Cobras Clash with Indians in Home Finale

Cobras Clash with Indians in Home Finale

HARTSVILLE, S.C.- The Coker College softball team will play their final home games of 2018 against South Atlantic Conference opponent, the Catawba College Indians, on Tuesday (Apr. 17) afternoon. The Cobras have won six of their last seven games and outscored their opponents 42-18 with two five inning run-rules.

The Navy and Gold (30-14, 9-7 SAC) enter the contest led by 61 hits off the bat of first baseman Maria Williamson. She also leads the team with 10 homers, 48 RBI, 23 walks, and .711 slugging percentage. Anna Gluhosky is also having a solid year with 37 hits, 30 runs, three doubles, two triples, and a home run, alongside 18 RBI, 19 walks, two stolen bases on a .308/.406/.392 slashline.

On the mound, Christine Carver (14-6, 1.99 ERA) heads up the staff in 123.1 innings pitched, giving up 35 earned runs and 89 hits, while striking out 97 batters. Nikki Linthicum (7-2, 4.64) and Taylor Forehand (7-4, 2.87) have been impressive as of late, combining for 102 strikeouts, four saves, and only 71 earned runs.

As of April 12, the Coker pitching staff is second in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.00. Individually, Forehand leads the SAC with four saves, good for 12th nationally. Carver is first in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.03. Williamson tops the SAC in six different categories: hits (59, seventh nationally), batting average (.461), home runs (10), on base percentage (.532), RBI (47, 10th in the nation), and total bases (94). She also claims second with a slugging percentage of .734 and RBI per game (1.12).

The Indians (19-22, 7-9 SAC) have lost seven of their last eight games (all conference opponents) and have not won since April 3 at Newberry. The pitching staff has given up 257 hits, 159 runs (115 earned), walked 152, thrown 20 wild pitches, and hit 20 batters on their way to a 3.00 ERA in 268 innings. At the plate, Catawba has scored 171 runs on 302 hits, 149 RBI, 21 home runs, and 160 strikeouts.

Game one is set for a 2:00 p.m. start, with the gates of Saleeby-Stokes Softball Field opening at 1:00 p.m. Game two will begin at approximately 4:00 p.m.

Tickets for the games are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to all Coker faculty, staff and students. Live stats can be found at www.cokercobras.com.