Opponent:
Salem vs. (16) Pfeiffer | April 6 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Blixt Field | 1:00 p.m. / 3:00 p.m.

SPIRITS BEGIN FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND VERSUS PFEIFFER
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 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.

LOOKING BACK ON OPENING WEEKEND OF USA SOUTH CONFERENCE ACTION
Salem opened the USA South Conference portion of the 2024 schedule on Friday, March 29th, when it hosted Meredith for a doubleheader at Blixt Field. The Avenging Angels took the first game of the series by a 10-0 margin in five innings before edging out Salem by an 8-6 margin in game two.

The following afternoon, Salem made a trip to N.C. Wesleyan to clash with the Battling Bishops. A pair of five-inning victories by N.C. Wesleyan (9-1 / 12-0) allowed the Battling Bishops to extend their winning streak against Salem to five games in the head-to-head series. N.C. Wesleyan finished the doubleheader series with 24 total hits, including seven extra-base hits, which were instrumental in the sweep.

GAME 1 | Meredith 10, Salem (5 innings)
W: Hannah Weigle (5-3) / L: Cassandra Miller (1-7)
Salem Leaders: Savanah Atkins (1-1), Cassandra Miller (1 strikeout)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Salem capped off the game with just one hit, which came on a single from Savanah Atkins.
-Salem sent four pitchers to the mound, including Cassandra Miller, Isabella Morales, Kat Price and Katie Gerhardt, and the Spirits staff combined for one strikeout and issued just two walks.

GAME 2 | Meredith 8, Salem 6
W: Hannah Weigle (6-3) / L: Katie Gerhardt (0-1)
Salem Leaders: Karma Morrison (3-4, RBI, run, double), Maleah Tate (2-3, 2 runs, 2 SB), Savanah Atkins (2-3, RBI)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Katie Gerhardt tossed 2.1 innings, allowed eight hits, seven runs (five earned runs) and struck out one Meredith slugger.
-Isabella Morales tossed 4.2 innings in relief, scattering six hits along the way, allowing just one run and fanned two Meredith batters.
-Salem scored its first two runs of the afternoon in the home half of the first when Cassandra Miller drove a grounder to second that scored Tate. Carmen Duffey scored on a wild pitch with Karma Morrison at the plate.
-Savanah Atkins singled to third, bringing home Miller, while Madeline Brown grounded to third to score Morrison to account for two runs for the Spirits in the fourth.
-Morrison manufactured the fifth run of the game for the Spirits in the fifth when she connected on a single up the middle that scored Tate.
-Duffey was responsible for the final run of the game for the Spirits, which came on a sacrifice fly to right field, as Ashlyn Stokes trotted home in the sixth.

GAME 1 | N.C. Wesleyan 9, Salem 1 (5 innings)
W: Morgan Aycock (6-4) / L: Isabella Morales (2-7)
Salem Leaders: Maleah Tate (1-3, run, 2 SB), Karma Morrison (1-3), Cassandra Miller (1-3), Savanah Atkins (1-3), Madison Long (1-2)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Maleah Tate, who swiped two bases in the game, moved her season total to 18. She is now four shy of Karson Chapman's single-season program record of 22, which she set in 2013.
-The No. 3 through No. 6 hitters in the Salem lineup were responsible for four of the team's five hits.
-Starting hurler Isabella Morales, who tossed two innings, fanned one N.C. Wesleyan hitter.
-After Tate reached on an error to open the third, moving to third on a fly out by Carmen Duffey to centerfield, Karma Morrison sent a single up the middle to account for the lone Salem run.

GAME 2 | N.C. Wesleyan 12, Salem 0 (5 innings)
W: Emily Humphrey (4-4) / L: Katie Gerhardt (0-2)
Salem Leaders: Karma Morrison (1-2), Cassandra Miller (1-2)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Katie Gerhardt went 3.2 innings in the circle for Salem, allowing 12 hits, 12 runs (10 earned runs) and struck out two Battling Bishops.
-Kat Price logged 0.1 innings of relief, finishing with one strikeout.
-Salem logged two hits in the game, which came from Karma Morrison and Cassandra Miller.

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 15 of 22 games in 2024. On only two occasions has Salem gone two games without connecting on at least one extra-base hit.
-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 28 hits 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 (.369) and Cassandra Miller (.309) rank second and third, respectively, on the unit in batting average. Morrison has 24 hits to her credit, including a team-best five doubles. Meanwhile, Miller has accounted for 17 RBI and three home runs, which is a team-best.
-First-year hurler Isabella Morales has made her presence felt in the circle, notching 37 K's in 53 innings pitched. Morales, who has twice been named USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Week, has issued just 16 walks and is boasting a 6.34 ERA.

WHERE SALEM STANDS ALL-TIME VERSUS RANKED OPPOSITION
-Salem will face its second nationally ranked opponent in as many seasons. In 2023, the unit faced No. 23 Pfeiffer, with the Falcons' coming away with wins of 6-0 and 9-0 on April 6th.
-The 2014 season resulted in Salem facing Piedmont College, which was ranked 12th nationally, on March 14-15. The Lions claimed victories of 9-0 and 9-1 in those meetings. Those games marked the first-ever meeting between Salem and a nationally ranked opponent.
-Salem faced a pair of nationally ranked opponents in the 2015 campaign, squaring off against No. 11 Christopher Newport and No. 23 Ramapo in consecutive days at the NCAA Tournament. After falling 6-0 to the Captains on May 8th, Salem claimed a 5-2 victory against Ramapo the following afternoon.
-The Spirits clashed with No. 2 Salisbury, who capped off the February 27, 2016 game with an 11-5 victory.
-Salem faced Christopher Newport, who was ranked 15th nationally on February 26, 2017, with the Captains earning a 9-6 win in Cary, N.C.

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: Pfeiffer | 25-1 / 5-1 USA South
The 16th-ranked Falcons enter the weekend with a 25-1 overall record that includes a 5-1 record in USA South Conference.

Pfeiffer has notched 13 shutouts this season and owns an 18-0 mark at home. The Falcons have surrendered just seven runs in league play, including one to N.C. Wesleyan in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 2nd. That one run allowed marked the only run of the game and snapped Pfeiffer's 25-game winning streak.

The Falcons have 11 players in the lineup hitting at least .300, including Alyssa Broaddus, who is 25-of-51 (.490) from the plate with 18 runs scored and 18 RBI. Broaddus has accounted for four doubles and one home run and is responsible for a .627 slugging percentage. Teammate Gracie Griffin leads all Pfeiffer sluggers with 10 doubles, while Kenzi Lyall tops the unit with seven home runs and two triples.

In the circle, Lyall has also made her presence felt with a 0.69 ERA, resulting in a 9-0 mark over 60.2 innings. She has allowed just 35 hits, eight runs (six earned) and fanned 52 batters. Kali Morton leads the way for the pitching staff with 98 K's on the slate.

The Falcons are 9-1 all-time against Salem with the lone setback coming on March 12, 2019 by a 5-3 margin in Misenheimer, N.C.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Pfeiffer)