RALEIGH, N.C. (April 19) – Saint Augustine's University winds down the softball regular season with two important doubleheaders this weekend.
Winston-Salem State University comes to Lions Park on Friday, April 20, for a twinbill against the Lady Falcons. Two days later, on Sunday, April 22, the Lady Falcons host Fayetteville State University at the same site in the regular-season finale. The starting times both days are 12 p.m. with the second game starting approximately 30 minutes after the
first contest. The games are free and open to the public.
All three teams in addition to Shaw University are in contention for the Southern Division title. The Falcons and Fayetteville State are division co-leaders at 5-1 while Shaw sits in third at 4-2. Not far behind is Winston-Salem State in fourth at 2-2.
The Lady Falcons (12-8 overall) can clinch their second division crown in four seasons with a favorable showing against the Rams (7-22 overall) and Broncos (9-21 overall). Four student-athletes – Akera McPhaul (Sr./Greensboro, NC), Marley Parker (Sr./Langley, British Columbia), Haili Pettifer (Sr./Langley, British Columbia) and Jasmine Rios (Sr./Greensboro, NC) – were valuable contributors on the 2015 squad which won the conference title and made the school's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The four seniors have extra incentive to play well. They will be recognized on Sunday which is designated as Senior Day.
Watch for those four and several other Lady Falcons this weekend:
- Rios leads the nation among Division II batters in triples per game and ranks fourth nationally in total triples (7).
- Makayla August (So./Palm Springs, CA) ranks second nationally in Division II in doubles per game, ninth nationally in batting average (.493) and 20th in slugging percentage (.836). She is also the CIAA Pitcher of the Week.
- Parker ranks eighth nationally in Division II in triples per game, ninth in slugging percentage (.937), 12th in toughest to strike out, 14th in runs per game (1.25) and 16th in runs batted in per game (1.25).
- McPhaul ranks 16th nationally in Division II in triples per game.
- Mechelle Moss (Fr./Nassau, Bahamas) ranks eighth nationally in Division II in triples per game.
- Tamiera Sanchez (So./Sacramento, CA) ranks 18th nationally in Division II in runs per game (1.2).
As
a unit, the Lady Falcons are one of the hottest-hitting Division II teams in the nation. They rank first in the country in triples per game, second in doubles per game, fourth in slugging percentage (.621), fifth in scoring (8.3) and seventh in batting average (.362).
Guided by four-time CIAA Coach of the Week Dot Neal, the Lady Falcons are counting on their offensive firepower to lead them to a division title. Their championship run starts Thursday against the Rams.
