ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College Softball team rallied to earn a split with Salem College on Senior Day Saturday during the last day of the regular season.

With the split, the 5th seeded Lady Bishops clinched a spot in the East Division play-in game to be played on Tuesday afternoon at 4th seed Methodist at 12:30 PM.

GAME 1: SALEM 4, NCWC 2

Sophomore catcher MK Raynor got the Bishops out to a 2-0 lead with ther 2-out 2-run double in the 2nd inning that scored freshman 2B Alexis Whitfield and pinch-runner Juliette Desmarias who had come in for Abby Todd, who had singled.

Freshman starter Emily Humphrey then threw 5 plus innings allowing just one run on 2 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts before freshman reliever Laila Holloway came on in the 6th and got out of the jam leading 2-1. However, the Lady Spirits would then get to Holloway in the 7th inning scoring 3 runs off her on 4 hits and 2 walks. Holloway struck out two, but got the loss dropping to 4-6 on the year.

GAME 2: NCWC 13, SALEM 2 (5 INNINGS)

In the second game of the day, Salem got out to a quick 2-0 lead off Bishop freshman starter Emily Osteguin. However, she would then settle down to shut down the Spirits over the final four frames while watching her offense come to life as Wesleyan lit up Salem pitching for 13 runs on 12 hits to grab the win and the split. Osteguin finished throwing all 5 innings allowing just the two runs on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out four to get the win and improve to 1-3 on the year.

Wesleyan got their first run in the 2nd inning on freshman 3B Molly Alejandrino's RBI double before the Bishops put together a 7-run 3rd inning to go up 8-2 after three. In the third inning, Wesleyan was led by RBI doubles from senior SS Meredith Mize, Abby Todd, and Alejandrino while they received RBI singles from senior DH Brianna Myers and senior RF Chelsea Nixon along with a two-run single from Mize.

In the 4th inning, the Ladies then scored 5 more runs to clinch the game on consecutive RBI walks from Whitfield and outfielders Skyler Walker and Logan Winstead. Raynor then finished off the scoring with a two-run single.

Five Bishops finished with two-hit games including Todd and Alejandrino who doubled twice each. Mize, Raynor, and Myers also recorded two-hit games in the win as seven different Bishops recorded a hit in the game. 

Wesleyan finishes the regular season 9-9 in the conference and in 5th place in the standings while standing at 19-17 overall.

After the completion of the regular season today, the seeding for the 2022 USA South Softball Tournament has been determined. The tournament consists of the top-five teams in each division in the Conference and is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 25th with two in-divisional play-in games between the fourth and fifth seeded teams, hosted by the fourth seed from each division. The winners of those single games will advance to two four-team double-elimination tournaments, which will begin on Thursday, April 28th, hosted by the two top divisional seeds.

The winners of the four-team tournaments will advance to a best-of-three championship series to take place the following weekend. The championship series will be hosted by the highest-remaining divisional seed. If the highest-remaining divisional seeds are the same seed, the series will be hosted by the representative from the East Division based on a predetermined rotation.

Please visit the Tournament Website for up-to-date information, including the Tournament Bracket.

The 2022 Softball Tournament seeding is as follows: