Richard Bland No. 3 Seed For 2017 Region 10 Softball Championship
SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College will play as the No. 3 seed in the 2017 NJCAA Region 10 Softball Championship scheduled for May 5-6 at Springwood Park in Burlington, North Carolina. The Statesmen finished their regular season with an overall record of 22-19, including 16-8 in Region 10, and will open the tournament against No. 6 seed Patrick Henry Community College (5-22, 5-18) on Friday, May 5 at 10 a.m. The seven-team, double-elimination tourney will continue throughout Friday and Saturday (May 6) in North Carolina. Please visit rbcathletics.com for evolving game pairings and times each day.
Scouting the Statesmen
Richard Bland is 22-19 overall after sweeping a region doubleheader past visiting Wake Technical (N.C.) Community College on April 28 (19-2, 17-0). The Statesmen are coached by head coach Katy Lampman, who is in her first season, while assisted by first-year assistant coaches Cassidy Clayton, Pete Berrios and Danielle Beverly.
At the Plate
Through 41 games, Richard Bland has been led offensively by sophomore Tabby Dabney/Mechanicsville, who is hitting .447 with nine home runs, one triple, 16 doubles, 45 runs, 50 RBIs and five stolen bases. Dabney is followed by freshmen Taylor Daniel/Alberta (.426, 1 3B, 7 2Bs, 41 Rs, 20 RBIs, 5 SBs), Brooklynn Bilyard/Culpeper (.411, 5 HRs, 1 3B, 12 2Bs, 33 Rs, 40 RBIs, 9 SBs), Kay'Lee Justice/Suffolk (.408, 7 HRs, 3 3Bs, 14 2Bs, 40 Rs, 43 RBIs, 2 SBs), Ashley Fritz/North Chesterfield (.395, 4 3Bs, 10 2Bs, 24 Rs, 28 RBIs, 3 SBs) and Kara Morris/Kents Store (.391, 1 3B, 4 2Bs, 29 Rs, 11 RBIs, 5 SBs), along with sophomores Katelyn King/Chesterfield (.379, 2 HRs, 1 3B, 8 2Bs, 35 Rs, 26 RBIs, 3 SBs), August Ringer/Yale (.323, 2 3Bs, 1 2B, 30 Rs, 9 RBIs, 6 SBs) and Morgan Whitley/Franklin (.311, 6 2Bs, 22 Rs, 12 RBIs, 5 SBs). The squad is hitting an impressive .372 with 27 home runs, 14 triples, 95 doubles and 281 RBIs, while scoring 8.4 runs per game. The totals for season hits (452), home runs, doubles and RBIs are new program records.
In the Circle
The Statesmen pitching staff has been led by Brooklynn Bilyard, along with sophomore Shannon Buffington/Virginia Beach and Tabby Dabney. Bilyard is 7-2 with a 3.22 earned run average and 73 strikeouts over 67.1 innings with six complete games and four shutouts in 19 appearances, including 11 starts and two saves. Buffington is 7-9 with a 4.31 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 87.2 innings with seven complete games in 22 appearances, including 17 starts. Dabney is 5-6 with a 4.44 ERA and 44 strikeouts over 71.0 innings with five complete games in 18 appearances, including 13 starts. The team ERA is 4.02 with 162 strikeouts over 242.1 innings.
Region 10 Softball Championship Bracket (PDF)
Pitt (N.C.) Community College (21-11, 18-6) is the No. 1 seed for the region tournament, earning a first-round bye, and will play a second-round contest against either No. 4 seed Southeastern-Whiteville (N.C.) Community College (30-11-1, 15-9) or No. 5 seed Surry (N.C.) Community College (21-23, 12-12) who meet in another first-round game. Florence-Darlington (S.C.) Technical College (26-10, 16-7) is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 seed Wake Technical (3-25, 1-23) in another first-round contest.
The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 at 2 p.m., and if necessary in the double-elimination tournament, a second title contest would follow one hour after the conclusion of the 2 p.m. game.
The Region 10 Championship winner will advance to the 2017 NJCAA Division II Softball Championship May 17-20 at Traceway Park in Clinton, Mississippi.