FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College of Charleston Softball News

May 11, 2022

Contact | Mike Hoffman

Cell Phone | 843.302.6193 | E-Mail | [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>



Cougars-Phoenix Open CAA Tournament on Thursday



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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston begin its quest for the Colonial Athletic Association championship when the Cougars play host Elon in the opening round on Thursday at 11 a.m.



The winner of that game will face top-seeded Delaware at 4 p.m. while the loser takes on the loser of the Hofstra-UNCW game at 6:30. The tournament continues through Thursday with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.



The Cougars have been strong in the circle in a season-ending run that carried them into the postseason and enter the tournament with a team ERA of 3.14 to rank fourth in the CAA.



Carli McCants won CAA Pitcher of the Week honors twice in a row including Charleston’s final series of the season when she had a pair of shutouts against Towson. McCants is in the top 10 in the conference in several statistical categories, including fourth with a 2.23 ERA and 103 strikeouts. Payton Lemire is just behind McCants with a 2.59 ERA and has two saves.



Jenna Helberg has been the team’s top offensive threat for much of the season and enters the tournament with a .314 average, 11 doubles, five homers, 22 RBI and a .529 slugging percentage. Jenna Carter leads the Cougars with a .318 average, 25 runs and a .449 on-base percentage.



Noel Dominguez and Mia Dittoe came on strong as the season progressed and both have a .254 average. Dittoe is also second on the team with four homers and 18 RBI and had a pair of game-winning hits in the critical series sweep of Towson.



Here is a look at the rest of the tournament field.



#1 Delaware

Record: 28-14 (11-4 CAA)

Head Coach: Jen Steele (94-56 in four seasons at Delaware)

Top Hitters: Hanna Garber (.368, 8 HR, 27 RBI); Brittany Mendoza (.336, 11 2B, 5 HR, 33 RBI); Brooke Glanden (.321, 9 HR, 38 RBI)

Top Pitchers: Emily Winburn (12-8, 2.75 ERA, 122.1 IP, 108 Ks); Graceyn Frost (13-4, 2.76 ERA, 106.1 IP, 97 Ks)

2022 vs. Cougars: Series at Delaware was rained out

Series vs. Cougars: CofC leads, 13-7 (CofC is 2-0 in CAA Tournament)



#2 Hofstra

Record: 21-25 (13-6 CAA)

Head Coach: Adrienne Clark (21-25 in first season at Hofstra)

Top Hitters: Chelsea Manto (.363, 29 runs, 19-23 SB); Meghan Giordano (.313, 6 HR, 31 RBI)

Top Pitchers: Haley Venturini (8-8, 3.06 ERA, 84.2 IP, 88 Ks); Julia Apsel (2.87 ERA, 95.0 IP, 61 Ks)

2022 vs. Cougars: Hofstra, 2-0 (third game of series was rained out)

Series vs. Cougars: Hofstra leads, 16-7 (Hofstra is 2-0 in CAA Tournament)



#3 UNCW

Record: 29-13 (11-8 CAA)

Head Coach: Kristy Norton (214-248-1 in 10 seasons at UNCW)

Top Hitters: Janel Gamache (.343, 7 HR, 29 RBI); Tayler Vitola (.341, 31 runs, 22-26 SB)

Top Pitchers: Emily Winstead (11-8, 1.72 ERA, 122.1 IP, 167 Ks); Kara Hammock (11-3, 2.14 ERA, 88.1 IP, 66 Ks)

2022 vs. Cougars: UNCW, 2-1

Series vs. Cougars: CofC leads, 30-29 (CofC is 2-1 in CAA Tournament and 1-0 in SoCon Tournament)



#4 Elon

Record: 27-20 (10-8 CAA)

Head Coach: Kathy Bocock (270-251-1 in her 11th season at Elon)

Top Hitters: Rebecca Murray (.347, 13 2B, 28 runs, 23 RBI, 23-25 SB); Gabi Schaal (.316, 9 HR, 38 RBI)

Top Pitchers: McKenzie Weber (1.91 ERA, 66.0 IP, 30 Ks); Alexa Nemeth (2.29 ERA), Taylor Cherry (3.53 ERA, 79.1 IP, 82 Ks)

2022 vs. Cougars: Elon, 2-1

Series vs. Cougars: CofC leads, 33-31 (CofC is 1-0 in CAA Tournament and 3-1 in SoCon Tournament)



2022 CAA Softball Championship presented by Primis

Thursday, May 12

Game 1: #4 Elon vs #5 Charleston – 11:00 a.m.

Game 2: #2 Hofstra vs #3 UNCW – 1 :30 p.m.

Game 3: #1 Delaware vs Winner Game 1 – 4:00 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2 – 6:30 p.m.



Friday, May 13

Game 5: Winner Game 2 vs Winner Game 3 – 12:00 p.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs Loser Game 3 – 2:30 p.m.

Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs Winner Game 6 – 5:00 p.m.



Saturday, May 14

Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs Winner Game 7 – 12:00 p.m.

Game 9: Immediately Following Game 8 (IF NECESSARY)



-www.CofCSports.com-


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