Takia Nichols: The North Carolina Central softball team has won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship for the first time ever. Last weekend in Norfolk, VA, the Eagles defeated Coppin State 6-2 in the seventh game of the MEAC Tournament at Norfolk State University. Nichols set the tone early with a solo homer in the second inning and the Eagles never conceded the lead. Nichols finished game seven 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and a stolen base. It was Nichols’ eighth home run of the season. Earlier in the day, Coppin State won an elimination game over the Eagles 6-5. Nichols went 1-for-3. For the tournament, Nichols hit 6-of-14 as the Eagles defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore 2-1 on Wednesday. Later in the day, the Eagles knocked off the #2 seed, Norfolk State, 7-4. Nichols went 1-for-3 against the Spartans. In addition, Nichols was named first-team All-MEAC for her freshman season. She is second on the team with a .346 batting average. She is first on the team with eight home runs. She is second on the squad with 31 RBIs, behind only Maegan Garrison, who has 32. On Sunday night, the Eagles were placed in the Athens Regional for the NCAA Softball Tournament. The Eagles will face the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday afternoon at 4:30. Virginia Tech and Boston University are also in the Athens Regional.
Tori Dalehite: For the second time in her career, Tori Dalehite will be going to the NCAA Softball Tournament as a member of the UNC Greensboro Spartans. UNCG captured the Southern Conference championship last weekend at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, TN. The Spartans defeated Samford 7-6 in the seventh game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the Bulldogs forced the extra game with a 2-1 win in nine innings. The Spartans were placed in the Clemson Regional. They will face #16 Clemson on Friday.
Mary Moss Wirt: The Elon softball team has its season end in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on Wednesday. Stony Brook edged the Phoenix 2-1 in eight innings at Bill Edwards Stadium in Hampstead, NY. Earlier on Wednesday, Towson defeated Elon 7-5. Wirt ends the season seeing action in 26 games. She started six.
Lauren Jackson: The Lenoir-Rhyne softball team reached the finals of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regionals at Wingate. The Bears lost to #17 Wingate in consecutive games, ending the Bears season. Lenoir-Rhyne opened the tournament with a 6-4 win over Carson-Newman on Thursday at the Wingate Softball Complex. Jackson, a freshman starting at catcher, went 1-for-1 with a sacrifice fly for an RBI in the third inning to put the Bears ahead 4-0. On Friday, the Bears defeated Wingate 2-1 in eight innings. Jackson went 0-for-2. The following day, Wingate defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 6-2. Jackson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. She drove in the opening run in the game with an RBI double. She also drove in the final run of the game with a single up the middle. In the seventh game, Wingate won 4-1. Jackson went 0-for-3. Lenoir-Rhyne finishes the year 38-14. Jackson played 44 games, starting 37. She was fifth on the team with a .343 batting average. She had two home runs and 25 RBIs.
Olivia Aitkin: The season ended for the Division III Amherst University softball team on Friday. Bates College defeated the Mammoths 1-0 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference Tournament. Aitkin, who played alongside Nichols and Dalehite at Cedar Ridge, played in ten games her freshman season for the Mammoths. She started six. Aitkin, whose brother Nichols played on the Cedar Ridge baseball team this year, hit .385 with three RBIs. Amherst finished the year 24-13.
Kate Burgess: The UNC rowing team finished eighth in the ACC Championships at Lake Wheeler in Raleigh. Burgess, who is a senior, competed for the Tar Heels. Burgess was a basketball player and ran cross country at Orange.