NEWBERRY – After seeing their season-opening doubleheader cancelled, the Newberry Wolves will kickoff their 2016 season by hosting the Claflin Lady Panthers and Pfeiffer Falcons in the Newberry Classic.
The round robin event will be the first action for all three schools this season. Live stats for all six games will be available at www.NewberryStats.com.
SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6
11 a.m. - Claflin at Newberry
1 p.m. - Claflin vs. Pfeiffer
3 p.m. - Pfeiffer at Newberry
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7
11 a.m. - Pfeiffer at Newberry
1 p.m. - Pfeiffer vs. Claflin
3 p.m. - Claflin at Newberry
LOOKING AT THE WOLVES
Newberry got back on the winning track last year, going 31-22 and qualifying for the South Atlantic Conference Tournament for the first time in five years. The Wolves were the fourth seed in the SAC Tournament and finished third in that event.
Leading the pack of returnees is all-region and all-conference utility player Maude McCourry. McCourry is the first Newberry player named all-region since 2011 and the first Newberry player to earn multiple all-region honors in same season since 2010. In her first year at Newberry, she hit .336 at the plate with a team-best seven homeruns and 31 RBIs. She rotated between the pitching circle and the right side of the infield. As a pitcher, she went 11-4 with 10 complete games and a 3.00 ERA in 123.2 innings.
Catcher Jeri Loffler led the team in on-base percentage last year with a .488 on-base rate. The senior hit .314 and led the team in free bases with 29 walks and 12 hit by pitches.
Other key returners include outfielder Mallory Gerndt, shortstop Hailey Drawe, third baseman Allison Van Atta and first baseman Ann Dee Priest. The roster also includes eight newcomers who are expected to contribute immediately.
CLAFLIN
The Lady Panthers went 21-16 in 2015 and finished third in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) East Division and which earned them a bid to the SIAC postseason tournament.
Claflin is led by a pair of preseason all-SIAC picks in Chelsea Hall and Courtney Burns. Hall, a junior with great speed, led the NCAA Division II in two categories. She led the nation in runs per game at 1.62 per outing and stolen bases per game at 1.49 per game. Hall was near-perfect in the stolen base department, swiping 55 bases in 57 attempts. As a team, the Lady Panthers were caught stealing only eight times in 154 chances. Hall was equally effective at the plate, with a .386 batting average along with team-highs in doubles (11) and home runs (12). The junior scored 60 runs and drove home 40 more.
Burns led the team in batting with a sizzling .486 average with 54 total hits. She smacked in 10 homeruns and recorded 39 RBIs. The senior was equally impressive on the base paths as Hall, stealing 30-of-31. She also finished second in the nation in runs per game.
In the circle, Nyesha Arnold had a 15-8 record. She fanned 70 batters in 118 innings of work. She also contributed offensively for the Lady Panthers with four homeruns and 26 RBIs, while batting .296 in 35 games.
PFEIFFER
After finishing the 2015 season in fourth place with an overall record of 27-23 and 11-9 in Conference Carolinas, the Pfeiffer Falcons were voted to finish in the same position of fourth place in the 2016 preseason poll. Under first year head coach Monte Sherrill, the Falcons received 63 points with one first place vote.
Pfeiffer returns five players who garnered post season awards: Sam Jarmusch, Jessica Jackson and Jaclyn Boever all received All-Conference honors as well as Sydney Poole and Rachel Crowder who received All-Tournament team nods.
