The Piedmont College softball team is peaking at the right time. The Lady Lions, outscoring opponents 27-7 over the last four ball games, have now won eight in a row.
The most recent victims to Piedmont’s streak was Averett University. The USA South foes were unable to bring Piedmont’s streak to a halt, as the Lady Lions won 3-0 and 11-3 in Sunday’s double-header in Demorest. The women are 14-5 in the month of March, and that includes a stretch in which they lost three in a row and four of five early in the month.
Overall, Piedmont now stands 17-8 overall and a remarkable 7-1 in conference play. The offense has been consistent for much of the season, striking for double-digit run totals four times, and 14 times scoring over five runs.
The home field has been especially kind to the Lady Lions, who are 11-1 there, and are 3-1 in true away games. Neutral site visits have resulted in a 3-6 mark.
Senior Abby Smith continues to have a spectacular season, batting .446 with two homers and 13 RBI. Smith has a team-high 33 hits, 26 runs and is a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen base attempts. Freshman Hannah Hoban is also having a fantastic spring, batting .356 with a team-best four homeruns, adding 18 RBI. Piedmont is having an historic year on offense, blasting 11 homers as a team and hitting .321.
The 11 round-trippers to date is the most as a team since the 2010 season in which the Lady Lions walloped a team-record 21. The only other season in the NCAA-era for Piedmont in which it hit more than the 11 so far this year is 2005 when the women hit 15 homeruns.
Smith is third in the NCAA-era on the career homer list for the Lady Lions, currently with 10. Former Lady Lion Emily Cheek’s 16 still stands as the record, with Michelle Crandall’s 13 close behind.
Junior Sarah Walker (11-4, 2.70) and freshman Melissa Eckman (6-3, 2.35) have formed a solid 1-2 punch in the circle this season for Piedmont, striking out 89 batters between the two, while walking only 33.
Piedmont’s 17 wins matches last season’s total, as the Lady Lions still have 14 regular season games remaining on the schedule. The next three play dates on the schedule (all double-headers) are on the road. The final four dates (eight games) will be back at home before the mid-April USA South Conference Tournament in North Carolina.
