Atkins' Senior Day, Sweet Briar Set for Sunday at Blixt Field

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Sweet Briar (12-22)	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	7	1
Salem (4-24)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Sweet Briar (11-22)	2	1	1	0	0	6	10	8	0
Salem (4-23)	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	4	5

Game 1

Pitching

Win: Grace Pisenti (5-7)

Loss: Katie Gerhardt (2-8)

Batting

Sweet Briar

2B: Victoria Tew

3B: none

HR: Kaylie Hudson; Lauren Jamerson

Salem

2B: Savanah Atkins

3B: none

HR: Savanah Atkins

full stats

Posted: Apr 21, 2023

LAST GAME RECAP (vs. Shaw)
Salem softball took advantage of a 13-run, nine-hit performance, in the opening game of the doubleheader series with Shaw to earn its fourth victory of the season in 13-6 fashion. The Spirits split the series, 7-1, after falling in the nightcap at Worthdale Park in Raleigh, N.C.

The Spirits managed at least nine hits in a game for the fourth time this season, receiving multi-hit performances from Shelby LaPoint (3-4, 3 RBI, run, double) and Katie Gerhardt (2-3, 3 runs). It resulted in LaPoint's second multi-hit game of the season, while teammate Madeline Brown connected on the first triple of the 2023 season for any Salem slugger. Katie Gerhardt earned the victory for the Spirits, tossing a complete-game 10-hitter, which resulted in five earned runs, while making three strikeouts.

The second game was highlighted by Salem's Kat Price, who fanned a single-game career-high five Bear hitters. At the plate, Salem was led by both Brown and Gerhardt, who finished with one hit apiece.

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS | Game 1
-Salem had at least nine hits in a game for the fourth time this season.
-LaPoint enjoys her second multi-hit game of the slate, accruing the most single-game hits in the contest.
-Brown becomes the first Spirit in 2023 to reach base on a triple.
-Gerhardt has now delivered three hits in her last three games for Salem, putting together the first multi-hit outing of her career.
-Gerhardt, who fanned three Bear hitters, has now had four multi-K outings in 2023.

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS | Game 2
-Salem improves to 5-1 all-time against NCAA Division II opponents (Shaw 3-1 / Livingstone 2-0)
-Price established her single-game career-high in K's with five.
-Brown delivers one hit for the Spirits, giving her a four-game hitting streak.
-Gerhardt comes through with a hit for Salem, giving her hits in three of the last four games.
-Cree Bass reached base on an error in the seventh, scoring the lone run for the Spirits on a passed ball with Maleah Tate at the plate.

HONORING ATKINS ON SENIOR DAY
With just four games left in the 2023 season, Salem will honor Savanah Atkins on Senior Day on Sunday. During her three years at Salem, Atkins has played in 67 games and had 178 official at bats. She enters the weekend with 41 hits, 25 runs, along the way amassing 10 doubles, eight home runs and one triple. Atkins is responsible for 38 RBI during the course of her career and has a lifetime slugging percentage of .433 along with a .333 on-base percentage. Her eight home runs place in her a four-way tie for seventh-most in program history.

WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR THE SPIRITS
Salem is putting the finishing touches on the 2023 regular season, facing both Sweet Briar on Sunday before heading Raleigh, N.C., to face William Peace on Wednesday, April 26th.

The Spirits will be watching the scoreboard to check the progress of Brevard and Methodist, who sit above Salem in the USA South Conference standings in order to clinch a spot at the eighth seed in the league tournament. Methodist has Southern Virginia (Apr. 21), Salem (April 29) and Brevard (April 30) left on the docket. Whereas Brevard has clashes with William Peace (April 21), N.C. Wesleyan (April 22), Greensboro (April 26), Pfeiffer (April 29) and Methodist (April 30) left in league action.

SALEM CHART TOPPERS
Salem enters the weekend led offensively by the duo of Madeline Brown and Carlee McWilliam, who have a .379 and .350 batting average, respectively.

Including leading the team in batting average, Brown leads the way for Salem sluggers in seven major statistical categories—hits (25), runs (16), doubles (seven), triples (one), walks (11), on-base percentage (.475) and slugging percentage (.561). McWilliam has missed the last 10 games of the schedule due to concussion protocol.

One of the hottest hitters in the Salem lineup in the last four game has been Katie Gerhardt, who has combined for four hits, three runs scored and a double against Greensboro and Shaw. Gerhardt had her first hit of the season in the opening game of the doubleheader with The Pride, resulting in a double, and followed that with a two-hit outing in the first game of the clash with Shaw on Tuesday.

In the circle, first year Alli Stertzbach leads all Salem pitchers with 24 strikeouts, nine more than Gerhardt. Stertzbach has five multi-strikeout performances this season, including a seven-strikeout outing against Ferrum on March 19th, which set the standard for most in a single-game by any Salem pitcher this season. Gerhardt has four games with at least two K's, including five in a 6-3 victory over Brevard on March 26th.

Kat Price moved into double-digit strikeouts on the season after fanning five Shaw batters in the second game of the doubleheader on Tuesday. Price established her single-game career-high against the Bears, tossing six innings, allowing nine hits and five earned runs.

ANALYZING THE VIXENS
Salem Head-to-Head vs. Sweet Briar: Sunday's game marks the first-ever meeting between Salem and Sweet Briar. The Spirits are 3-9 against non-conference foes this season, sweeping Livingstone (March 20) and splitting with Shaw (April 18), both NCAA Division II programs.

Sweet Briar re-introduced softball as a varsity sport in May 2021 after a four-year hiatus. The Vixens enter their clash with a 9-21 overall record, claiming seven of those victories in early March at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. The most recent wins came against Brevard (April 2 / 4-1) and Marymount (April 5 / 8-6).

Kaylie Hudson leads all Sweet Briar hitters with a .489 batting average, which includes 46 hits, 21 runs and 14 RBI. Hudson has reached base 11 times via a double along with dropping three triples and connecting on a team-best four home runs. As a result, Hudson is responsible for a .777 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage.

Both Victoria Tew and Anna Smith have 24 hits each, tied for second on the team, while Lauren Jamerson has 22 hits to her credit.

In the circle, both Grace Pisenti (4-7) and Brooke Patrick (3-7) lead the way in wins. Pisenti has recorded a team-best 39 strikeouts over 64 innings, also a team-high, while allowing 47 earned runs. Meanwhile, Patrick has the lowest ERA (4.86) by virtue of 34 earned runs on the slate.