Softball Drops Opener 4-3 to Averett in USA South Tournament

From Meredith Sports Information Department

Tournament action!

Burlington, N.C. - The #2 seeded Meredith softball team opened up play in the USA South Athletic Conference tournament against the #7 seeded Averett Cougars on Friday. The Cougars' seventh inning comeback dropped the Avenging Angels 4-3.

Meredith got on the board early as the Avenging Angels put two across in the top of the first. Leah Friedman and Amanda White both got on base on singles and a steal moved the runners to second and third with two outs. A fielding error by the Cougar's third baseman scored both Friedman and White. The Avenging Angels added another run in the third inning as Lorri Cole's RBI-single to right field scored Alex Warren.

Averett answered in the top of the fourth as they scored three runs to tie the game at 3-all. The Cougars started the inning with two ground outs but took advantage of Meredith errors. Kayla Renn's RBI-single to left-center field scored Brooke Hensley. Lauren Averitt then singled to right to score Chrissy Pickett. Kayla Renn then scored on a fielding error on a pick off throw from the catcher.

The game remained tied at 3-all until Averett scored one in the top of the seventh. Emily Atkinson's two-out single to left field scored Morgan Jones to give the Cougars the one run lead. Averett took Meredith down in order in the bottom of the seventh to take the win.

Both teams move onto Saturday as Meredith next plays the winner of #8 Peace/#6 Shenandoah at 10am while Averett moves on to play #3 Ferrum at 12 pm.

Box Score

Softball Completes Regular Season With Split at Guilford

From Meredith Sports Information Department

Greensboro, N.C. - The Meredith softball team (27-11) completed their regular season on Wednesday with a non-conference split at Guilford. Meredith took the comeback win in game one with a 6-5 victory while the Quakers took the second game 4-0.

Game One: Meredith 6, Guilford 5 - The Quakers took the early 4-0 lead as they scored three in the bottom of the first and one in the third. Meredith put two up in the fourth to cut the lead to 4-2. Katelyn Whitehead started the inning with a single and Alex Warren hit a double to put two on at second and third. A 2-RBI single by Amanda White scored Whitehead and Warren. Meredth would put three runs up in the top of the sixth inning to take the 5-4 lead. Lorri Cole's single scored Warren and Kristen Piner's 2-RBI single scored Cole and White. Carrie Webster picked up the win as she struck out three and only gave up six hits.

Game Two: Guilford 4, Meredith 0 - The Quakers responded with a 4-0 win over Meredith in the nightcap. The Quakers scored four in the bottom of the fifth inning and that would be all they would need for the win.

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

USA South Softball Awards Announced: Scavone Named Coach of Year, Seven Players Placed on Teams

From Meredith Sports Information Department

2012 USA South All-Conference Selections

Fayetteville, N.C.- The USA South Athletic Conference has announced its 2012 All-Conference awards for softball. A total of 55 student-athletes have been named to the USA South All-Conference teams. Christopher Newport University's Sabrina Hill collected both Player and Rookie of the Year accolades while her teammate, Whitney Haller, earned Pitcher of the Year accolades. Methodist University's Kayla Malone picked up Rookie Pitcher of the Year honors while Meredith College's Kim Scavone took home Coach of the Year accolades. Also, the USA South recognized an All-Sportsmanship Team, consisting of one member from each competing school.

All honors were determined by votes from the softball coach at each institution.

In her second season at Meredith, Head Coach Kim Scavone collects her first Coach of the Year honor. She becomes the first Meredith softball coach to earn a USA South Coach of the Year award. Scavone has led the Avenging Angels to a 26-10 overall record and a program-best 12-6 conference mark, which tied for second place in the league standings. Scavone now takes her squad into the USA South tournament as the second-seeded team.

The Avenging Angels were also well represented on the playing field.  Meredith gained two players on the first team as the middle of the infield was dominated by the Avenging Angels.  Junior Alex Warren took the shortstop position while freshman Amanda White earned her position at second base.  Warren, the New Bern, N.C. (New Bern High School) native hit .311 while hitting six home runs, driving in 25 RBIs and stealing eight bases.  White, the Wilmington, N.C. native (John T. Hoggard High School) led Meredith with eight home runs, eight doubles, two triples and 33 RBIs plus had a team high batting average of .406.

Sophomore Emily Cooke earned a spot on the second team for her play in the outfield. Cooke, Ahoskie, N.C. (Ridgecroft School), led the team in triples (3) while also hitting four home runs and eight doubles.  Junior pitcher Jessica Dzeskewicz took a spot on the third team.  Dzeskewicz, Yadkinville, N.C. (Forbush High School) led the team from the circle with a high of 11 wins, nine complete games while striking out 62 in 81 innings pitced.  

Honorable Mention honors were given to sophomore catcher Lorri Cole and junior pitcher Amanda Beirne.   Cole, Kinston, N.C. (South Lenoir High School) was a defensive force behind the plate and helped control opposing runners while also batting .355 for the Avenging Angels.   Beirne, Bath, N.C. (Northside High School) led the team in strikeouts (100) while picking up nine wins and pitching 108 innings and 11 complete games.

Sophomore Ashley Green was placed on the All-Sportsmanship as Meredith's representative.

USA South website article - 2012

Softball Splits With CNU, Takes #2 Seed in USA South

From Meredith Sports Information Department

USA South Conference regular season runner-ups!

Raleigh, N.C. - The Meredith softball team finished the season in second place in the USA South after a split with the first place Christopher Newport Captains on Saturday. Game one featured a dramatic 6-5 victory for Meredith (26-10, 12-6 USA South) in game one and the Captains (29-7, 15-3) evened the series taking game two 4-0 .  The win for Meredith was the first over the Captains since the Avenging Angels joined the USA South five years ago.  Meredith will be the second seed in the USA South tournament and will play the winner of #7 Averett vs. #10 Mary Baldwin on Friday April 13 at 1 p.m. in Burlington, N.C.

Game One: Meredith 6, Christopher Newport 5 - Emily Cooke started off the inning with a double that went over the center fielder's head and rolled to the fence.  Leah Friedman's base hit bunt moved Cooke to third and put runners on the corners.  Alex Warren's sacrifice fly to center scored Cooke.  One out hits by Amanda White and Lorri Cole loaded the bases.  A wild pitch by the Captains scored Friedman to give Meredith the 2-0 lead after the first inning.  

The Angels added three more runs in the second inning as a two out walk put Cooke on base.  A single by Friedman put two on and Warren knocked in Cooke with a single to left field.  White then singled to center filed to score both Warren and Friedman and gave Meredith the 5-0 lead after two innings.  The Captains answered with one in the third and four in the fifth to tie the game at 5-all.

The game remained tied at five as another dramatic walk off win was produced by the Avenging Angels.  White's leadoff blast to center field broke the deadlock and gave Meredith the 6-5 victory.  It's was White's sixth home run on the season and gave her the team lead on the year.

Amanda Beirne picked up her ninth win in the relief appearance as she pitched 2.2 innings, striking out three.

Game Two:  Christopher Newport 4, Meredith 0:  The Captains held Meredith in check in the second game with the 4-0 win.  The Captains put across two runs each in the third and sixth innings and held the Avenging Angels to four hits.  White and Cole had doubles for Meredith.  Beirne pitched the complete game and picked up the loss as she gave up 12 hits and four strikeouts.

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

Softball Splits With The Hornets, Securing at Least a Top Five Finish

From Meredith Sports Information Department

Carrie looks to steal second base.

Raleigh, N.C. - The Meredith softball team split a home opener with the Shenandoah Hornets on Friday afternoon. The Avenging Angels (25-9, 11-5 USA South) took it to the Hornets (19-12, 8-8) in game one 12-4, while Shenandoah answered in game two with a 2-1 victory. Meredith has secured themselves at least a top five finish in the USA South and could get as high as second depending on the results on Saturday. The Avenging Angels have also eclipsed their USA South win total as they surpassed their ten wins in 2010.

Game One: Meredith 12, Shenandoah 4 - 6 innings: Shenandoah started quick out of the gate as a three-run home run in the top of the first gave the Hornets the 3-0 advantage. Meredith would answer with two in the first, six in the second and one in the fourth to give the Avenging Angels the 9-3 lead. Highlights by the Avenging Angels included doubles by Alex Warren and Amanda White and Warren's three-run homer in the second inning. Shenandoah added a another run in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Meredith lead to 9-4. Sara Cranford's three-run home run in the bottom the sixth inning gave Meredith the 12-4 lead and ended the game with the run rule. Jessica Dzeskewicz picked up the six inning complete game and her 11th win on the year.

Game Two: Shenandoah 2, Meredith 1: The second game saw the Hornets come out and throw a three-hitter on the Avenging Angels. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Meredith's White scored on a ground out to give the Angels the 1-0 lead. Shenandoah would add a run in the top of the fifth and sixth to take the 2-1 lead. Meredith had a chance in the bottom of the seventh as a single by Ashley Green followed up by a fielder's choice on Katelyn Whitehead moved the runners to second and third with no outs. Shenandoah's Brooke Over took control and was able to get out of the inning and take the win for the Hornets. Amanda Beirne took the relief appearance loss as she struck our four in the last four innings.

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

Video - Game 1
Video - Game 2

Cooke's Walk Off Home Run Gives Meredith Sweep Over Methodist

From Meredith Sports Information Department

Emily Cooke's walk-off bomb wins Game 2.

Raleigh, N.C. - The Meredith softball team swept the Methodist Monarchs on Tuesday afternoon in a USA South match up. The two victories were the first sweep of the Monarchs by the Avenging Angels in the USA South and Meredith is currently on a eight game winning streak, six in the USA South. Emily Cooke's walk off home run in the bottom of the seventh of game two sealed the deal for Meredith. Meredith (24-8, 10-4 USA South) is now currently in second place and await an important home stand as Shenandoah and Christopher Newport visit this Friday and Saturday.

Game One: Meredith 6, Methodist 5 - The Monarchs (23-12, 11-5) struck first in the top of the third as they scored one run to take the 1-0 lead. The Angels then avenged that run and added a few more as they put up three to take the 3-1 lead. Highlights included Alex Warren's walk that scored Sara Cranford and Amanda White's single to score Lorri Cole. A fielder's choice by the Monarchs allowed Warren to score. Meredith added another run in the fourth as Katelyn Whitehead singled to score Cooke. Methodist would add another in the top of the fifth, but once again Meredith added two of their own in the bottom of the inning to move to the 6-2 advantage. Ashley Green's triple scored pinch runner Tracy Kemp and Carrie Webster's single to center scored Green. The Monarchs last ditch effort in the top of the seventh only produced three runs as the Angels escaped with the 6-5 win. Jessica Dzeskewicz picked up the complete game win as she struck out five.

Game Two: Meredith 4, Methodist 3 - Meredith started with the runs early as the Avenging Angels put up three in the bottom of the first inning. Leah Friedman singled with one out to get on and Warren doubled down the left field line to score Friedman. White then followed that up with a triple to right field to score Warren. As Cole grounded out, White scored as she out ran the throw. The Monarchs would answer with single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings to tie the game up at 3-all. The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the seventh when Cooke's bomb to deep center field ended the game. Dzeskewicz (10-2) picked up the relief win in three innings work and her 10th on the year. Amanda Beirne pitched the first four innings and struck out two.

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

Video - Game 1
Video - Game 2  (starts at 1:33 in the video <1 hour, 33 minutes>)

Softball Traps the Vixens In Sweep

From Meredith Information Department

Avenging Angels get ready for the Vixens!

Sweet Briar, Va. - The Meredith softball team finished their Virginia road trip with a perfect 4-0 record as the Avenging Angels swept Sweet Briar on Sunday. Meredith took the games with a combined 31-1 score in only 10 innings played. With their sweep of Mary Baldwin on Saturday they have moved into fourth place in the USA South standings.

Game One: Meredith 17, Sweet Briar 1 - 5 innings: Meredith (22-8) fell behind early as the Vixens (0-6) took the early 1-0 lead. The Angels then put the throttle down as they scored ten runs in the top of the second to dominate the game. Meredith put up the 10 runs on eight hits as Amanda White's three run home run led the scoring in the onslaught. The Avenging Angels then added five more runs on Lorri Cole's lone hit and and six walks in the fourth inning. Meredith put two more across in the fifth as Shelby Decker's double sealed the game. White ended up with five RBIs while Alex Warren and Sara Cranford had two each. White also pitched the five inning complete game as she struck out eight to gain the win.

Game Two: Meredith 14, Sweet Briar 0 - 5 innings: The Avenging Angels continued to put runs across and take advantage of mistakes as Meredith had 15 hits and the Vixens gave up five errors. White had her second home run of the day as she put in two runs in the fifth inning. White had a total of five RBIs and a double for Meredith. Doubles were also added by Emily Cooke and Leah Friedman. Katelyn Whitehead and Tracy Kemp both added two RBIs to go with their three hits each. Jessica Dzeskewicz struck out four in the five inning complete game no-hitter and her eighth win on the year.

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2