WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem softball team looks to continue momentum established from a pair of 6-5 wins over Mary Baldwin on Wednesday afternoon when it clashes with N.C. Wesleyan (April 23) and Carolina University (April 24) this weekend in the final games of the 2022 regular season.

The Spirits (7-23, 4-12 USA South) will trek to Rocky Mount, N.C., on Saturday to face N.C. Wesleyan in a doubleheader set for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Salem will make the quick turnaround to host the crosstown rival Bruins on Sunday, April 24th, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday's contest will serve as Senior Day, marking the final collegiate games in the careers of Salem's Brianne Coleman, Abigail Shelton and Madison Thomas.

SNAPSHOT OF THE SENIOR CLASS: Entering the weekend, this trio has earned 40 overall wins and 14 USA South wins, including a pair of victories on April 26, 2019 at the USA South Conference Tournament. They were also an integral part of the 2020 team that put together a nine-game winning streak and tied the longest winning streak in program history, set by the 2017 unit.

BRIANNE COLEMAN: Coleman has started in all 85 games that she has played, posting 105 hits in 237 at bats for a .443 lifetime batting average. Those 105 hits put her 13th in program history and she is also among the Top-15 with 87 RBI (fourth-most), 63 runs (tied 11th-most) and notched 21 doubles (tied-7th) and three triples (tied-5th) along the way. After slamming home three home runs over a two-game span on Wednesday, Coleman moved her all-time home run total to 19 in her career, second only to Spirits' head coach Kierston Garner, coming through with 10 as a first-year. She posted the first multi-HR game of her career in the opening game of the doubleheader versus the Fighting Squirrels.

ABBY SHELTON: The 2022 season has been Shelton's best of her career, where she has tallied six hits, two RBI and earned three walks along the way. Her best single-game outing of the season came when she finished 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored in a clash with Gettysburg in March. In the circle, Shelton has made eight appearances for Salem, earning two wins along the way.

MADISON THOMAS: A multi-faceted player that has spent time both as a fielder and a pitcher, Thomas has tallied 30 runs and is 55-of-180 for a lifetime .305 batting average while wearing the blue and gold. Thomas has entered the circle on 40 occasions for Salem, making 23 starts en route to nine wins. She has tossed 11 complete games over the course of her career, logging 156 innings, allowing 243 hits, 150 runs and 110 earned runs. Thomas has tallied 67 career strikeouts and is responsible for a 6.35 lifetime ERA.

BATTLING BISHOPS HOST SALEM SATURDAY AFTERNOON: N.C. Wesleyan (18-16, 8-8 USA South) has won four of its last five contests with the lone setback (9-5) coming in the second game of a doubleheader with Methodist on Wednesday afternoon.

The Battling Bishops have had a rollercoaster ride in April, opening with five straight losses before posting a 10-2 win over Mary Baldwin on April 9th. They followed that by splitting a doubleheader with Greensboro, winning the second game in 3-2 fashion. That was followed by a sweep of Southern Virginia and the split with Methodist, winning the first game against the Monarchs by a 2-0 margin.

The best statistical hitter for N.C. Wesleyan is Logan Winstead, who is responsible for a .309 batting average, the only slugger in the lineup who is hitting .300. Winstead has a team-high 34 hits and is in the Top-5 in both runs (19-2nd) and RBI (15-3rd) for the Battling Bishops.

The top pitcher on staff is Emily Humphrey, who is 11-6 on the season with one save to her credit. She has logged 102 innings, allowed 107 hits, 64 runs (47 earned runs) and fanned 51 opposing hitters. Humphrey owns a 3.23 ERA for N.C. Wesleyan.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS N.C. WESLEYAN
(N.C. Wesleyan leads series 9-4)

BREAKING DOWN THE BRUINS: Salem is looking to even the all-time series with Carolina after the Bruins triumphed by scores of 4-3 and 15-5 (5 inn.) over Salem on March 5th. The game, which was held at Blixt Field, was considered to be a home game for the Bruins after the site was moved from Clemmons, N.C., to Winston-Salem.

Carolina is 15-18 overall on the season after winning three of its last four contests. The Bruins won three straight games against Paine College before falling in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 16th by a 12-11 margin in the 12th inning. Carolina will head to Augusta, Ga., to clash with Paine on Saturday afternoon before returning home to face the Spirits on Sunday.

Heading into the weekend the top slugger for the Bruins is Ellette Tanner, who is hit .419 along with owning a .677 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage. Tanner is 13-of-31 from the plate with five doubles to her credit. She is one of six Carolina hitters with a .300 batting average or better.

On the mound, Allison Hartin (6-4) has the most wins and second-lowest ERA (3.87) for Carolina. She has 46 strikeouts to her credit this season, 24 off the pace established by teammate Danielle Brooks. Brooks is 4-7 overall with a 3.37 ERA, while leading the team in strikeouts and innings pitched (95.2).

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS CAROLINA U.
(Carolina leads series 2-0)