Opponent:
Salem at St. Andrews | February 22 | Laurinburg, N.C. | 1 p.m. / 3 p.m.
SPIRITS TREK TO LAURINBURG FOR CLASH WITH ST. ANDREWS
The Salem softball team heads to Laurinburg, N.C., for its second road doubleheader of the 2024 season on Thursday, February 23rd, where the Spirits will face St. Andrews in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
SPIRITS SPLIT WITH LIVINGSTONE IN SALISBURY
Karma Morrison sparked the Salem offense in the first game with two RBI, both of which came on the first home run of her collegiate career, but the Spirits split a doubleheader series versus Livingstone with a 9-3 victory and a 9-1 setback.
Morrison capped off the afternoon by going 3-of-7 from the plate with three RBI and one run scored by virtue of a double and the aforementioned home run. Teammate Madeline Brown also helped Salem offensively, finishing with one hit and two RBI, both of which came in the opening game.
Salem connected on 11 hits in the first game victory, receiving two hits each from the quartet of Maleah Tate, Karma Morrison, Ashlyn Stokes and Griffin Pearce. That group played a key role in helping first-year pitcher Cassandra Miller tally her first win in the circle, where she tossed a complete-game four-hitter. Miller struck out three games in her victory.
GAME 1 | Salem 9, Livingstone 3
W: Cassandra Miller (1-1) / L: Allani Brown (0-2)
Salem Leaders: Karma Morrison (2-4, 2 RBI, run, HR, double), Madeline Brown (1-5, 2 RBI), Ashlyn Stokes (2-4, run), Maleah Tate (2-5, run), Griffin Pearce (2-4)
SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Salem pitcher Cassandra Miller tosses a complete-game four hitter, allowing just three runs (one earned) and strikes out three Blue Bear hitters.
-Miller faced 28 batters, making 90 pitches along the way, notching 56 strikes.
-Salem tallied 11 hits in the game, receiving four two-hit performances from the quartet of Maleah Tate, Karma Morrison, Ashlyn Stokes and Griffin Pearce.
-The Spirits had two multi-run innings, finishing with four in the third frame and five in the fifth.
-Salem had at least one hit in every inning with the exception of the first and seventh.
-Maleah Tate reached on an error, eventually moving to third, to open the third inning. Miller helped her cause with a run-scoring double to left, plating Madeline Brown for the first run of the game.
-Savanah Atkins roped a single to centerfield, plating Miller, before a two-run blast by Karma Morrison provided Salem with a 4-0 lead.
-After the Blue Bears trimmed the score to 4-3 in the home half of fourth, Salem responded by putting two runners in scoring position to open the fifth.
-Ashlyn Stokes delivered a single through the left side of the infield, bringing home both Atkins and Amy McLamb.
-Tate kept the Salem inning alive with a single to short, moving Cree Bass to second, before Brown sent a single up the middle that brought home Taela Belcher, Tate and Bass.
GAME 2 | Livingstone 9, Salem 1
W: Symone Abraham (2-0) / L: Isabella Morales
Salem Leaders: Maleah Tate (1-2), Karma Morrison (1-3, RBI), Rheanne Tullock (1-2), Amy McLamb (1-1)
SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Salem closed the game with four hits, drawing four walks and leaving eight on base.
-Taela Belcher scored the lone run of the game for the Spirits.
-Isabella Morales tossed four innings, allowing nine runs on nine hits, while striking out four Blue Bear hitters.
-Both Rheanne Tullock and Amy McLamb had one stolen base each.
TRENDS THROUGH FOUR GAMES FOR THE SPIRITS
-Salem has had at least one extra-base hit in three of its first four games of the season. The second game of the doubleheader with Livingstone is the lone exception to this as the Blue Bears held Salem to just one hit, a single.
-Sophomore outfielder Maleah Tate takes a six-game hitting streak into Thursday's clash with St. Andrews. Tate, who has reached safely by virtue of a hit in every game this season for the Spirits, began her streak in the first game of the 2023 finale against Methodist on April 29th, where she went 2-of-3 at the plate with two runs scored. In the second game of the doubleheader versus the Monarchs, Tate was 1-of-3 with a run scored for the Spirits.
In 2024, Tate leads the way for the Spirits with eight hits, including a four-hit performance in game two of the clash with Carolina University, where she dropped the game-winning walk-off bunt as the Spirits posted a 9-8 win.
-First year catcher Ashlyn Stokes leads the Salem lineup with three multi-hit games in 2024. Stokes has three two-hit games, including a pair of two-hit performances against Carolina University in the season opener. She also came through with two hits in Salem's win in the first game of the series against Livingstone.
SALEM IN ROAD SEASON OPENERS
After splitting the opening series with Carolina University on Saturday, the Spirits are 8-15-1 dating back to the program's induction, which came in 2012, in season-opening series. They have claimed two sweeps to open the season, the first of which came in 2013 against William Peace by scores of 9-1 and 2-1. The most recent season-opening sweep for Salem came in 2019, when Salem downed Southern Virginia on February 15th by scores of 10-0 and 10-0.
Averett marked the first opponent for Salem in the 2015 campaign, earning a 3-0 victory in the first game before the two reached a 4-4 deadlock in the second, where the game was suspended in the sixth inning.
SALEM GOES IN SEARCH OF ROAD WINS IN SALISBURY
The Spirits headed to Salisbury, N.C., to face Livingstone on Monday afternoon and came away with their seventh win in a road season opener in program history.
Before Monday, Salem last won a road season opener in 2018, claiming a 6-3 victory over Averett.
MORALES BECOMES THIRD USA SOUTH ROW PITCHER EVER
After making her collegiate debut, which resulted in a 9-8 victory over Carolina University on Saturday afternoon, Salem's Isabella Morales was named USA South Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Week in an announcement from the league office on Monday.
Morales tossed a complete-game nine-hitter against the Bruins, notching seven strikeouts along the way. Additionally, she surrendered multiple runs in two innings in Salem's first victory of the season. Morales' defense, coupled with her prowess on the mound, limited the Carolina offense to just five earned runs.
Isabella Morales faced 33 batters over the course of the game, making 96 pitches along the way. She tallied 66 strikes in her 96 pitches on the contest.
Morales also played a role in Salem's win at the plate, helping the Spirits come through with three hits in the sixth. After a single to third by Ashlyn Stokes and a single to short by Rheanne Tullock, Morales helped her cause with a sacrifice bunt that scored Stokes from third.
Morales becomes the third first-year player in program history to claim USA South Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Week honors. Miranda Baker earned the distinction on February 26, 2018 and Alli Stertzbach claimed the honor on May 2, 2023.
LOOKING TO CLAIM A DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP
Salem has the opportunity on Thursday to claim its first doubleheader sweep since taking down Livingstone on March 20,2023 by scores of 13-5 and 15-2. That victory over the Blue Bears came at Blixt Field for head coach Courtney Tucker, which coincidentally marked the first wins of her coaching career.
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).
HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH ST. ANDREWS
Thursday afternoon marks the first-ever meeting with St. Andrews for the Salem softball program.
The Knights entered Wednesday afternoon with an 0-8 record after being swept by Mount Olive, Belmont Abbey, Converse and West Virginia Tech in succession. St. Andrews is making a trip to Fayetteville State to face the Broncos in a mid-week matinee.