STATESMEN SOFTBALL HOSTS PATRICK HENRY AT HOME ON SATURDAY

PETERSBURG, Va., (Mar. 24, 2016) – The Richard Bland College softball team will dip back into Region X Conference play on Saturday, hosting Patrick Henry Community College in doubleheader action at Statesman Field starting at 1:00 p.m.

The Statesmen (8-14, 4-2) are coming off a doubleheader split with NJCAA Division III powerhouse Herkimer C.C. last Saturday, taking the second game of the twinbill 8-6 following a strong pitching outing from freshman Tabby Dabney and a big home run from sophomore Amanda Archer.

GAME DETAILS

Opponent: Patrick Henry C.C. (3-8, 3-2) vs. Richard Bland (8-14, 4-2)

Date: Saturday, Mar. 26 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Richard Bland Softball Home Page 

Site: Petersburg, Va.

ABOUT PATRICK HENRY: The Patriots will face Lakeland at home on Friday afternoon prior to playing Richard Bland … Sophomore utility player Haley Williams leads PHCC in batting with a .583 average (14-for-24) … Freshman Abby Williams follows at .480 and fellow freshman Kayla Haley rounds out the top three at .478 … Haley has won all of PHCC games this season.

LAST OUTING VS. PATRICK HENRY:  The teams played each other four times last year, with Richard Bland winning all four games, two coming in five innings (10-0 on Mar. 8 and 9-1 on April 25).

MAKING AN IMPACT: Dabney, who has missed 10 games this season due to illness, has been effective since returning to the lineup … She is hitting .500 (12-for-30) and has knocked in six RBI. 

GETTING ON BASE: Sophomore Abby Eichelberger has a .389 batting average (14-for-36) and is second on the team in on base percentage (.421). 

CATEGORY LEADER: Sophomore Hannah Barnes currently leads the Statesmen in hits (27), doubles (5), triples (2), stolen bases (7)  and slugging percentage (.480) … Barnes is hitting .360 on the year, third best on the team. 

RBI LEADERS: Sophomore Whitney Clements and freshman Maddison Waycaster are tied for the team lead in RBI with 11.

KEEN EYE: Clements has been careful at the plate this season, evidenced by her team-best 13 walks.

ROUND TRIPPER: Freshman Katelyn King launched the season's first home run against Potomac State of West Virginia and Archer clubbed RBC's second round tripper against Herkimer in her first at bat in the second inning of game two.

FOUR TRIPS TO THIRD: The Statesmen have had four triples in their last five games, turned in by Barnes, sophomore Kimberly Ellis and freshman August Ringer. 

ON THE HILL: Freshman Shannon Buffington has shouldered the pitching duties for most of the season, appearing in 18 of 22  games and starting in 13 of them … She owns seven of RBC's eight wins this season while logging 84.2 innings on the mound … She has struck out 30 batters and sports a 3.20 ERA … Eight of her 13 starts have been complete-game efforts.

BATS WARMING UP: In the doubleheader against Herkimer, the Statesmen had 19 total hits, banging out ten in the nightcap … On the season, RBC has three double digit hit games and have had eight or more in five games.

RUN PRODUCING: The eight runs scored against Herkimer represent the second most this season, following 11 tallied against Southeastern Community College-Whiteville on Feb. 21, a game in which the team banged out a season-best15 hits. 

WHAT'S NEXT: Following Saturday's game, the Statesmen will travel to Wake Tech for doubleheader action on Tuesday Mar. 29 at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. … Patrick Henry will next host Richard Bland on April 1 in doubleheader action at 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.