2014-15 RICHARD BLAND SOFTBALL SEASON RECAP

PETERSBURG, Va. – The Richard Bland College softball team had a lot of memorable moments in the 2014-15 season.

The year began with the 2014 JUCO Kickoff Classic as the Statesmen played seven games total including matchups against NJCAA DI institutions such as Northwest Florida State, Georgia Perimeter, Gulf Coast State, Daytona State, Tallahassee and Polk State. Despite the Statesmen 1-6 record finish in the classic, the coaching staff knew the team would be very prepared for the remainder of the regular season and post-season play.

After enduring the setbacks in Florida, RBC responded by going on an eight-game winning streak to start March. The Statesmen began the streak with a sweep over conference foe Patrick Henry (6-2, 10-0) on Mar. 8. Freshman Amanda Archer (Amelia, VA) hit two home runs including a grand slam in the victories.

Six Statesmen collected one hit to combine for a total of six hits to sweep CCBC Catonsville (13-4, 5-4) on Mar. 9, while freshman Kimberly Ellis (L.C. Bird), Archer, sophomore Taylor Slate (Emporia, VA) and freshman Erin Forbes (Camden, NC) tallied an RBI each.

RBC would sweep Southeastern CC of Whiteville (5-4, 9-3) on Mar. 13 in a Region X doubleheader followed by another sweep against the College of St. Joseph (15-2, 13-5) in a non-conference matchup on Mar. 19.

A setback against DI Pitt Community College in the opening contest would snap RBC's winning-streak and 8-0 home record but the Statesmen would seek revenge in the day's nightcap for a split with the Lady Bulldogs (6-3, 5-3) on Mar. 21. The victory would ignite a seven-game win streak for Richard Bland with all of the wins against Region X opponents including Wake Tech (7-0, 16-0) on Mar. 25, Florence-Darlington Tech (9-3, 9-1) on Mar. 28 and Southeastern CC of Whiteville (6-1, 4-1) on Mar. 29 with the last two games being on the road.

With great momentum heading into a four-game slate against conference foe Surry, the Statesmen would suffer a 5-4 setback in the day's first game but managed to reverse the loss with a win in the second game with a 5-4 victory. Forbes and freshman Whitney Clements (Prince George, VA) recorded doubles while freshman Hayley Olson (Richmond, VA) charted a triple to lead RBC offensively. RBC would split the second day of the four-game slate against Surry (6-1, 6-5) with the Statesmen dropping the night cap.

With a visit to Wake Tech, RBC would earned the series sweep after earning two victories (14-2, 19-6) on April 6.

The Statesmen would welcome the Lady Stingers of Florence-Darlington Tech on April 11 and earn a series sweep (6-5, 9-0) before hosting Region X DI Louisburg in a non-conference matchup that resulted in a split for RBC, dropping game one 6-5 but responding back with a 7-5 win in the nightcap.

In Baltimore, Md., the Statesmen faced CCBC Catonsville on April 18 and the College of Southern Maryland on April 19 in its final non-conference matchups on the season. RBC would sweep the Lady Cardinals (10-6, 4-0) and tallied 28 hits, 21 runs and 19 RBI in the (9-0, 12-4) sweep over the Hawks.

To wrap up the regular season, Richard Bland traveled to Patrick Henry and clinched the regular-season title for the second consecutive year after defeating the Lady Patriots (9-1, 8-6) on April 25. The Statesmen finished the regular season with overall record of 29-10 and 18-2 in Region X play.

Heading into the conference tournament as the number one seed, RBC advanced all the way to the championship game despite falling short against rival Surry (9-5) in the quarterfinals. The Statesmen would get another shot at the title after defeating the Southeastern CC of Whiteville (1-0) and Surry (7-1) in the semifinals before suffering a heartbreaking loss to the Lady Knights (3-1) in the championship game as the Statesmen finished runner-up.

Richard Bland had six players selected to the All-Region X Team including first-team All-Region X sophomore pitcher Tara Heatwole (Williamsburg, VA), first-team catcher Slate, first-team short stop Forbes, first-team outfielder's Olson and Archer while Clements received second-team All-Region X.

The Statesmen had four players named to the All-Tournament Team including Heatwole, Slate, Forbes and Ellis.

Slate led the team offensively with a batting average of .417, she finished the season with 58 hits, eight doubles, three triples, one home run, 36 RBI and 53 runs scored. Archer and Forbes followed with a batting average of .397 and .360, respectively.

Heatwole finished on the mound with 13-5 record, allowing 139 hits, 67 runs, 27 walks and 128 strikeouts over 140.1 innings pitched.

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

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