Takia Nichols: On March 8, the North Carolina Central softball team defeated N.C. State 10-3 at Dail Stadium in Raleigh in the second game of a doubleheader. Nichols launched a two-run homer to right field in the first inning. In the third inning, Nichols lined a double up the middle to score two runs. Nichols went 2-for-3 with four RBIs. In the opening game, N.C. State defeated the Eagles 19-9. Nichols, a freshman, started at 1st base and went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored. Over the weekend, Gardner-Webb swept a three-game series from Central in Boiling Springs. In the opening game of the series on Friday, Nichols went 1-for-4 with an RBI. On Sunday, Nichols went 1-for-2 with an RBI double. In 17 games, Nichols has started 15. She is hitting .244 with three home runs and eleven RBIs. Central won its first game of the season on March 3 with an 5-4 win in nine innings over Furman in the Campbell Stampede in Buies Creek. Nichols hit a three-run homer in the first inning. She drove in the walkoff run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
Mary Moss Wirt: Over the weekend, the Elon softball team swept Stony Brook in a three-game series at Hunt Softball Park in Elon. Wirt played on Friday and Sunday as a pinch-runner. On March 4-6, Wirt actually competed against a former Cedar Ridge player in Tori Dalehite when Elon faced UNC Greensboro. swept the three-game series. On March 4, Wirt started as catcher and went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Elon is 9-14 overall, 3-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Tori Dalehite: Over the weekend, the UNC Greensboro softball team competed in the Clemson Classic in South Carolina. The Spartans defeated Jacksonville 3-0 on Friday. Clemson, ranked #4 in the country, shutout the Spartans 3-0, also on Friday. Bryant University edged UNCG 7-6. Dalehite played as a pinch-runner. UNCG is 14-11 and will host Notre Dame on Wednesday.
Lauren Jackson: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne softball team is 20-3 after sweeping a doubleheader from #24 Anderson in Anderson, S.C. on Saturday. In the opening game, the Bears defeated the Trojans 5-3. Jackson, who started at catcher, roped a two-run homer in the first inning. She finished 1-for-4. In the nightcap, Lenoir-Rhyne won 6-0. Jackson had a two-run single up the middle in the first inning as the Bears scored all six of its runs in the opening three innings. On March 8, the Bears swept a doubleheader from Francis Marion at Bears Field in Hickory. In the opening 10-2 victory in six innings, Jackson went 0-for-1 with two walks. The Bears are 4-2 in the South Atlantic Conference and will face Wingate in a doubleheader on Tuesday in Hickory.
Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team is 18-4 overall, 5-1 in Region X. On Saturday, the Red Hawks swept a doubleheader from Richard Bland College at Highland Community College in Hickory. CVCC took the opener 7-0. Andrews, starting at catcher, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Andrews had a two-run single in the fifth inning. The Red Hawks won the nightcap 12-2. Andrews went 1-for-2 with three RBIs. She had a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Andrews knocked in a run off an error in the third. On Friday, CVCC split a doubleheader against Bryant & Stratton College in Hickory. In the opener, the Statesmen won 2-0. In the second, the Red Hawks won 8-4. Andrews went 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the sixth. In 22 games this season, Andrews is hitting .424 with 15 RBIs and 12 runs scored.
Aaliyah Harris: The Division III Randolph Macon women’s basketball team ended its season with a loss to Shenandoah in the quarterfinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament on February 23. The Hornets defeated the Yellow Jackets 66-57. In her freshman season, Harris played five games. She averaged 1.8 points per game. She had three points against Lynchburg College on January 11.