Lady Pioneers Cruise Past USC-L In Region Tourney

SPARTANBURG -- The No. 2 seed SMC Lady Pioneers eased their way through the first round of the 2011 Region X Division I tournament Friday, handing USC Lancaster an 8-1 loss.

The Pioneers will play Louisburg College in round two on Saturday at 12 pm at the 295 Complex in Spartanburg.

In Friday's game, the Pioneers sent pitcher Bailey Smith (Crest HS / Shelby, NC) to the mound and the bats to the plate. SMC scored five quick runs in the second inning on six hits.

Smith cruised along, allowing no base runners until the fifth inning.

Ashira Dobison (Colleton County HS / Walterboro, SC) relieved Smith and allowed only one hit in two and two-thirds innings.

The Lady Pioneers added three more in the fifth as Jennifer Bonham (Nations Ford HS / Fort Mill, SC), Morgan Cox (Hillcrest HS / Simpsonville, SC), and KC Shue (Concord HS / Concord, NC) scored runs.

SMC now turns their attention to the Louisburg College Hurricanes, a team the Lady Pioneers lost three of four to in March.

In other tournament action on Friday, No. 5 seed USC Sumter defeated No. 4 seed Florence Darlington 2-0, and will face off with No. 1 seed Pitt CC at 12 pm Saturday.

No. 3 seed Louisburg shutout USC Salkehatchie 9-0 in Friday's game three. USC Salkehatchie and USC Lancaster will play at 10 am in the first loser's bracket game Saturday.

Florence Darlington drops into the loser bracket and will play the winner of USC Salkehatchie and USC Lancaster at 3 pm Saturday.

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 100th academic year of providing a 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 please contact athletic director Mark Perdue at (864) 587-4237.