GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford softball team begins its 2021 season this with a pair of weekend doubleheaders against Southern Virginia (Friday) and Virginia Wesleyan (Sunday).
The Quakers open the 2021 season with a trip to Buena Vista, Va., to clash with Southern Virginia on Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Two days later, on Sunday, March 21st, Guilford returns home to square off against Virginia Wesleyan in a doubleheader that begins at 2 p.m. This weekend marks the return to the diamond for the Quakers for the first time since splitting a doubleheader with N.C. Wesleyan on March 11, 2020.
Casey Bunting returns to head coach Dennis Shores' lineup after leading the team in batting average (.412), on-base percentage (.545) and slugging percentage (.912) a season ago. She led the unit in home runs (five), had the second-most hits (14) and came through with two doubles in 12 games for the Quakers, resulting in a team-best 24 runs.
Another key returnee in the lineup for Guilford is Kylie Richardson, who finished third in batting average (.306) after going 11-for-36 from the plate with three triples and 11 RBI, second-most on the team.
Guilford will have the luxury of sending Katie McNeill to the mound in 2021 as well. McNeill finished 5-3 with a 4.41 ERA in 2020, earning one save and tossing three complete games along the way. In her nine appearances, six of which were as the starting pitcher, McNeill logged 39.2 innings, allowed 27 runs, issued 14 walks and converted 41 strikeouts, all of which were team highs.
Abigayle Rowell will also return to the Quaker pitching staff after finishing 1-2 in six appearances in 2020. Rowell tossed 20.1 innings, scattered 26 hits, allowed 20 runs (15 earned runs) and recorded nine K's.
Southern Virginia (3-1) has won three of four games in 2021, sweeping Shenandoah by scores of 8-7 and 1-0 in its season opener on March 6th. That was followed by a doubleheader split with Eastern Mennonite, where the Knights lost 3-0 in the first game but came back to post a 5-1 win in the second contest.
Sydney Dolan leads the way for Southern Virginia with a .444 batting average after going 4-of-9 from the plate with three runs and two RBI. Krystal Kemp (2-0) has won both games she has started in 2021, limiting opponents to six hits and one run in 14 innings of work.
Virginia Wesleyan, which reached the NCAA Regionals in 2019, finished 11-1 in 2020 and enters the weekend with a 13-2-1 record in 2021. The Marlins split a doubleheader with Christopher Newport on Wednesday, March 17th, winning the dropping the first game by 10-1 decision before posting a 3-1 win in the second game.
The Marlins have a combined .326 batting average with seven sluggers hitting better than .300 on the season. Jessica Goldyn leads the team in hits (25), RBI (18), doubles (6) and triples (5). On the mound, Virginia Wesleyan has a 2.27 team ERA and is led by the combination of Hanna Hull (7-1) and Emily Seale (6-1). Hull has logged 49.2 innings, allowed 17 hits and converted a team-best 60 strikeouts. Seale has pitched 43.1 innings, surrendered 38 hits, allowed 10 earned runs and made 17 strikeouts.
For more information on Guilford softball check out www.guilfordquakers.com.
