Softball 2/9/2024 10:00:00 AM

Softball Heads to Sunny St. Augustine For Flagler’s Old Coast Classic

The Teams:
Converse (2-4)
Edward Waters (4-2)
Flagler (5-1)
Saint Leo (3-1)
Wingate (4-3)
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Converse Notes:

Converse enters the weekend after going 2-4 to open the season at the Valkyrie Classic. Both wins came against St. Thomas Aquinas, a 2023 NCAA team and defending 2023 ECC Champions.
Junior Riley Lingerfelt leads the team in wins with two. She made six appearances in the circle during opening weekend.
Sophomore Ayellad Howard leads the team in batting average (.600), runs (nine), walks (five), on-base percentage (.654) and stolen bases (three). Howard was named a NFCA Top Performer.
Freshman Kiarra Thomas started six games for the Valkyries over opening weekend and posted a .455 batting average, fourth highest on the team.

Edward Waters Notes:

Edward Waters enters the weekend 4-2 after winning two games against Trinity Baptist College on Tuesday.
The Tigers posted a 43-7 record last season and won the SIAC Championship. They are the preseason favorites to win the conference's east division.
Two Tigers were selected preseason All-SIAC: junior Kylah Gardner (first team) and senior Jodasea Peterson (second team).

Flagler Notes:

The hosts of the Old Coast Classic enter the weekend 5-1 after dropping just a single game to Florida Tech during their first invitational of the season. The Saints defeated Barry University twice by a combined score of 16-3 and Catawba once 3-2 during opening weekend. On Tuesday they defeated Chadron State 9-5, 8-0 to sweep the midweek doubleheader.
Flagler was selected to finish fifth in the Peach Belt preseason coaches poll.
Senior Cassidy Crump was the only Saint to earn all-conference honors last season with a team-high .357 batting average and posting the team lead in hits (50) and runs (24). This season she is hitting .316 with four runs and five RBIs.

Saint Leo Notes:

Saint Leo enters the weekend 3-1 after defeating West Georgia, Valdosta State and Auburn - Montgomery during their opening weekend tournament. Their games with defending-national-champion North Georgia and West Florida were canceled due to weather.
Head coach Erin Kinberger won her 300th game with the Lions during Sunday's sweep of Valdosta State and Auburn - Montgomery. She as the Lions ranked 18th in the NFCA National Poll.
Senior Madyson Coe was named Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week. She went 6-for-11 at the plate with two doubles, a triple and a home run. She also collected four RBIs, two walks and scored twice. Defensively, she caught 29 innings during opening weekend.

Wingate Notes:

The Bulldogs enter the weekend 4-3 after going 2-3 on opening weekend in Conroe, Texas and then taking both games of a road doubleheader against Mount Olive on Tuesday.
Wingate is ranked No. 17 in the NFCA Preseason Poll. The Bulldogs won the SAC regular season title last season and hosted a regional. They faced the eventual-national-champions North Georgia in the super regionals and fell in two games.
Converse and Wingate will not face one another at the Old Coast Classic.

Follow Converse
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Twitter: @ValkyriesSB
Instagram: @valkyriessoftball
Youtube.com/Converse Athletics

Players Mentioned