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2014 Lady Pirates Classic |
The Lady Pirates (5-7) will face Central Connecticut State on Friday at 2:30 p.m., before taking on St. Bonaventure on Saturday at 3 p.m. Hampton will play twice on Sunday, taking on Drexel at 11 a.m. and Iona at 1 p.m.
Hampton took two of its three games in the Hampton Invitational this past weekend, defeating Saint Joseph's 8-0 on Saturday and beating Columbia 7-2 on Sunday, before falling 4-1 to Hartford in six innings later that evening.
Sophomore Taylor McCoy (Riverview, Fla.) went a combined 6-for-10 at the plate this past weekend, driving in six runs and scoring once on her second home run of the season against Columbia. Redshirt-junior Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.) went a combined 5-for-8 with four runs scored and three RBIs this past weekend.
Sophomore Jecholia Pratt (Orlando, Fla.) picked up her first win of the season on the mound on Sunday against Columbia, going the full seven innings and striking out four. Junior Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) struck out a combined eight hitters in her two games of work.
The Lady Pirates are in their first season under interim head coach Michael Pelegrino, who was an assistant coach last season as Hampton won 34 games, taking the MEAC Northern Division regular-season title and winning its first MEAC Tournament crown since 1996.
Jackson was a large part of last season's success, earning MEAC Pitcher of the Year honors after winning 26 games for the Lady Pirates and striking out a MEAC-best (and school-record) 255 batters in 252.0 innings pitched.
She was also an NFCA Second Team All-Region selection and a Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Second Team All-State honoree. Jackson led the MEAC in wins, ERA (2.64), and strikeouts last season, while setting school records in innings pitched, appearances, and starts.
Jackson also threw 25 complete games last season.
The Lady Pirates return seven letterwinners and five starters (as well as two pitchers) from last season's squad, including Wilkins, who was named First Team All-MEAC last season after hitting .343 with six home runs and 32 RBIs.
She tied for second in the MEAC with 49 runs scored last season, and Wilkins was also third in the conference in hits, fifth in total bases, seventh in doubles, and tied for eighth in the home runs.
McCoy was the Most Outstanding Player of last season's MEAC Tournament, and she earned VaSID Second Team All-State honors after hitting a team-best .398. She also led the Lady Pirates in hits, doubles, TBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and fielding percentage.
McCoy was second in the MEAC in hits, doubles, and total bases last season, while ranking third in the conference in batting average and tying for fourth in RBIs. She was also fifth in the MEAC in on-base percentage.
Junior Kerissa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.) was a Second Team All-MEAC selection last season, after hitting .285 for the season, recording a .350 on-base percentage, and going 3-for-4 in stolen bases. She also had a .925 fielding percentage, committing just 11 errors on the season.
Sophomore Diamond Ponds (Riverside, Calif.) was tied for fifth in the MEAC last season with 22 stolen bases.
The Lady Pirates are 5-4 all-time against Central Connecticut State, as the two teams have met annually in this tournament for the past four years. Hampton is 1-5 all-time against St. Bonaventure, and the two teams last met in 2000, when the Lady Pirates won 5-2.
Hampton has never faced Drexel or Iona.
For more information on Hampton University softball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
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