Lady Pioneers Hopes Dashed For Return Trip to Nationals

GREENVILLE, NC -- The SMC Lady Pioneers' hopes of a third consecutive appearance at the NJCAA Fastpitch Division I National Tournament ended in a heartbreaking 3-0 loss Sunday at the hands of Pitt Community College.

The No. 3 seed Lady Pioneers put in four games before going into an all-out battle with Pitt for the Region title Sunday afternoon in the championship round.SMC won the first championship round game 4-2 against Pitt.

The Lady Pioneers opened the tournament with a blistering 11-1 win over USC Sumter on Friday, with Brinti Ward pitching the win with seven strikeouts.

SMC  followed that up with a 4-0 win over Florence Darlington Tech on Saturday morning.

Ward continued with her offensive power and pitched the win, while Kim Braxton and Dena Messer had two RBIs each.But a 3-2 loss to Pitt later that afternoon sent the Pioneers into the losers bracket.

Leah Babson posted two RBIs in Saturday afternoon's game against Pitt, driving in Jackie Slawson and Deana Ratliff on a triple.

SMC took out USC Salkehatchie with a 7-2 win to move out of the losers bracket Sunday afternoon and go on to play Pitt in the first of the back-to-back games for the title.

The Lady  Pioneers ended the season 15-10 in Region X and 21-7 overall. In their last 16 games, SMC went 13-3 and outscored opponents 107-31.

Several Lady Pioneers also received regional recognition over the weekend.Ashira Dobison, Jackie Slawson and Kelsey Pruitt were named to the All-Tournament team. Slawson, Jazmine Holliday, and Jena Westmoreland were named 1st Team All-Region, while Dobison and Leah Babson were named to the 2nd Team All-Region.

Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The College is in its 99th year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment.  More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.

For more information, contact SMC director of public information Brian Fulkerson at (864) 587-4254 or fulkersonb@smcsc.edu