Opponent:
Salem vs. Mary Baldwin | April 24 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Blixt Field | 2:30 p.m. / 4:30 p.m.

SOFTBALL CONCLUDES 2024 HOME SCHEDULE VERSUS MARY BALDWIN
The Salem softball team puts its finishing touches on the 2024 home schedule on Wednesday afternoon when the Spirits host Mary Baldwin. The 2024 unit will look to replicate the feats of the 2020 team by winning its final two games of the season. The last time that Salem split a home finale came in 2022 against Carolina University.

SALEM CLASHES WITH WILLIAM PEACE ON SENIOR DAY

On Saturday afternoon, the Salem softball team recognized the contributions of seniors Cree Bass, Madeline Brown, Katie Gerhardt, Jessica Pinnix and fifth-year senior Savanah Atkins. While all five players took to the field over the course of the two games, William Peace emerged with a doubleheader sweep by scores of 13-1 (5 innings) and 5-2 at Blixt Field.

Brown made her presence felt in game one of the series, finishing with an RBI single, while Atkins led the group with an RBI single of her own in game two of the doubleheader. Pinnix, who had missed the entire season due to injury, earned a start in right field as the outfield consisted of Bass, Gerhardt and Pinnix.

Atkins earned the starting nod in the opening game of the series, entering the mound for the first time in her career, where Brown caught the opening pitch as the team's catcher. Atkins, who managed to pla all nine positions during the course of her Salem career, then took over catching duties for Gerhardt, who tossed a complete-game. While Bass didn't have an at bat during the course of the day, she did convert 10 putouts in the doubleheader series.

GAME 1 | William Peace 13, Salem 1 (5 innings)
W: Reagan Stewart (7-9) / L: Katie Gerhardt (0-4)
Salem Leaders: Madeline Brown (1-2, RBI), Cassandra Miller (2-3), Carmen Duffey (2-3), Katie Gerhardt (5 IP, 2 K's)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Savanah Atkins earned the starting nod on the mound, making one pitch for the Spirits. By tossing one pitch, Atkins played all nine positions during the course of her Salem career.
-Cassandra Miller delivered the first hit of the game for the Spirits, sending a 3-2 pitch up the middle for a single.
-Carmen Duffey and Amy McLamb reached on back-to-back singles for the Spirits and Duffey came home on a Madeline Brown single to short, making for a 4-1 contest.
-Spirits put their final run of the game on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Maleah Tate reached on a walk. Shelby LaPoint followed with a single to centerfield which brought Tate home from first base.
-Senior Katie Gerhardt tossed a complete game for the Spirits, finishing with two K's on the day.
-Sophomore Maleah Tate flashed her glove in the game, getting a double play from left, as she teamed with Shelby LaPoint for the double play to get the runner.

GAME 2 | William Peace 5, Salem 2
W: Kimberly Bordeaux (2-2) / L: Griffin Pearce (1-2) / S: Haley Joyce (2)
Salem Leaders: Cassandra Miller (1-1, HR), Karma Morrison (2-3), Savanah Atkins (1-3, RBI)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Cassandra Miller blasted a two-out solo home run over the left field wall, giving Salem a 1-0 lead in the home half of the first, marking her third home run of the season.
-Megan McAnany opened the second with a double to right, which was followed by an RBI double to left by Erin Miles, which evened the score at 1-1.
-First-year Karma Morrison made her presence felt in the top of the sixth as she caught a fly ball and threw the runner out at first for a double play.
-Fifth-year senior Savanah Atkins dropped an RBI single into shallow left field, scoring Shelby LaPoint on the play, to score the second Salem run of the day.

FOUR USA SOUTH GAMES LEFT ON 2024 SCHEDULE
The Spirits enter the final week of the 2024 regular season with four games remaining on the schedule. While Salem is mathematically eliminated from postseason competition, due to eighth-seeded Meredith holding the tiebreaker in the head-to-head series, the Spirits can help jostle the standings.

Mary Baldwin, who Salem hosts on Wednesday, sits in fifth-place entering the week with an 8-6 mark. That is two games better than William Peace, who is 8-8, along with a better mark than both Methodist (7-7) and Meredith (6-8).

The Spirits can also directly impact Methodist, who they play on Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, N.C. Methodist, who comes into this week with a 7-7 mark, is seventh in the league standings. The Monarchs are locked in a battle with both sixth-place William Peace (8-8) and Meredith (6-8), along with Mary Baldwin (8-6) for positioning in the league tournament.

MILLER NAMED USA SOUTH ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
For the first time this season and the fourth time since joining the USA South Conference, a member of the Salem softball team—Cassandra Miller—was recognized as the league's Rookie of the Week for their performance.

Miller earned the distinction from the league office on Monday afternoon after she finished a four-game stretch where she hit .571, finishing 8-of-14 from the plate, while accounting for five RBI, three doubles and one home run.

The Fredericksburg, Va., native posted a 1.000 slugging percentage and .571 on-base percentage while finishing with 21 put outs in the field.

Miller played a key role in helping the Spirits finish 2-2 on the week, posting a wins over Brevard by scores of 7-6 and 9-8 on April 16th. She began the series against the Tornados by going 2-for-4 from the plate, connecting on a pair of doubles. Salem finished that game with five doubles from the quartet of Miller (two), Shelby LaPoint, Madeline Brown and Savanah Atkins which tied for the sixth-most doubles in a game in program history.

In the nightcap of the series with Brevard, Miller delivered three hits, including a double, to complete the first sweep by the Spirits since March 20, 2023 versus Livingstone.

Her hot-hitting continued in the series with William Peace, where she opened with two hits in three at bats. In the second game against the Pacers, Miller capped off her week with a solo home run, her third of the season.

Miller joins teammate Isabella Morales as the only other Spirit to earn USA South Conference Player of the Week honors in 2024. Morales was twice named USA South Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Week on February 19th and February 26th.

Miller also joins Amanda Dacunto (Feb. 20, 2017), Brianne Coleman (March 18, 2019) and Jessica Pinnix (March 27, 2023) as the only players in Salem softball history to earn the distinction from the USA South Conference.

SALEM TIDBITS & QUICK NOTES
-Last week against Brevard, for just the second time this season, Salem had consecutive games with double-digit hits. The first time came against Carolina University (Game 2-Feb. 17) and Livingstone (Game 1-Feb. 19), where the Spirits came through with 15 and 11 hits, respectively. The second time this occurred was on Wednesday, in the doubleheader victory over Brevard, where Salem had 11 hits in the first game and finished with 12 hits in game two against the Tornados.
-Salem has managed at least nine hits in 10 games this season.
-Salem finished the first game of the series against Brevard with five doubles from the quartet of Cassandra Miller (two), Shelby LaPoint, Madeline Brown and Savanah Atkins which ties for the sixth-most doubles in a game in program history. The last time this happened was on March 30, 2019 (at William Peace). The program record for most doubles in a single-game is seven, which came against Rust (March 9, 2014) and there were four games where the Spirits had six doubles in a game.
-Fifth-year senior Savanah Atkins, who tossed the first pitch of the opening game of the series with William Peace, has now played all nine positions in the lineup during her Salem career.
-Sophomore slugger Maleah Tate leads the way with a team-best 36 hits, batting average (.375) and 25 stolen bases. Tate is responsible for a .455 on-base percentage and a .385 slugging percentage for Salem.
-In the first game of the series with Brevard, Maleah Tate drew a leadoff walk to open the game for the Spirits and stole second to establish the single-season record for most steals (23), passing Karson Chapman, who established the single-season record (22) in 2023.
-Maleah Tate needs just two stolen bases to pass Jennifer Vitarelli for the all-time stolen base mark in Salem softball history. Vitarelli's career concluded with 38 stolen bases, while Tate has 37 in her career through the first two seasons.
-After delivering five hits in eight at bats, resulting in three doubles and four RBI, in Wednesday's clash with Brevard, Cassandra Miller upped her batting average to .333 on the season. Miller also moved into a tie with classmate Carmen Duffey for most doubles (six) and extended her lead in the RBI race to 19 for the Spirits. She also leads the way in home runs with four.
-First-year slugger Carmen Duffey cracked her first collegiate home run in Western North Carolina when the Spirits defeated Brevard. The first-year slugger was instrumental in Salem's 9-8 game two victory as a she singlehandedly accounted for five RBI. She is one of three first-year players (Cassandra Miller and Karma Morrison) to belt at least one home run this season.
-First-year hurler Isabella Morales has made her presence felt in the circle, notching 50 K's in 69.1 innings pitched. Morales' 50 K's on the season are 10th-most in program history, which ties her with 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 23 walks and is boasting the lowest ERA on the team (5.78).
-Two members of the Salem pitching staff, Katie Gerhardt and Griffin Pearce, picked up their first career saves in the victories against Brevard. Pearce also notched her first victory of the season, which came in game two of the series.

SCOUTING REPORT: Mary Baldwin | 14-15 / 8-6 USA South
Recapping the 2024 season: The Fighting Squirrels head down the final stretch of the regular season with two teams left on their schedule—Salem (April 24) and Southern Virginia, who they host, on April 27th.

Mary Baldwin is 14-15 overall and has an 8-6 mark in USA South Conference play. Eight of the 14 wins have come on the road, while the remaining six came at home.

The Fighting Squirrels have found their rhythm of late, winning five of their last six games, including sweeps of Greensboro (April 10) and Meredith (April 20). The only setback in the last six games came against N.C. Wesleyan, when the Battling Bishops posted a 10-0 victory in game two of the series on April 13th.

The top slugger in the Mary Baldwin lineup, with at least 10 at bats, is Hadley May. May is 34-of-79 (.430) at the plate with 26 RBI, 16 runs scored, eight home runs and six doubles for the Fighting Squirrels in 2024. She has a .810 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage, striking out just five times this season.

Teammate Allison Crum has the second-most RBI (22) and doubles (seven) of any hitter in the Mary Baldwin lineup.

Reagan Frazier enters Wednesday's game with a team-best 2.88 ERA, allowing just 20 earned runs over the course of the season. Frazier, who is 6-3 on the season, has allowed just 12 extra-base hits, but no home runs to opposing hitters, in 48.2 innings pitched.

Series Breakdown: Salem owns a 9-4 advantage in the all-time series with Mary Baldwin, winning eight head-to-head games between March 18, 2016 and April 20, 2022.

The Spirits have scored at least six runs on nine occasions against Mary Baldwin, including a pair of 17-run outings on March 18, 2016 and March 29, 2018.

Mary Baldwin halted an eight-game losing streak to the Spirits with a doubleheader sweep in 2023 as the Fighting Squirrels came away with victories of 16-1 (5 innings) and 10-5 in Staunton, Va.

ALL-TIME SERIES (vs. Mary Baldwin)