The 49ers can be shoe-in to the A-10 Tournament with a pair of wins Saturday |
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Charlotte Prepares to Clinch A-10 Tournament Bid with La Salle Doubleheader
April 25, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - After recording her third shutout of the season Thursday afternoon in a 1-0 victory over in-state rival UNC Greensboro, sophomore pitcher Emily Jeffery and the Charlotte 49ers (28-25; A-10: 9-5) will host conference foe La Salle (18-22; A-10: 6-10) Saturday afternoon at the D.L. Phillips Complex. With a pair of wins in the doubleheader, the 49ers, who are currently ranked third in the league, can clinch a berth into the 2008 Atlantic 10 Softball Tournament.
Charlotte owns a 3-1 all-time record against La Salle, with the teams last meeting for a twin bill April 6, 2007. The 49ers and Explorers split the series, with Charlotte overpowering the second game 11-3 after suffering a 1-0 shutout in game one.
Jeffery collected the first win of the week with her shutout Thursday, moving her season record to 15-10 with a 2.39 ERA. She is joined in the circle by freshman Katy Hackett (12-13; 1.97 ERA), who moved into fourth place all-time in program history with her 141 season strikeouts. Hackett can easily move into outright second place all-time in the category with six more strikeouts while needing to hit 171 to take the program record.
On the offensive end, Charlotte is anchored by sophomore outfielder Serena Smith and junior catcher Jaime West, who have each contributed 33 RBI apiece on the season, moving them into a tie for tenth place all-time. They are joined by junior second baseman Sarah Malene, who has crossed the plate 38 times, just four shy of her program record 42 runs from the 2006 season. Freshman outfielder Whitney Williams has scored 18 runs thus far in the 2008 campaign, just two runs short of moving into tenth place all-time in the freshmen record books.
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Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for noon. Admission is free. For more information on the 2008 A-10 Softball Championship, visit www.atlantic10.org.
