Western Carolina Softball Hosts Winston-Salem State Tuesday; Final Home Games of Year :: Streaks on the line for selected Catamounts

	Printer-Friendly Format E-mail this article Senior Jamie Swank leads the team with a .312 batting average and is on a 12-game hitting streak.

Western Carolina Softball Hosts Winston-Salem State Tuesday; Final Home Games of Year

Streaks on the line for selected Catamounts

April 28, 2008

CULLOWHEE, N. C. - Western Carolina softball (17-34) hosts its final home games of the 2008 season when the Catamounts welcome Winston-Salem State in a doubleheader slate scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Catamount Softball Complex.

The club won its second consecutive Southern Conference series when Western Carolina took two of three from Furman over the weekend. The Catamounts defeated the Paladins in game one 4-1, lost to Furman 8-5 in nine innings and came from behind to win the rubber game 6-5 on Sunday.

Western Carolina is one of the hottest teams heading into the Southern Conference Tournament, which will be held May 7-10 in Charleston, S.C. After getting off to a rocky start to the season, with a record of 6-23 at the end of March, the Catamounts are currently 11-11 in the month of April. The squad was also 0-9 in the SoCon at the end of March, but has since boasted a record of 7-5 in conference games. Two of the three Southern Conference series won by WCU was also on the road.

The improved play can be attributed to the increased offensive output on the team. One of the hottest hitters on the club is Western Carolina's lone senior Jamie Swank who leads the team with a .316 batting average and is also riding a 12-game hitting streak. Swank also leads the team in hits (50), runs scored (30), triples (2) and is third on the team with five doubles.

Junior hurler Lauren Ross is getting done on the mound and at the plate. The Hope Mills, N.C. native is the pitcher of record for all seven of the Catamounts Southern Conference victories and leads the club with 104 strikeouts this season, a mark that bests her single-season mark she set as a sophomore. She tossed a no-hitter against College of Charleston, who is third in the conference, and also took two victories from Georgia Southern.

Ross is also riding a streak of picking up a hit in the last eight games, carrying a .260 batting average and ranks second on the team in doubles with eight. She is currently the career homerun leader with 24 in her career and has 77 career RBI, chasing teammate Stephanie Beatty who broke the record, with 79, against Furman on Saturday.

Redshirt sophomore Mollie Fowler leads the team in homeruns with seven and also ranks second in batting average with .284. She also paces the Catamounts in RBI with 29.

Western Carolina got the added boost of junior Heather Pritchard, who returned to her shortstop position last week, after being sidelined by an injury at the first of April. She returned to the batting lineup on Sunday against Furman and was 1-for-3, but her one hit was crucial as her RBI single gave the Catamounts a 6-5 lead over the Paladins.

The Catamounts are currently 5-6 at home this season and are looking to end the year with a winning record at home. Western Carolina faced Winston-Salem State on April 16, sweeping the Lady Rams 10-2 and 8-7. However, the second game went into extra innings and the Catamounts had to come from behind to secure a victory.