MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Softball team starts their quest for their third straight CIAA Softball Championship as the top seed in the Northern Division on Monday, April 29 in Salem, Va. at Moyer Park.
WHEN Monday, April 29 | 2:30pm
WHERE Salem, Va. (Moyer Park)
FOLLOW GAME DAY CENTRAL (Stats/Video)
HAWKS HITTERS
Chowan finished the regular season with a 19-20 overall record and a 15-2 mark in the CIAA. The Hawks finished with a 10-0 record in the Northern Division. CU has won 11 straight entering the Championship.
Beth Walker leads the Hawks with a .452 batting average, 47 hits and 18 doubles. Brittany Parson is hitting .379 with four home runs and a team-leading 36 RBI. Haley Cooper is hitting .367 with 47 hits and eight doubles. Miranda Glover paces the team with seven home runs.
EmaRae Flores is 10-10 in the circle this season with a 4.67 ERA. Shannon Buchanan is 8-6 with a 5.08 ERA. Flores and Buchanan are both 7-1 in the circle in league action with Buchanan edging out Flores with a 2.05 ERA and 2.31 ERA respectively.
AGAINST THE FIELD
Fayetteville State will be the opening opponent for the Hawks. Chowan and Fayetteville State met in the 2018 CIAA Championship game with the Hawks taking the contest 8-0. The Hawks took the season meeting 9-6 at the CIAA Round Up on March 16.
The Broncos finished the season with a 9-23 record and 9-9 in CIAA play to grab the fourth seed in the Southern Division. Nikki Brown leads the team with a .426 batting average. Madison Mendoza is hitting .417 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI.
Claflin enters as the Southern Division Champion finishing with a 32-17 overall record and 18-0 in CIAA play. Kayla Cato leads the Panthers with a .406 batting average with 11 home runs and 58 RBI. The Panthers took the season meeting 17-8 at the round up. Chowan committed four errors in the contest.
Virginia State picked up the second seed in the Northern Division with a 17-20 overall record and 11-6 in CIAA play. The Hawks swept the Trojans in divisional play. Winston-Salem State earned the second seed in the Southern Division with 28-10 overall record and 16-2 mark in CIAA play. The Rams are ranked 10th in the Atlantic Regional polls. WSSU defeated the Hawks 6-3 at the round up.
Johnson C. Smith and Elizabeth City State earned the third seeds in the Southern and Northern Divisions respectively. JCSU finished with a 12-12 overall record and a 12-6 record in CIAA action. The Golden Bulls are making an appearance at the Championship after falling to reach last season. ECSU finished with a 12-16 record and tied Virginia State with a 6-4 divisional record but was 9-8 in CIAA play. The Vikings are making their first appearance in the Championship since 2007.
Rounding out the eight team field is Virginia Union. The Panthers grabbed the fourth seed in the Northern Division. VUU finished with an 8-19 overall record and 8-9 mark in CIAA play. The Panthers earned the tiebreaker over Bowie State who finished with the same 4-6 mark in Northern Division action. BSU finished with a 7-10 clip in CIAA play.
FINAL OUTLOOK
Chowan will have a tough road to their third straight CIAA Championship and fifth overall. The Hawks are 19-2 overall against Fayetteville State after picking up two wins against the Broncos last season at the CIAA Softball Championship.
Claflin picked up the lone win in the series against Chowan this season. The Hawks will look for revenge against the Panthers but the Hawks would have to defeat Fayetteville State and Winston-Salem State. The Rams have been a tough opponent for the Hawks over the years as both teams are 10-10 in the series. Chowan knocked the Rams out of the postseason the past two seasons after WSSU defeated the Hawks in 2016 in back-to-back games for the CIAA Championship.
The Hawks will not overlook the other four teams in the championship despite success since entering the CIAA compiling a 93-7 record against Johnson C. Smith (17-0), Elizabeth City State (25-0), Virginia State (31-6), and Virginia Union (20-1).
THE BRACKET
Chowan opens up play on Monday afternoon against Fayetteville State at 2:30pm on Field 1. If the Hawks win they will face the winner between Winston-Salem State/Elizabeth City State at 7:30pm on Field 1. If the Hawks fall to FSU they will face the loser between WSSU/ECSU at 7:30pm on Field 3.
The CIAA Championship is double-elimination. Find the full bracket here.
