CHARLOTTE, N.C. -  The Queens University of Charlotte softball team will face Newberry College in the quarterfinal round of the South Atlantic Conference Championships on Friday, April 27 in Anderson, S.C. The Royals enter the Championships seeded sixth with a record of 34-14 (10-10) while the Wolves are seeded third with a record of 30-18 (11-9). Queens leads the all-time series 6-5.
 
The Royals finished the regular season with a sweep over Tusculum College. Alyssa Strickler launched two home runs, her first two of the season, to help lead the Royals over the Pioneers. She also tallied a total of five RBIs going 4-for-6 overall. Brooke Sanford added two insurance runs for Queens in game one of the doubleheader off a triple while Jordan Hunt, Abby Lathan, Elaina Frantellizzi, Sara Ingoldsby, and Evie Scott all tallied at least one RBI. Courtney Pearson ruled the circle in both games, pitching a complete first game to strike out three batters and giving up one unearned run off six hits. She also recorded the save in game two pitching three innings of relief. She gave up zero runs on four hits and struck out four batters.
 
The Wolves closed out their regular season with a sweep over Anderson University. The Trojans were led by Natalie Willis and Haley Simonds. Willis went a combined 4-for-7 scoring five runs with one RBI while Simonds went a combined 4-for-8 totaling seven RBIs between the two games.
 
Queens swept the Wolves, 5-4 and 10-9 earlier this season. Five different Royals hit home runs during the series. Winter who led with two home runs also tallied four RBIs between the two games. Abby Lathan recorded three RBIs along with a home run while Jordan Hunt had two RBIs and a home run as well. Pearson pitched a full game one against the Wolves giving up one unearned run and four earned runs off of seven hits while striking out four batters for the win. She then earned the game two win after pitching three innings and giving up one run off three hits and striking out two.
 
McKenzie Barneycastle leads the Wolves with a .459 batting average and a .540 on-base percentage. Haley Simonds holds a team-best .703 slugging percentage and has recorded 58 RBIs while Natalie Willis leads with 47 runs and 65 hits. Collectively, Newberry's pitching staff has struck out 151 batters and has held opponents to a .282 batting average.
 
The Royals will be without their top offensive threat in junior co-captain Sydney Ditto who was shut down with a season-ending injury earlier this month. However, several Royals rank among the league's top players with a bat in their hand.
 
Sara Ingoldsby holds the Royals second highest batting average at .388. She also has a team-high 64 hits. Abby Lathan leads with 36 RBIs and 10 home runs while Hunt has recorded eight home runs. In the circle, Courtney Pearson has a 2.60 ERA and has struck out 161 batters. Queens has held opponents to a .265 batting average.
 
Friday's single elimination game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the AU Softball Complex in Anderson, S.C. Live stats can be found here while live video can be found here.