History making season for UNCP softball rolls on

By Brandon Barber
Staff Writer

UNCP softball, which has set a school record for wins in a season this year, got back on the winning track by sweeping a home twinbill against the Francis Marion Patriots on April 5, getting one win over the Georgia College and State Bobcats on April 8 and one victory over the USC Aiken Pacers on April 10.

The Lady Braves (30-17 overall, 7-11 Peach Belt Conference) lost 2-1 to the Bobcats before managing a 4-1 victory in the second outing.

UNCP then beat the Pacers 2-1 before dropping the second game by the same score.

The conference wins over the Patriots, the No. 15 team in the nation, snapped an 11-game futility spree that saw the Lady Braves go 2-9.

UNCP head coach Steve Johnson acknowledged that the team was on a slide and that the wins against Francis Marion were very important.

“These wins provide a tremendous amount of confidence and shows that we can play with anyone,” Johnson said.

Sophomore pitcher Nicole McCorkle, the first UNCP pitcher to be named to the PBC All-Conference team last season, dominated in the 1-0, game 1 victory.

McCorkle (15-9 with a 1.23 ERA) struck out 22 Patriots, a Peach Belt Conference record, walked none and allowed only one hit over nine innings on the way to her 15th win of the season.

McCorkle struck out the first six batters she faced and did not allow a hit until a two-out, ninth inning double by senior Betsy Bouknight.

Wendi Cochran drew a bases-loaded walk to score Kelly Jo Fields in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win.

Game 2 had a familiar outcome with a Braves’ win in their last at bat.

Junior Meredith Veglia drove in Cochran for the game-winning run in the seventh, as the Braves were victorious, 6-5. Cochran was a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate with two doubles and two RBI. Cochran’s 15 doubles of the year are a UNCP record.

McCorkle struck out five batters in the first three and 2/3 innings of the second game, giving her 27 strikeouts on the day and bringing her season total to 287, a number that has since climbed to 306.

Freshman Liz Hatcher picked up her sixth win of the season after coming in for McCorkle, giving up three hits while striking out four over three and 1/3 innings.

Sophomore Danielle Peters added another stolen base to her conference-record total - she has swiped 49 bases in 50 attempts.

Johnson thinks McCorkle, Peters and Veglia all stand a good chance of being named all-conference.

But Johnson is not as confident when it comes to the team’s chances of making the NCAA tournament. They are in ninth place in the PBC.

“Even if we win out, we would be a border line at-large team,” Johnson said. “The tournament will be hard to make due to the number of losses the young team has suffered. Everything we do builds momentum to go to that tournament.”

UNCP rounded out their season with a doubleheader at home against Armstrong Atlantic State on April 12.

The PBC tournament begins April 15 in Aiken, S.C.