No. 14 SOFTBALL TO BEGIN ROAD SLATE ON SATURDAY

PETERSBURG, Va. – After playing half of the season on the campus of Richard Bland College, the No. 14 Statesmen softball team will begin its road slate for the next two weeks at Florence, S.C. on Saturday, March 28 when they face the Lady Stingers of Florence-Darlington Technical Community College for a Region X conference doubleheader.

The matchup will be the first road contest for the Statesmen this season in Region X play. Richard Bland (12-7, 6-0 Region X) is coming off a stretch of six games over the two weeks, including all of those games being at home.

The Statesmen went 5-1 during the stretch, winning the first two to extend its then winning-streak to eight games. That streak would be snapped following a setback decision to Pitt Community College as both teams would split. RBC would follow with a sweep against Wake Tech to recover from the setback.

Richard Bland enters the weekend ranked No. 14 in the NJCAA poll. The Statesmen have played six games against NJCAA division I programs, including Tallahassee Community College who ranks 16^th in the nation.

Offensively, Richard Bland has been led by freshman infielder Haley Boykin (Courtland, VA), who is hitting .500 (10-for-13) with five hits, three RBI, two runs and one double, while fellow freshman outfielder Amanda Archer (Amelia, VA) is hitting .400 (45-of-54) with two doubles, two homers, five doubles and 18 RBI. Another notable player in Erin Forbes (Camden, NC) is three points below Archer, with a batting average of .397 (58-of-66) charting six triples, three doubles and 15 RBI.

Sophomore pitcher Tara Heatwole (Williamsburg, VA) paces the Statesmen with a 5-2 record and 2.16 ERA, striking out 54 batters in 55.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .260 against Heatwole, who has four complete games and two saves. Freshman Kristin Saunders (New Kent, VA) is 6-3 this season with a 3.17 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched and 26 strikeouts.

The Lady Stingers enters the weekend with a 14-5 record, including a 5-3 record at home, 3-2 slate on the road and 6-0 record on neutral sites. Florence-Darlington Tech are paced by an offense that is hitting .287 with 112 runs scored and nine home runs, while the Lady Stingers pitching staff hold a 3.54 ERA, allowing 61 earned runs in 120.2 innings pitched. 

After the game vs. Florence-Darlington Tech, the Statesmen will travel to Southeastern Community College of Whiteville for a Region X doubleheader on Sunday, March 28. First pitch is slated for 12 noon.

The contest will be the first meeting between both teams this season and the first Region X game for the Lady Stingers this season.

For more information on RBC softball, please visit www.rbcathletics.com.

To stay up-to-date on RBC athletics, follow us on Twitter at @GoRBCStatesmen, Instagram at @gorbcstatesmen and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rbcstatesmen.

#GOSTATESMEN