League-Leading Catamount Softball Heads to UNC Greensboro for Weekend SoCon Series

Three-game set begins with doubleheader on Saturday at 1:00 pm; concludes on Sunday

April 21, 2006

LIVE STATS from UNC Greensboro

Cullowhee, N.C. - Riding a current two-game win streak and having won eight of its last nine, including four in Southern Conference play, the league-leading Western Carolina softball team winds down its 10-game road swing this weekend visiting UNC Greensboro for a three-game conference. Action kicks off at 1:00 pm on Saturday (April 22) afternoon with a doubleheader and will conclude on Sunday (April 23) with a single-game at 1:00 pm at the UNCG Softball Complex.

Fans not able to make it to the Piedmont of North Carolina can follow all of the action with LIVE STATS, provided by UNC Greensboro at their web site, www.uncgsports.com.

Western (32-16, 9-2 SoCon), which has won all four conference series to date, continues to be the surprise story of the SoCon softball season, holding a percentage points lead over second-place, College of Charleston, in the league standings. The Cougars, who are 24-24 overall and 9-3 in the SoCon on the season, host the Furman Lady Paladins (24-31, 5-10 SoCon) this weekend (April 22-23) at Patriots Point.

The Catamounts, which have already set a Southern Conference record for home runs in a single-season, currently stand with 67 round-trippers this season. Averaging 1.46 home runs per game, WCU leads the SoCon and ranks fourth in the nation, according to the most recent statistics provided by the NCAA. Western additionally ranks nationally in team slugging percentage (8th, 0.508) and scoring (13th, 5.74 runs per game).

Individually, three players have already reached double-figure homers, with three others within two long balls shy of reaching 10 on the season. Junior Ashley Adams leads the team, league, and ranks fourth in the nation with 18 home runs, setting a SoCon record along the way. Her 0.41 home runs per game ranks third in the NCAA, and the Hickory, N.C., native's 1.11 RBI per contest average ranks her 12th.

Three additional Catamounts join Adams among the nation's leaders. Leadoff hitter, freshman Allyson McCubbins, both leads the SoCon and ranks seventh nationally in walks per game having drawn 38 for an average of 0.78 per game. Her classmate, Heather Pritchard, leads Western with a .408 batting average (49-for-120) and ranked 41st in the last NCAA rankings.

In the circle, freshman pitcher Mendy McKenzie continues to shine, moving onto the NCAA leader boards with her SoCon-leading 18 victories this season, which ranked her amidst the top 30 pitchers in all of collegiate softball. The rookie from Clemmons, N.C., continues to lead the SoCon in ERA, dropping her average to 2.04 following the one-hit shutout of South Carolina State last Tuesday night. In 154.2 innings this season, McKenzie has struck out 170 batters, averaging just over a strikeout per inning. Western's number two pitcher, freshman Jenny Jackson, has also lowered her ERA, standing at 2.78 which is seventh in the league.

This weekend, Western will face a tough Spartan squad, which was tabbed to finish fifth in the league this season, two spots ahead of the Catamounts. UNCG has two players hitting over .300 on the season led by home run leader, senior Gwen Johnson, who coupled with her .382 batting average has gone deep eight times. However, Johnson has not recorded an at bat during SoCon play this season. Jennifer Bonilla, a junior from Hope Mills, N.C., which is the same hometown of WCU freshman Lauren Ross, is also hitting over .300 both overall (.346) and in league play (.323).

The Spartans have used two main pitchers this season, led by junior ace Vanessa Oakes (9-12), who has a 3.04 ERA with 144 strikeouts in 152.0 innings pitched. Freshman Hannah Angel (5-13) has tossed 111.0 innings with a 3.28 ERA, fanning 88 with 12 complete games. UNCG could, however, toss in senior Danielle Byrne who is 4-5 on the year with an ERA just under four and a half with 37 K's in 56.1 innings this season.

Following the three-game SoCon series at UNCG, Western will return home for the first time in two weeks to host the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs in doubleheader action at the Catamount Softball Complex on Tuesday, April 25. First pitch in WCU's final non-conference games of the season is set for 4:00 pm.