MURFREESBORO, N.C. - The Chowan University Softball team open up the 2017 CIAA Championships on Thursday, May 4 against Winston-Salem State in a rematch of the 2016 CIAA Championship Finals.  First pitch is at 12pm.
WHEN        Thursday, May 4 | 12:00pm
WHERE      Petersburg, Va. (Petersburg Sports Complex)
FOLLOW    GAME DAY CENTRAL
 
HAWKS PROFILE
Chowan comes into the contest as the top seed in the Northern Divison sporting a 32-18 overall record and a 14-2 CIAA record.  The Hawks were named Co-Division Champs of the Northern Division with Bowie State after posting a 9-1 divisional record.
Senior pitcher, Kayla Robins leads the Hawks into the Championships with a stellar 0.99 ERA along with her Division II leading 306 strikeouts.
Brittany Parson and Katrina Simmons will look to jump start the offense with a .351 and .345 batting averages respectively to lead the team. 
ABOUT THE RAMS
Winston-Salem State came into the season as the CIAA's defending champion as well as selected to be in Southern Division's top team in the preseason.  WSSU finished the season with a 14-29 overall record and a 10-6 record in CIAA play.
The Rams have some offensive power with two players with 10+ home runs.  Destiny Snipes leads the team with a .363 batting average, 13 home runs and 32 RBI.  Mercedes Hargett posted 12 home runs and 29 RBI to go with her .315 batting average.
Hargett is also their leading pitcher with a 10-19 record pitching 200.2 innings of work.
REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
The Hawks and the Rams met one time this season at the CIAA Round-Up in Charlotte to open CIAA play.  Chowan took the contest 4-3 thanks to a Shelby Griffis pinch hit triple to bring in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
SERIES HISTORY
The Rams hold the series advantage 9-7 overall and 6-3 in CIAA Tournament play.
Chowan and WSSU met in the 2016 CIAA Championships Final with the Rams taking the contest 5-4.