPIRITS CONCLUDE BRIEF FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND
After playing eight of its last 10 games on the road, the Salem softball team opens April with a pair of doubleheaders against Pfeiffer (April 6) and Southern Virginia (April 10). The homestand concludes with Wednesday's clash against Southern Virginia at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at Blixt Field.

The Spirits endured a six-game road stretch, longest of the season, with a series of setbacks to Agnes Scott on Wednesday, March 13th. The road trip consisted of doubleheader clashes with Covenant (March 12) and Agnes Scott (March 13). Salem also made the short trek to nearby Carolina University, where the two met in a doubleheader in Clemmons, on March 5th.

Salem briefly returned home to face Meredith on March 29th before making a trek to Rocky Mount, N.C., to face N.C. Wesleyan the following day.

The Spirits will play eight home games in April, including two in a four-day stretch against Pfeiffer and Southern Virginia.

STRIKEOUT CANCER GAME
Salem is hosting its second Strikeout Cancer Game in as many seasons. The Spirits will honor Natasha Tate, mother of Salem sophomore Maleah Tate, who is tossing out the first pitch. Natasha is suffering from stomach cancer.

Salem fans will have the chance to purchase Strike Out Cancer t-shirts at the game for the cost of $20.

SALEM SUFFERS SWEEP TO NATIONALLY RANKED PFEIFFER
The Salem softball team faced a nationally ranked opponent for the 10th time in program history on Saturday afternoon at Blixt Field, and 16th-ranked Pfeiffer conducted a doubleheader sweep of the Spirits by scores of 9-0 and 16-1 in a pair of five-inning victories.

The Spirits received solid performances from first-year performers Ashlyn Stokes ad Isabella Morales. Stokes led Salem from the plate in the second game, finishing 2-for-2 with a RBI, which marked her fourth multi-hit game of the slate. Meanwhile, Morales fanned four Pfeiffer hitters in the first game and followed that with three K's in the nightcap, giving her 44 on the season by virtue of her 11th multi-strikeout performance of the season.

GAME 1 | (16) Pfeiffer 9, Salem 0 (5 innings)
W: Kali Morton (12-0) / L: Kat Price (0-3)
Salem Leaders: Maleah Tate (1-3), Karma Morrison (1-2), Savanah Atkins (1-2)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Junior pitcher Kat Price got the game started with 1-2-3 inning, which kept Pfeiffer's offense at bay with a pair of fly outs to centerfield along the way.
-Karma Morrison connected on the first hit of the game, which came in the home half of the first, sending a shot to centerfield for the Spirits.
-Savanah Atkins also delivered a hit for the Spirits, from the clean-up hole, while Maleah Tate was 1-of-3 from the plate as the leadoff hitter.
-Isabella Morales, who logged three innings in the circle for the Spirits, finished the game with four K's. That marked her 10th game with at least two strikeouts this season.

GAME 2 | (16) Pfeiffer 16, Salem 1 (5 innings)
W: Kenzi Lyall (10-0) / L: Katie Gerhardt (0-3)
Salem Leaders: Ashlyn Stokes (2-2, RBI), Carmen Duffey (1-2, run, double)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Kat Price was the third pitcher to enter the circle in the top of the first, closing out the inning with a strikeout looking.
-Carmen Duffey hit a double into right and moved to third on a stolen base before teammate Ashlyn Stokes reaches on a single to short, scoring Duffey from third for the first Salem run of the game.
-Stokes wrapped up the game with two hits, her fourth game of the season with multiple hits.
-Isabella Morales, who logged three innings in the circle for the Spirits, finished the game with three K's. That marked her 11th game with at least two strikeouts this season.

LOOKING INSIDE THE SPIRITS
-Salem has had at least five hits in a game on 16 occasions this season, including a single-game season-high 15 hits in the second game of the season against Carolina University.
-Since the 15-hit performance against Carolina, Salem has had three double-digit hit outings, including a 14-hit game versus St. Andrews.
-The Spirits have accrued an extra-base hit in 16 of 24 games in 2024.
-The Spirits have blasted six home runs, including two in the second game of the series with St. Andrews on February 22nd. The last time that the Spirits had at least two home runs in a single game was on February 19, 2020 when they launched three against Guilford.
-Sophomore slugger Maleah Tate leads the way with a team-best 29 hits, batting average (.382) and 18 stolen bases. Tate's 18 steals are second-most in a single season in program history. She is four off the pace established by Karson Chapman, who tallied 22 in the 2013 campaign.
-First-year sluggers Karma Morrison (.362) and Cassandra Miller (.288) rank second and third, respectively, on the unit in batting average. Morrison has 25 hits to her credit, including a team-best five doubles. Meanwhile, Miller has accounted for 14 RBI and three home runs, which is a team-best.
-First-year hurler Isabella Morales has made her presence felt in the circle, notching 44 K's in 56 innings pitched. Morales' 44 K's on the season are 12th-most in program history, two from tying Brianna Morris' mark in 2016. With seven more, Morales would join Morgan Coleman, who capped off the 2014 campaign with 50 K's.
-Morales, who has twice been named USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Week, has issued just 19 walks and is boasting a 6.28 ERA.

LOOKING TO CLAIM A DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP
Salem has the opportunity to claim its first doubleheader sweep since taking down Livingstone on March 20, 2023 by scores of 13-5 and 15-2.

The last time that Salem went on the road to earn a doubleheader sweep was on March 7, 2020, when the Spirits took down Randolph in Lynchburg, Va., by scores of 3-1 and 7-2 in succession. The 2020 campaign also marked the last time that Salem claimed consecutive road victories, which reached five games.

The five-game winning streak began with a 4-1 win at Huntingdon on February 29th and continued with 4-1 and 5-4 triumphs over Agnes Scott on March 1st. Six days later, the Spirits earned their fourth and fifth road victories against Randolph on March 7th. Salem would win nine straight during that span, claiming home wins against both Ferrum (March 8) and FDU-Florham (March 11).

SCOUTING REPORT: Southern Virginia | 8-16 / 4-4 USA South
Southern Virginia has split its last four games of the season, winning the second game of the series' with both William Peace (3-2) and N.C. Wesleyan (4-3) on April 5th and 6th, respectively.

The Knights are 3-5 on the road and own a 4-4 mark in USA South Conference action. As a result, they are tied with N.C. Wesleyan for fifth in the league standings. The league leader is Pfeiffer, followed by Greensboro, William Peace and Methodist.

Emmaline DeGroot leads all Southern Virginia sluggers with a .400 batting average. In 19 games, DeGroot is 18-of-45 at the plate with three doubles, one triple and two runs scored. Meanwhile, teammate Dykell Jones, who is second on the unit with a .333 batting average, leads the team in both hits (25) and at bats (75). She has delivered four doubles, one home run and one triple.

The Knights are led in doubles by Sophia Badell (eight) and home runs by Katie Claytor (three).

The top statistical pitcher on the Southern Virginia unit is Malia Davis, who is boasting a 2.35 ERA along with a 2.35 ERA. Davis has logged 47.2 innings, allowed 47 hits, 23 runs (16 earned runs) and has notched a team-best 21 K's. Arianna Hall is second in strikeouts with 14 over 46.1 innings.

Salem owns an 8-2 all-time record against Southern Virginia on the diamond. The only two wins by the Knights came a season ago, which came by scores of 18-0 and 15-5.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Southern Virginia)