CofC Faces Another Tough Field at Wilson/DeMarini Classic
3/2/2017 12:22:00 PM | Softball
Charleston, S.C. – After playing four games against a pair of NCAA Tournament teams last weekend in Columbia, the College of Charleston softball team returns to the road to face another tough field at the Wilson/DeMarini Classic hosted by Auburn.
The Cougars (7-5) will play four games in three days, including two against No. 2 Auburn and one each against Texas State and Liberty. The Sunday game against Auburn will be shown on the SEC Network +.
Friday
College of Charleston vs. Texas State, 1:30 | LIVE STATS
Saturday
College of Charleston vs. Liberty, 11:30 a.m. | LIVE STATS
College of Charleston vs. Auburn, 4:30 | LIVE STATS
Sunday
College of Charleston vs. Auburn, 2:00 | LIVE STATS | WATCH
CofC held leads in all four games at the Gamecock Invitational but managed to gain only a split against North Dakota State while dropping a pair to South Carolina. The Cougars will try to get back on track this week, but it won't be easy against three teams that are a combined 33-10 this season.
Despite being held in check by Bison and Gamecock pitching, the Cougars still have three of the top six hitters in the Colonial Athletic Association, including freshmen Taylor Belfiore (fourth, .436) and Yari Felix (fifth, .433) and junior Jordin Jones (sixth, .425). Pitchers Brittany Violette (1.08) and Izzy Berouty (1.18) rank third and fourth, respectively, in the CAA in ERA.
Auburn is coming off an historic season which saw the Tigers win their second straight SEC Tournament title and advance all the way to the championship round of the College World Series before losing to Oklahoma. The Tigers are 14-2, including a win in a rematch with the Sooners in their opener, and have won 128 games since the start of the 2015 season
Auburn, which had a 13-game winning streak snapped with a 1-0 loss to James Madison last Sunday, is led by a pitching staff that includes Makayla Martin (6-2, 0.56 ERA) and Kaylee Carlson (8-0, 0.63).
Texas State improved to 10-3 with a 2-1 win over Texas on Wednesday a year after winning 40 games and earning a trip to the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional. The Bobcats have a strong pitching staff led by Randi Rupp, who picked up the win over the Longhorns. Rupp is 7-1 with an 0.99 ERA and was invited to the USA Softball National Team Camp last summer. She was third in the nation last year with 335 strikeouts.
Liberty is off to a 9-5 start with two of its losses against UCLA and Florida, both of which are in the Top 5 in the nation. The Flames won 31 games a year ago, their first 30-win season since 2011, and were picked to finish second in the Big South. Liberty is led by Amber Bishop (.413, 2 HR, 16 RBI), sister Autumn (.386, 11 RBI) and pitcher Julie DiMartino (2-1, 1.02 ERA), who had 17 wins and 187 strikeouts last year.
