Peach Tree Times

Covenant College Athletics recently issued the following announcement.

The No. 3 West seeded Covenant softball team will head to Demorest, Ga., for the Piedmont bracket portion of the USA South Tournament starting on Thursday.

Covenant (20-15, 10-6 USA South) will face No. 2 East seed Greensboro in the opening round of the double-elimination bracket at 4 p.m. The Scots will

The USA South Tournament is split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets hosted by division winners (Piedmont and Pfeiffer) from April 28-30. The two bracket winners face each other in a three-game series on May 6-7 to determine the USA South Tournament champion.

Live stats and video for all games of the tournament will be available, courtesy of Piedmont. Once available, links can be found at athletics.covenant.edu/live and on the softball schedule page.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

• Covenant recorded its fifth 20-win season, and first since 2018, during the regular season. The Scots finished third in the USA South West Division, marking the highest conference finish for the program.
• The Scots are making their fourth appearance in the USA South Tournament. Covenant is 4-6 all-time in the tournament and last advanced in the winners' bracket in 2018. The program has made five appearances in conference tournaments.
• Covenant and Greensboro last met in 2020 as the visiting Pride took both games of a doubleheader. Greensboro holds an 8-2 all-time record against the Scots, but the teams have never met in the USA South Tournament.
• The Scots are led by freshman third base Lauren Kay. The rookie leads the team with a .431 average to go with a team-best eight home runs, 22 RBIs, 44 runs scored, .824 slugging percentage, and .535 on-base percentage. She ranks second in the USA South in homers and fifth in batting average. Kay was the NFCA National Player of the Week for Division III on April 19 after batting .783 with five homers, 10 RBIs, and 17 runs scored the week prior. On her current 10-game hitting streak, Kay has nine multi-hit games.
• Vanessa Davis also carried a big bat for the Scots this season and provided a gold-glove level of defense in center field. At the plate, Davis is hitting .373 with five homers, 21 RBIs, and 26 runs scored. She hit two homers in a win over Brevard on April 9 and was the USA South Player of the Week on April 11.
• The pitching staff has been led by senior Lauren Kierpa. The right-hander is 9-9 on the year with a 4.44 ERA in a team-best 116.2 innings. Freshmen Madison McDonald (5-3, 4.20 ERA, 50 innings) and Maggie Harris (3-2, 4.67 ERA, 33 innings) have also been key for the Scots in the circle this season.
• Defensively, Covenant is having its best season in program history. The Scots lead the USA South in fielding percentage (.972) and have committed a league-low 27 errors in 35 games, while also ranking second in the conference in double plays (14). 
• Greensboro (25-11, 13-5 USA South) finished second in the USA South East Division. 
• The Pride are led by fifth-year senior pitcher Cheyanne Cox as she leads the USA South in ERA (1.33), strikeouts (193), and is tied for second in wins (14). 
• Offensively, Greensboro's Kassie Simmons leads the USA South in home runs (11) and RBIs (47). Simmons has also pitched extensively for the Pride going 10-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 95.1 innings.

Original source can be found here.