SOPHOMORE GAME HIGHLIGHTS STATESMEN SOFTBALL WEEKEND

PETERSBURG, Va., (April 14, 2016) – A weekend of home and away Region X Conference games is on tap for the Richard Bland College softball team, highlighted by Sophomore Day on Friday, April 15 against Wake Tech Community College at 3:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Statesmen travel to Surry Community College for a doubleheader at Noon.

On Friday, the Statesmen will honor its sophomore class comprised of Amanda Archer, Mackenzie Babb, Hannah Barnes, Haley Boykin, Whitney Clements, Abby Eichelberger, Kimberly Ellis, Hayley Olson and Mikie Williams.

The Statesmen (13-15, 9-3) currently sit in second place in Region X Conference standings behind Florence-Darlington (19-8, 8-0). Wake Technical (3-9, 1-8) is in sixth place. Surry Community College is in third place (14-21, 7-4).

GAME DETAILS

Opponent: Wake Tech (3-9, 1-8) vs. Richard Bland (13-15, 9-3)

Date: Friday, April 15, at 3:00 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Richard Bland Softball Home Page 

Site: Petersburg, VA.

Opponent: Richard Bland (13-15, 9-3) vs. Surry C.C. (14-21, 7-4)

Date: Saturday, April 16, at Noon and 2:00 p.m.

Richard Bland Softball Home Page 

Site: Dobson, N.C.

LAST OUTING VS. WAKE TECH: The Statesmen had their best offensive effort of the season against the Eagles on Mar. 29, winning both games of a conference doubleheader in five-innings, 15-1, 18-9 … RBC banged out 39 hits in the two games … RBC had six doubles in the two games, two of them coming in the same inning from sophomore Mikie Williams

LAST OUTING VS. SURRY C.C.: Played on April 9 in Petersburg, the teams split a doubleheader, RBC winning the opener behind a strong pitching game by freshman Shannon Buffington, 8-4, platting seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to secure the victory … The Knights won the nightcap, 11-4.

WEEKLY STUDENT-ATHLETE: Sophomore Whitney Clements earned Student-Athlete of the Week honors following a solid offensive doubleheader against Surry … She went 4-for-7 in the two games, belting out two triples, with two runs scored and an RBI … On the season, Clements is second the team in scoring with a .364 average. She leads the team in on base percentage (.556), is tied in RBI with 16 and ranks second in hits with 32.

KEEN EYE: With 92 walks this season, RBC has earned a free pass the 30th most times in the nation in NJCAA Division II.

BY THE NUMBERS: Seven players on the team currently hit over .300, led by sophomore Hannah Barnes at .378 … Fellow sophomore Abby Eichelberger follows at .375 and Clements rounds out the top three at .364.

CATEGORY LEADERS: Barnes leads in hits with 37 and is tied with Buffington in doubles with six … Barnes has two of the teams eight triples and Archer has belted two of the teams three home runs … Barnes has a team-leading 98 at bats … Freshman Maddison Waycaster leads the team in RBI with 17.

ON THE HILL: Freshman Shannon Buffington has shouldered the pitching duties for most of the season, appearing in 23 of 28 games and starting in 16 of them … She owns 12 of RBC's 13 wins this season while logging 105.2 innings on the mound … She has struck out 36 batters and sports a 2.38 ERA … Ten of her 16 starts have been complete-game efforts.

BATS WARMING UP: When RBC scored 18 runs in the second game against Wake Tech, it represented the most runs in a single game since tallying 16 against Wake Tech last March 25 … In the two games, RBC tallied 33 runs, the most in back-to-back games in program history … The previous record was 30 runs in a doubleheader sweep over Rappahannock Community College on March 16, 2014.

WHAT'S NEXT: Following Friday and Saturday's games, the Statesmen head to Patrick Henry for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m.